Jesu

Until today I had only been vaguely familiar with the work of Napalm Death and Godflesh. That's to say I never took the time to research their histories or biographies. The founding member of both of those bands is Justin Broadrick. He has since moved on from each of them. But despite the fact that he's been working in music for a very long time, his devoted fans still can't seem to get enough of his music. The overwhelming response to his latest project, Jesu, is no exception and will undoubtedly uncover a lot more about him than most of us are aware.

In attempting to gather some information about the history of Broadrick, it became clear that message boards were lighting up and fans were praising his return. Admittedly, I am not one that belongs to that list of followers, nor am I wholly versed in the (apparently) vast amount of influence he's had on metal music, but I can certainly appreciate the dedication of his followers and the feelings I get from listening to this new material.

If you are familiar with the recent work of label mates, Pelican, you'll be in tune with what's going on here. Jesu's music is intense in that it utilizes effects and atmosphere to carry the weight of the album. To go a step further would be to call it a doom metal album met with the heady aesthetic of My Bloody Valentine. But contrary to those comparisons, Jesu meets us with an emotionally charged affection that is still rarely heard in guitar-heavy albums.

One doesn't simply listen to Jesu; rather, it is absorbed as it washes over you in layers of temperate colors. These songs are lengthy with pleasant repetition, which allows them time to breathe and become trance-like. The most perfect example of this comes near the end, with "Sun Day." This is a song that is decidedly one of the heaviest tracks of the bunch, yet I'm still drawn to the emotive qualities that keep it from crossing over to the aggressive side of metal. And it's this difference that makes Jesu such a welcomed change from the norm.

By the end, the unexpected becomes the expected. There are no surprises hidden underneath the layers of sound, just infectious shoegazer doom that lends itself well to many repeated listens. While I may have heard a Godflesh album or two, this material is unquestionably more up my alley. However, because I've admitted that I'm not one of those fans who have followed Broadrick's career with a microscope, I may just have to find some time to delve into a few of his side-projects to see if he truly is the metal icon his fans make him out to be.

A strange creature, this Jesu. Combining the cavernous bottom end and plodding tempos of doom metal with the heady guitar noise of late '80's-early '90's shoegaze rock, this new group from Godflesh founder Justin Broadrick (along with former collaborator Ted Parsons) has released what is surely among the most interesting albums of 2005. There are tons of bands out there now doing the whole "long, epic, guitar-driven songs with few if any vocals" thing right now-Isis, Pelican, Explosions in the Sky, etc. etc.-but Jesu still manage to incorporate enough disparate elements to stand out from the crowd. Those who have listened to Godflesh, especially their masterpiece Pure, will know that Justin is given to releasing heavy music that is experimental but can still kick your head in, and this album is no exception. Its emotive, grandiose songs rely heavily on drone, repetition, and disarmingly pretty melodies, allowing the music to achieve a hypnotic effect that, as others have noted, occasionally brings to mind My Bloody Valentine. Not to mention, Justin's vocals here are almost all sung (in sharp contrast to much of his previous work), and while his singing isn't particularly polished it does blend in nicely with the band's densely layered sound. Even when the heavy, grinding guitars make one of their frequent appearances, the effect is more ambient than percussive, much like the sound Isis has achieved on their recent albums. However, Jesu even go a step further than that band by bringing in liberal doses of keyboards to further the album's dense, headrush-inducing approach. Fans of Broadrick's more aggressive work needn't worry, though, as the keyboards are generally integrated extremely well into the overall sound, rather than being used in the ostentatious fashion that far too many progressive metal bands have used. Besides, this is still in many ways a metal album, as the songs are all firmly anchored by the thunderous chug of Justin's bass and Ted's drumming. There's even a good old-fashioned Godflesh-style headbanger here in the form of Man/Woman, a delightfully malevolent little number that destroys all in its path with the brutal efficiency of a carpet-bombing raid, led by Justin's signature growl and a fearsome groove. The Justin of 1991 would certainly be proud of this one. Anyway, while Jesu might not be Godflesh reincarnated, it is certainly an interesting new permutation of that band's musical mission, and one likely to appeal to all discerning heavy-music fans.

I have been a fan of Justin Broadrick ever since on a whim, I snagged Godflesh's Hymns one day at Best Buy. What I heard there was intriguing, and really caught my attention enough to warrant gaining more of the band's previous output. I was absolutely amazed with the things that Godflesh had done, creating a very doomy, heavy, experimental sound where the reward comes from being able to tune everything else out and focus on nothing but the music, something bands like the Swans or Neurosis also require.

I was to see Godflesh live the day of my high school graduation in May 2001, but Broadrick ended up cancelling the tour and disbanding due to a nervous breakdown. Not only did I miss out on the chance to see them live, but Godflesh was extinct. I spent the next couple of years collecting various side projects and pre-Godflesh recordings, and while good, they didn't grab me as much as Godflesh had.

So naturally, I was excited to the point of being beside myself when I heard that Broadrick was back with a new band. I stumbled upon this in an issue of Terrorizer, which detailed the Heartache EP (which I ordered from Amazon UK), consisting of two tracks, each about twenty minutes in length. It proved hard to find for a long time, and I was unable to find it until after this self-titled album had hit the shelves domestically.

On "Jesu," things familiar to a lot of longtime Broadrick fans are intact: the heavy, plodding bass; extended song tempos; experimentation; and the occasional gruff vocal. However, there was something new in the mix: Warmth. Instead of sounding cold and machine like, the emotive singing heard on tracks like "The Infernal" and "Anthem" from Godflesh's later years are more dominant, albeit a slightly different variation, sounding more distorted and pained. Another surprise was the lack of a lot of Broadrick's droning riffage; his guitars are still there, but they don't take center stage with chugging menace. "Heartache" had a little bit more of that sound at times, but overall, mellow is JB's route now. Instead, the guitar present is in subtle perks and nudges, the sort of melodic play you'd hear in bands like Mogwai, Sigur Ros, and My Bloody Valentine. Overall, the sound brings to mind a combination of Godflesh and Broadrick's ambient side project, Final.

All in all, this is a well packaged release, one that is deserving of its accolades and dedicated fan base. "Jesu" is the sort of album where you hear something new the more you play it, and it conjures up more emotions and empathy within than any album I have played before. This is good music for nighttime driving trips, or for those nights where you feel like laying in the dark in deep thought. An amazing, essential album, one that will stand the test of time and never gather dust. Oh, and by the way, I personally think this outdoes a lot of his work with Godflesh, which is quite a feat.

Anyone that loves Broadrick's genius with music here should check out the following: Ice's "Bad Blood" (a trip-hop side project); Techno Animal (another trip hop/dance-ish project); Final's "1," "2," and "Solaris" (ambient soundscapes); Godflesh (industrial/experimental/doom--anything is good); Curse of the Golden Vampire (on Ipecac Records, a noise project with heavy guitars and extremely fast, almost gabba-like drum machines (think Berzerker, but not as brutal)). Justin also worked with Napalm Death (grindcore), which has never really been my bag of tea, and Head of David, which I have not yet heard. Working on it, though! Anything above comes highly reccomended if you are intrigued by what you hear on this album.