Thou Ragana

Thou release split with Ragana, touring with MJ Guider & others

Thou have already had one of their most prolific years, with the release of their new album Magus and three EPs (Rhea Sylvia, Inconsolable, and The House Primordial), and now they can add yet another release to their 2018 schedule. They just dropped a split EP with Oakland doom duo Ragana called Let Our Names Be Forgotten which is “in memory of those lost in the Ghost Ship fire.” Thou’s two (very lengthy) contributions, “The Fool Who Thought He Was King” and “Death to the King and All His Loyal Subjects,” have that same heavy/beautiful blend as Magus and Rhea Sylvia, and they are both two very worthy contributions to Thou’s 2018 repertoire.

Ragana’s three songs strike a balance between atmospheric psychedelic rock and plodding doom metal, and they get taken to the next level by the duo’s extraordinary vocals, which can go from ethereal singing to harsh, black metal-ish shrieks. These songs pair well with last year’s You Take Nothing, which is also very worth hearing. You can listen to that, and the new split, below.

Thou also announced a West Coast tour, which will include acoustic sets at a few stops. “Since we’ll have Melissa and Emily along with us, we’ll be doing a handful of ‘acoustic’ shows playing the tracks off of our Inconsolable EP,” Thou said in an email. All dates on that tour are being opened by ambient pop artist MJ Guider, which is an unexpected but awesome pairing, and select stops also include Miserable (aka Kristina Esfandiari of King Woman), True Widow, The Body, Lingua Ignota, Blood Incantation, Hell, Spellling, Die Young, and others.

Thou also revealed that they’ll be back on the East Coast in spring 2019, including two New York shows on April 8. Venues TBA but stay tuned. All dates are listed below.

And if you haven’t heard MJ Guider’s latest album (2016’s Precious Systems, her first for Kranky), you can stream that below too.

Thou — 2018/2019 Tour Dates
DOOM OF THE DEAD
11.02.18 – Mexico City at Foro Indie Rocks with Terror Cosmico and Chivo Negro.

GRINDFEST
11.24.18 – Lafayette at Freetown Boom Boom Room with Capra, Radiant Knife, Arbre Mort, Omega Faction, Father Rust, Shadow People, Woorms, Devoured by Plagues, Prophet/Pariah, Gamerra.

WEST COAST with MJ GUIDER
11.29.18 – Dallas at RBC with True Widow and Akkolyte.
11.30.18 – Denver at Syntax Physic Opera with Lingua Ignota and Blood Incantation.
12.01.18 – Denver MATINEE at Nude City Relief Center (THOU ACOUSTIC).
12.01.18 – Laramie at Great Untamed.
12.02.18 – Salt Lake City at Diabolical Records with Durian Durian and Two-Headed Whale.
12.03.18 – Boise at Java Downtown.
12.04.18 – Portland at Tonic with Blackwater Holylight.
12.05.18 – Seattle at Vera Project.
12.06.18 – Anacortes at Kennelly Keys (THOU ACOUSTIC).
12.07.18 – Portland EARLY SHOW at High Water Mark (THOU ACOUSTIC) with The Body.
12.08.18 – Salem at Burial Ground with Hell.
12.09.18 – Eureka at Sirens Song.
12.10.18 – San Francisco at Balboa Theatre with Spelling.
12.11.18 – Oakland MATINEE at 1234Go! (THOU ACOUSTIC) with Try the Pie.
12.11.18 – Oakland at Starline Social Club with Cell Rot and Gayphex Twin.
12.12.18 – Los Angeles at Union with Miserable and Whelm.
12.13.18 – San Diego at Che Cafe with Miserable and special guests. (tickets)
12.14.18 – Phoenix at Cricket Pavilion/Wall Street with Ceremented and Lana del Rabies.
12.15.18 – Santa Fe at The Cave with Lilith.
12.16.18 – San Antonio at Limelight with Amygdala.
12.17.18 – Austin at Lost Well with Die Young.

midwest/east coast tour
03.23.19 – Nashville
03.24.19 – Lexington
03.25.19 – Quad Cities
03.26.19 – Minneapolis
03.26.19 – Minneapolis
03.27.19 – Oshkosh
03.27.19 – Milwaukee/Madison
03.28.19 – Chicago
03.28.19 – Chicago
03.29.19 – Grand Rapids
03.30.19 – Detroit
03.31.19 – Pittsburgh
04.01.19 – Philadelphia
04.02.19 – Allentown
04.02.19 – Hudson
04.03.19 – Burlington
04.04.19 – Easthampton
04.05.19 – Portland
04.05.19 – Portsmouth
04.06.19 – Boston
04.07.19 – Providence
04.08.19 – New York
04.08.19 – New York
04.09.19 – DC
04.09.19 – Baltimore

ROADBURN RESIDENCY
04.11.19 – Roadburn
04.12.19 – Roadburn
04.13.19 – Roadburn
04.14.19 – Roadburn

MUTANTS OF THE MONSTER
06.07.19 – Little Rock

EUROPE with MOLOCH
July/August