Skip to content
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Latest:
  • Review: Black Helium ‘The Animals Are Coming’
  • Review: Turtle Skull ‘Being Here’
  • Review: Witchrot ‘Soul Cellar’
  • Review: Steve Von Till ‘Alone In A World Of Wounds’
  • Review: Crystal Spiders ‘Metanoia’
The Sleeping Shaman

The Sleeping Shaman

The 'Heavier Than Thou' Webzine

Header - Spotify Playlist

  • News
  • Album & EP Reviews
    • #
    • A
    • B
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • H
    • I
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • P
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • T
    • U
    • V
    • W
    • X
    • Y
    • Z
  • Interviews
    • A-F
    • G-Q
    • R-Z
  • Live Reviews
  • Articles
  • Streams
  • Shaman Shop
    • Shaman Recordings
    • Vinyl Records
    • Compact Discs
    • Merch
    • Downloads
    • Basket
Album & EP Reviews T 

Review: Thumos ‘The Republic’

27th January 20222nd March 2022 Tom Hanno Independent, Instrumental, Post-Metal, Thumos

There seems to have been an increase in the instrumental metal genre, and music fans either love it or they hate it. The absence of vocals throws people off, as they don’t believe a song can have the same effect without them; this is simply a matter of opinion, and most assuredly not a fact. Bands like Pelican and Clouds Taste Satanic are furthering the genre in ways that are unique, melodic, and insanely talented.

Thumos 'The Republic'

Today we will discuss one of those instrument bands, a group named Thumos, who uses the philosophies of one of history’s greatest thinkers, Plato, while crafting their music. Their newest offering is called The Republic, which will be available on January 28th via their Bandcamp page.

There are two singles available at the time of writing, The Virtues and The Cave. Both of these tracks exhibit A+ musicianship, which is extremely important in all music but even more so in the instrumental genre.

The Virtues is reminiscent of some of the things that Sólstafir applies to their music and is one of the very best tracks on this record. The guitars capture that post-metal feel with accuracy, while the rest of the band creates the perfect backdrop for the guitars to shine.

The Cave is almost eight minutes of similar vibes and may be the best track on The Republic. The intro builds up to an incredibly memorable riff that will make you move along to its slow groove and sticks in your head long after listening to it. When it changes, at approximately the four-minute mark, Thumos adds in a black metal influence, which creates a heavier feel while remaining in that post-metal vibe.

The Unjust opens the album and it may be even better than the two songs we already discussed. Utilizing a slight black metal feel in the form of certain riffs and the underlying instrumentation, The Unjust is a very strong and engaging track; it almost feels like it could be an intro to a black metal song, just slower and more accessible to listeners who may not enjoy that particular genre.

The guitars capture that post-metal feel with accuracy, while the rest of the band creates the perfect backdrop for the guitars to shine…

Directly following that amazing album opener, we find another of the standouts in The Ring. The track has excellent riffage and is arranged in a way where putting vocals to it would be easy, but their absence only makes this one more enjoyable, using the guitar parts to craft the melodies that vocals would usually be in the way of.

It was mentioned earlier that Thumos creates music based on the philosophies of Plato, and it’s conceivable that many of you are wondering how that works with no vocal parts. Never fear, as we asked the band that question knowing it would be brought up by listeners. Here’s what the band had to say…

‘We try to approach it pretty much based entirely on mood. Like take a chapter of The Republic or one of the previous songs we’ve done, and just break down the topic into the most basic idea possible. Without lyrics we need it to be as singular of a concept as possible to then try and craft an appropriate mood.’

Adding, ‘The challenge with The Republic was also establishing continuity with the songs. Each one needed its own identity while still bringing a piece of the work as a whole. The flow was the hardest part. We have a lot of leftover songs that were failed attempts. We’re planning to title them after smaller details of The Republic and release them as a companion/b-sides piece at some point.’

Now that you fine people have read about Thumos, we implore you to go check them out for yourselves. Enjoy!!

Label: Independent
Band Links: Bandcamp | Instagram

Scribed by: Tom Hanno

  • ← Review: Spaceship ‘Ravines’
  • Review: Possessor ‘The Speed Of Death’ EP →

You May Also Like

Primitive Man ‘Immersion’

Review: Primitive Man ‘Immersion’

13th August 202016th September 2020 Matt Alexander
Review

Kings Destroy – S/T – CD/LP/DD 2015

12th July 20153rd September 2019 Brian Burroughs
The River ‘Violet Violent Sine Waves’

Review: The River ‘Violet Violent Sine Waves’

5th June 202023rd June 2020 Reza Mills

Basket

If You Can Help

Shaman Shop

Latest StreamsView All

Premiere: The Long Hunt ‘Spine Of Dusk’ – New Album ‘Natural Order’ Drops 18th July
Featured Streams 

Premiere: The Long Hunt ‘Spine Of Dusk’ – New Album ‘Natural Order’ Drops 18th July

21st May 202521st May 2025 Lee Edwards

Get ready to be consumed by the slow-burning inferno of Spine Of Dusk from Pittsburgh’s three-piece instrumental titans, The Long

Video Premiere: Lower Slaughter ‘Take A Seat’ – New Album ‘Deep Living’ Releases 6th June
Featured Streams 

Video Premiere: Lower Slaughter ‘Take A Seat’ – New Album ‘Deep Living’ Releases 6th June

16th May 202516th May 2025 Lee Edwards
Premiere: Clamfight – Self-Titled Album Releases This Friday, 16th May
Featured Streams 

Premiere: Clamfight – Self-Titled Album Releases This Friday, 16th May

14th May 202514th May 2025 Lee Edwards
Video Premiere: Spider Kitten ‘The Spoiler’ –  ‘The Truth Is Caustic To Love’ Releases 27th June
Featured Streams 

Video Premiere: Spider Kitten ‘The Spoiler’ – ‘The Truth Is Caustic To Love’ Releases 27th June

30th April 202530th April 2025 Lee Edwards

Must Attend

Roadburn Festival

Weirdo Canyon Dispatch

Weirdo Canyon Dispatch

About

The Sleeping Shaman
After a hiatus The Sleeping Shaman is awake. Although we won't set the world on fire, we aim to bring you the latest reviews, interviews and premieres from the 'heavier than thou' underground.

Information

  • Disclaimer
  • FAQ
  • Get Involved
  • Payment & Delivery Info
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Quick Links

  • Album & EP Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Articles
  • Live Reviews
  • Streams
  • Shaman Shop

Get Involved

Wanna Get Involved
© 2005 - 2025 The Sleeping Shaman // Artwork by CAVUM. All rights reserved.