Magus

With their fifth album, Magus, Baton Rouge-born, geographically scattered doom outfit Thou have somehow managed to outdo themselves—even in a year that’s already seen them drop a trio of EPs. Sludgy, lumbering riffs conjure a desolate, heat-struck atmosphere, while Bryan Funck’s throttled, feral roars preach rebellion and reject idolatry on songs like the opener, “Inward,” and the wrathful “Sovereign Self.” They intercut their harsher compositions with more experimental interludes, like the ghostly “Divine Will” and the bubbling electronics of “The Law Which Compels.”