Jesu "s/t" CD
[Hydra Head]
Finally! Admittedly I heard this entire record about four months ago, but until I have the real thing in my hands I just don't give a fuck, so this is like listening to it for the first time all over again. And holy shit have I been waiting far too long for this... Unlike the "Heartache" sessions, on this outing Justin Broadrick has re-enlisted Godflesh's final sticksman Ted Parsons on drums and percussion, with two other members contributing guitar and bass to a few songs throughout the disc, totaling a monumental 74+ minute journey into absolute brooding perfection. Damn near ever song is almost 10 minutes long, and the tracks revolve around slow, repetitive arrangements with lengthy instrumental passages and shitloads of layering, allowing thing to rise and fall slowly over time with a great balance of sheer heaviness, incredible melodies, and a general atmosphere that truly is some of Broadrick's most emotionally wrenching work to date - as was the masterful "Heartache" release. As with that work the vocal performance here is based around monotone singing with various levels of effects applied to soak things into the music more, while the music itself is more consistently melodic than Godflesh, taking that general direction and aesthetic but perhaps finding some strange way to make things both artistically abstract and yet increasingly organic and song oriented? "Your Path to Divinity" starts things off with a rather slow build using plodding basslines and resonant melodic guitars over sparse percussion, vocals not coming in until around four minutes in, at which time things level off and continue within the same general framework. Once it gets moving, the singing in "Friends are Evil" works perfectly with the layered guitar parts (both immensely thick rhythms and eerier accents in the distance) and pounding percussion to create a really moving sensibility that creates one of the most forceful passages of the entire record. "Tired of Me" takes a more deliberately slow pace and very blatantly layers ultra thick bass and guitar against distant ringing notes with a little more space for everything to breathe, while the singing is receives added prominence throughout the 9+ minutes, only disappearing for the final three minutes or so as the instruments flow towards their close. "We All Faulter" also continues in that deliberately slower vein and lets the bass parts sit up front while layering the singing very effectively for one of the more memorable tracks from a vocal standpoint, and as far as allowing the repetition to be a little more structured and straightforward in building off of one central riff. The longest track at 11+ minutes, "Walk on Water" contains some of the most crushing chord progressions that are toned down (tastefully) to a small degree by a menacing sense of melody (largely in the form of some lush synths in this particular situation) and lots of droning vocal effects. All of this works together incredibly well and creates what I feel is the most depressing and powerful song herein, and one of my absolute favorites from the band. "Sun Day" takes the main riff from "Tired of Me" and slows it down even more, following suit with the vocals but introducing new lyrics and taking a few different variations to the reprised melody line throughout 10 minutes. This is the only song on the entire record that drags even the slightest bit, probably since the key rhythm is still familiar from just three songs prior, but it's still not a bad track at all. Then things take a new direction, as "Man/Woman" follows as the most aggressive track by far, using a very dominant low-end presence and hard-hitting surges of power chords with shouting vocals under heavy effects, allowing twisted and ominous feedback to seep into the background - certainly nodding to some of Godflesh's work. "Guardian Angel" then ends the disc on a similarly heavy note (musically) with a stripped down sound that comes across as dryer, returning to the droning singing vocals but keeping some noisy guitar notes and feedback in the distance. I have no problems with the recording at all. It sounds quite consistent with what most have probably come to expect from Broadrick's work. It's very thick and warm, with varying degrees of oppressiveness or clarity depending on the intensity of layering involved. Some of the guitar textures and effects have a little bit of a strange electronic sheen going on, but that's not the case for the majority of the work at all (and never for the rhythm guitars); while the percussion seems to be a mix of live and electronic drums that is, as always, pulled off brilliantly in a manner that flawlessly weaves the two together so that you're never quite sure of the source. The layout looks fucking awesome and keeps things very minimal, printed entirely in metallic bronze ink. The outer packaging is on thick, textured matte brown paper (with a shape diecut out of the cover for added effect), with the inner pages on matte cream stock, all depicting bleak landscape imagery or similarly ominous abstract textures with relatively scarce use of type. Sadly there are no lyrics (or snippets of lyrics) included, but that's become expected from Broadrick's forays over the years, so... live with it. This is an incredible album and I sincerely hope that Jesu continues for years to come, because I've been consistently blown away by everything the band has recorded thus far and I'm dying to hear more. Without question this is going to be one of the best releases of 2005. Justin Broadrick is a fucking genius and if you don't appreciate this you're worthless. The end. (10/10)
Running time - 74:25, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Friends Are Evil, We All Faulter, Walk on Water, Man/Woman]
Hydra Head Industries - http://www.hydrahead.com

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