The ambiguously named Thot are an unexpected burst of fresh-faced brutality, electronica-augmented rock and jazzy interludes that see the band fall somewhere between NIN, Ministry, Tori Amos and the Prodigy. With an opening track that could tear the face off a thousand clubbers at a hundred yards, this is the kind of hyper-speed, slickly polished industrial rock that Pendulum can only wish that they could make coupled with an inventive streak that elevates Thot far above the ordinary.
First to look at is Thot’s latest EP – ‘Fig. 2 & 3: Stories of the hills mover and the fields tuner’ which is available either as a pay-what-you-like download or as an ultra-cool, limited edition book/CD (with bonus packaging) from the band’s webpage. First track ‘Stories of the hills mover’ is great, a pounding, blasting, melody laden wall of noise that hits you right between the eyes, but nothing prepares you for the phenomenal industrial assault that is ‘The fields tuner’, a hulking industrial masterpiece that puts Rammstein in their place with its sheer aggressive impulses. To give you an idea, it’s like the first time you heard the first disc of NIN’s ‘the fragile’ or Ministry’s ‘Psalm 69’ and it’s equally unexpected. Bursting with aggression and ideas, the computerised rhythms slam you into a whirl of noise while the guitars sound like Marshall finally got round to releasing that special edition Spinal Tap amp that goes up to 11! So what wouldn’t you expect from such a solid wall of brutality? Female vocals and a dreamscape melody? Because that’s exactly what Thot introduce showing that they are possibly the most exciting musicians to hit industrial music since Devin Townsend.
Previous single ‘Fig. 1: The apple fields lover’ is still available as a free download (which means you have no excuse whatsoever to not check this magnificent release out). More melodic than the newer EP, but still satisfyingly aggressive, this is the sort of pounding, guitar-laden industrial that all rock clubs should play rather than endlessly churning out Distrubed’s ‘down with the sickness’. Much like the newer EP, the first thing to hit you is how fresh this sounds, how enthusiastic THOT are and how much they kick their more expensively promoted rivals (such as Rob Zombie and the aforementioned Rammstein) into touch with a dark, heavy, exciting sound that manages to sound utterly new in these jaded, heard-everything times. The remix, on the other hand, takes the track and makes it even more coldly industrial, reminding the listener of NIN’s remix efforts and guaranteed to move even the most cynical of listeners.
The final track on this promo CD is a cover of Justice’s ‘Nazareth’, overhauled and infused with a neighbour-annoying bass beat that threatened to level my flat when played at any kind of volume. Available on the physical version of the EP (but not the download) this is a damned good reason to buy the physical release (if the seriously cool packaging and reasonable price haven’t already got you reaching for your wallet) as you won’t find it elsewhere.
Thot are without a doubt the most exciting band to hit the industrial scene in years. While Filter are still out there producing great music, it’s been a long time since the scene had a band to really get excited about but Thot offer a refreshing, exciting and ultra-heavy take on the sound that you just can’t ignore. On the evidence of these two singles releases Thot deserve to be huge and, even if you’re short on cash, the band will greatly benefit from you downloading their freely available first single, so get over to http://www.thotweb.net/ and check them out now – you won’t regret it.
