Thou have shown more than often how much masterful they can be in the art of coming up with their own renditions other people's songs. This year only they have released two covers albums, one composed exclusively of Nirvana songs, and another another of assorted covers. They are specially great with grunge, as their takes on Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains evidently present.
Magnetic Eye Records' Redux series which has previously included albums by Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Helmet, now offers a new version of Alice In Chains' 1992 masterpiece, Dirt, including 13 acts from the heavy/stoner rock spectrum
The compilation opens with Thou's version of Them Bones which is excellent, as the band found a way to bring the classic song very close to their sludge metal sound, like they do every time.
Thou's own Bryan Funck has a long and interesting statement about Them Bones: "It seemed inevitable that we'd do another AIC song since their music was such a big part of Matthew's and my formative years. We had covered No Excuses some years ago, but it never quite got the reaction I thought it deserved, and our arrangement was a slowed-down and kind of left-field take on the song. With Them Bones, we had a chance to tackle a song that more directly translated to our style. The song had been on my mind anyway — I had recently listened to a podcast that dissected all the tracks on Dirt and it really dawned on me that opening the album with Them Bones was such a bold and cool move. No count off, no intro, just straight into the insanity.
"I first heard AIC when Rooster came on the radio, probably not long after its release, maybe late '92 or early '93 — I was 10 years old. I was just a kid listening to the local rock radio station and taping the songs I liked, making these poor quality mixtapes. I taped Rooster and the following weekend brought it over to Matthew's house so he could hear it. I remember going into his room and he was listening to the song Connected by Stereo MC's, who were a one-hit-wonder Madchester/Happy Mondays-type band. I put my Rooster cassette in and his mind was completely blown. Neither of us had heard anything that heavy or dark yet — our favorite band at that point was probably Pearl Jam. Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit here, but I think that's what set him on a path of listening to heavier stuff, as it was for me."
