Thou cover Bad Religion’s “Kerosene” on new anti-racism benefit comp (listen)

Gina Alexander

Among the many great songs on the stacked new metal/punk benefit compilation Shut it Down: Benefit for the Movement for Black Lives is Thou's new cover of Bad Religion's 1993 classic "Kerosene," which they recorded with longtime collaborator Emily McWilliams of Silver Godling. They turn the fast-paced melodic song into an eerie goth-doom song with belted vocals by Emily and harsh screams by Thou vocalist Bryan Funck in the background. It's a drastic reinvention and very cool stuff.

"Coming from a foundation of DIY punk, community-building and social justice has always been a strong component in Thou," Bryan Funck told Stereogum. "Contributing to the compilation is a really small way that we can hopefully generate some funds for the hard-working folks dismantling the most oppressive and corrupting elements of society."

"There’s always been something about Bad Religion’s ‘Kerosene’ that speaks to my own destructive impulse; regardless of its original intent, the lyrics paint an evocative image of fires consuming a bleak, urban cesspit of segregated opulence," he continues. "Collaborating with Silver Godling on this track gave us an easy bedrock to build off of with some creative home recording and help from our longtime friend and engineer James Whitten. To be honest, the track as Emily wrote and recorded it solo can easily stand on its own without us!"

Listen to the Thou cover and the other 45 songs on the comp below, and purchase it at Bandcamp. 100% of proceeds benefit the Movement for Black Lives.