You, Whom I Have Always Hated is a collaborative album by American sludge metal bands the Body and Thou. Released on January 27, 2015 through Thrill Jockey record label, the album was included on the reissue of bands' first collaborative effort, Released from Love EP (2014).
Upon its release, You, Whom I Have Always Hated received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 78, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 10 reviews.[1]Allmusic critic Fred Thomas wrote: "The crushing intensity on this collection is commonplace for both bands, but comes together with more swampy layers than either can muster on their own."[2]Pitchfork stated: "Though it shows signs of both responsible parties, it also proves their inherent restlessness, as they’re both willing to bend toward one another to create something richer than they might have rendered themselves."[3]PopMatters's Austin Price described the record as "a monolithic album, so massive and so black and often so much of a piece that to try to take it in at a glance or to distinguish certain elements seems either imposing or impossible."[4]
The Quietus' Dean Brown thought that the release "highlights the bleak force that these bands can channel and how impactful it is when united as one."[7] Kelly Kim of Spin praised the album, stating: "Every note sounds instinctual, every moment fluid; this is what happens when good friends come together to watch the world burn."[5] Nevertheless, Tiny Mix Tapes was more mixed in their review of the album, describing it as "a fucking heavy record, an absolute destroyer in fact." They added: "With thunderous riffs and gargantuan bass lines that come wrapped in noise and effects, the album certainly has moments of genuine terror."[6]
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