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Jesu > Silver > Reviews
Jesu - Silver

Tired and probably high - 69%

Cheeses_Priced, May 21st, 2009

This album is worse than it sounds, with the caveat that it sounds very good.

Presumably a lot of time was spent in the studio on this one – or a short amount of time, very well spent. Either way, making a much heavier version of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless album (which had quite a budget) was the apparent goal, and we must salute the band for being basically successful. If you like swirling layers of transcendent buzziness, you've come to the right place. The distant, drifting vocals earn extra points in my book, though their lack of power (in delivery and in the mix) will not appeal to all readers.

Beneath the fuzz, the engine driving this train is not particularly metal – a downtuned guitar churns out some sort-of riffs, although they're really more like supporting chords in practice, while the singing, lead guitars, and various electronic effects get to star in the show. It's difficult (and nitpicky) to articulate how, in spite of not having anything screamingly wrong with it, it does seem like this could be quite a bit better – so it's nice that I have The Angelic Process, a similar band, to use as a handy reference. TAP composed, Jesu just sort of make songs – good enough and surely not bad, but a bit too “normal music” somehow.

Not very much to the surprise of this cynical reviewer, Jesu have since transformed into fairly annoying rock music. This brief EP is thus a short moment of glory.

Progression - 96%

fastfingers530, November 27th, 2006

I first discovered Jesu over the summer, when I was just starting to get into the doomier, sludgier metal such as Pelican and Isis. Basically, the stuff on Hydra Head. I downloaded their self-titled full-length, and fell in love. I was amazed at how well J.K. Broadrick and Co. kept my attention for the full hour and fifteen minutes, and how that hour fifteen felt so much longer, yet I wasn't bored in the slightest. The music dripped with melancholy, the slow tempo and sad-yet-uplifting melodies enveloping me in a cocoon of doomy glory. I then checked out their first EP, "Heartache", and didn't like as much; the sense of melody wasn't as apparent, two 20-minute songs was a little much for me, and the whole thing was a little too mechanical for my tastes.

"Silver" continues the progression from the grinding, mechanical Heartache, infusing even more melody into the sound of Jesu. Opener "Silver" sounds just a little removed from the "Jesu" full-length, utilizing a little more melody, but keeping the slow, heavy-but-not-aggressive riffs and drums, atmospheric keyboards, and Broadrick's strangely montone but emotive vocals. An amazing variation on the self-titled's style.

"Star," is a completely different animal. Speeding up the tempo and utilizing (god forbid) a double-time drum beat, the song is much more uplifiting than most of Jesu's catalog, even though the chords during the first verse are as mournful as any chord progression Jesu has used. The drums have an amazing effect on this song; the drummer keeps a constant 16th pattern on the hi-hat, propelling the song even as the chords slowly ring out and the double-time kick-snare pattern ceases. The slowdown about 4 minutes in is, surprisingly, a welcome breather, in spite of Jesu's slower tempos. Broadrick's reverb-drenched vocals don't seem to be so melancholy, expressing hope for the future for whoever he is talking to. A definite departure from traditional Jesu (if such a thing can be said, given that they have been around for about only 3 years), but it works very well.

"Wolf" is closer to the self-titled style than the previous two tracks; it uses a keyboard tone that was used a lot on the self-titled, and the music is darker, the guitars using a heavier distortion, and a minor-key melody. This song shows that Broadrick isn't ready just yet to abandon the sadder aspects of Jesu. It's slower than the previous two songs, its melody less catchy, its vocals more mournful. The break at about 4:20 has a little bit of an edge to it; the single note droned on gives the song a certain aggressiveness that isn't seen much of Jesu until everything comes back in at about 5:15.

"Dead Eyes" is a little bit more electronic than the other three songs, and as a result, feels more mechanical. The reverse effect sounds really cool mixed with the drums, and the ringing bass makes the song feel epic. The synth washes mix very well, also, adding to the epic feel. The song gets a crapload heavier about 4:10, when a heavy distorted guitar comes in playing an aggressive riff, that, when juxtaposed with the reverse effect from the beginning and colored with some more keyboards, interestingly doesn't contrast the epic mood much. Cool song.

This EP, in total, is a progression from the previous two records: more melody (in general) is used, and there is less of a sense of sadness or depression. The first two songs definitely take the cake, and while the last two lag behind a bit, that is only because the first two are among the best Jesu has ever put to tape.

I don't, as a rule, buy EP's: at record stores they usually charge upwards of $6.99 for them, and for a four-song, usually 10-15 minute record, I don't believe that it is worth the price. Plus, for many bands, EPs are just stopgap recordings to feed the fans' hunger while they work on their more important full-length. Even worse, some EPs are just ways to get unused (read: shitty) songs out to the diehards who want everything. This is only the third EP I've ever bought (the first being NOFX's The Decline, which is the best NOFX song ever, and the second being Slayer's Haunting the Chapel, which I regret buying because I don't even like Slayer much anymore), and I gladly paid $8-9 for it.

Best EP Ever?? - 100%

caspian, July 5th, 2006

Jesu's first album was an amazing beast.. Completely unique industrial/ambient/drone stuff with some truly beautiful moments, and some super heavy moments too. I'd heard this album focused mainly on the quiet bits, which is a good thing as far as im concerned, because I really enjoyed the softer songs on the full length (eg Tired of Me, and Sun Day, one of the best songs ever written.)

It's hard to write this review without raving.This album doesn't really disappoint at all, as far as I am concerned. It starts off with the rather excellent "Silver". It's a pretty uplifting song as far as I am concerned. Life affirming, pretty heavy, with excellent layering. The vocals are mixed down a bit, but they are still fairly audible. Basically, it's an awesome song in every way.

The rest of the EP is great to. Wolves and Dead Eyes are two particularly good Jesu songs, both droning away with crunchy, slow guitars and ethereal synths. They're also quite accessible, probably the most accessible thing Broadrick has ever done. Wolves is a classic Jesu song while Dead Eyes has some rather odd backwards stuff going on at the start. It sounds fairly strange, and sounds even stranger once the rest of the band comes in, but it's a really awesome tune, basically.

The one song that everyone talks about on this album is Star. As soon as the track comes on, you know you're in for something strange. It's at a very fast tempo and is fairly upbeat. The best description would be Isis and Millencolin (Swedish Pop Punk. Blink 182 a bit faster, kinda.) That may sound really odd, and well, it is fairly weird, but it's such a cool song! The lyrics are great, and really positive. Who Knows, maybe there's an element of sarcasm about the lyrics that I dont see.

All in all, there's a bit in here for everyone, whether you enjoyed the heaviness, the droniness, and if you dig a bit of pop punk stuff you will enjoy this album. Maybe. In the end though, this is a slow, pulverising, uplifting album that is really quite awesome. I am really, really excited about the 2nd full length (which is maybe coming out soon.). I salute you JK Broadrick!!!

Justin does it again...but just a little different - 89%

Dark_Mewtwo1, May 10th, 2006

Most of Justin's legion of fans we're just head over heels in love with Jesu's first full length from last year. And, myself included, we all doubted whether Justin could at least match the greatness of that album. So, Silver is released. And while there's a progression from the drone elements of the Jesu s/t, this has plenty to offer still.

If you've read anything about this EP, you probably already heard about the song Star, but more on that later. This EP kicks off with Silver, which introduces people to the overall sound of this album: more electronic/ambient-ish than drone-ish. It's a good opening track, but definitely not the shocker of the album. Star is the shocker, with a *gasp* up-beat, almost indie-rockesque intro. I have to admit, it was hard for me to swallow that whole "Jesu goes upbeat" bit, but once I got used to it, I realized just how good the song is. It's the best of both worlds, with the second half of the song slowing the tempo down and reverting to Heartache's style. Wolves is the song that sounds more like the s/t out of the whole EP, and a fairly good track as well. The last song, Dead Eyes, is synth-heavy, and is probably the black sheep of the EP. I personally like the song a lot, the synth and ambience used in the song is well placed and balanced, they don't sound too high or too low pitched.

Overall, I really enjoy this release. Of course, Jesu will have detractors because of this EP, but hey, what band doesn't get it's share of complainers, right?