Conqueror

Broadrick's music has always been distinctly tortured and early Jesu seemed like a sort of grieving stage for Godflesh on the first EP and the deep sadness expressed there (the heart-wrenching 'Heartache'), and more broadly a move to the softer side of this ingenious minimalist composer. What we're hearing here is more like a catharsis from the earlier developments of 90's Godflesh with all its anguish, intensely dark dirges or fast-paced kinetics. This still very much carries the pain inside, but seems a lot more accepting of it and passed the point of fighting it as if it were an enemy on the outside. It's rather integrative of the suffering, more inward and dismissive of its previous aseptic position, although still very much therapeutic in nature and conscious of the impending obscurity ahead - or within. The tension is there but it's taken on a less obvious, riper shape now: one of amorphous smoothness, an inhibiting torpor incapable of abrupt turns or shifts, but in that catatonic state of the body the mind still pulsating vividly with weighty emotions.

Big intense rhythm guitars in the back with steady-paced rock drums and a voice that always seems like it's suspended over the instrumental, at times floating in an ethereal space (the terribly bleak 'Weightless & Horizontal') are the order of the day; the ponderous and imperturbably slow cadence mirroring the sluggish struggles of living. The ever important synth pads contribute their airy whispers, sometimes enchanting and graceful, other times more like moribund murmurs. The music can be on the softer spectrum of its characteristic world-swallowing yet sedated melancholy (the opener) or it can put the drugs away for a moment and have a more defiant initiative at its core: 'Old Year' and its heavy rock combo of the massive oxidized bass guitar surrounded by crunch guitars and Broadrick's voice permeating the whole, still like a gravitating ghost above. In the midst of the hazy confusion and the grueling negativity, he sings: "Now you're stuck in our old year - But I believe in the new year"; breathing the spirit of vitality into this endeavor, in the here and now.

The album isn't completely harmless though: the guitars, a remaining vestige from the old days, bring a heaviness not usually associated with the rest of this sort of instrumental, and a dissonance of the purest kind may be right around the corner to drag the listener down with it, there into the more eerie areas of existence's absurdity. Most interestingly on this, and on most Jesu albums, even on the tracks that seem overwhelming with profound sorrow there's, at some point, an unmistakable glance at daylight or even the full sun rising in the distance. So the most soul-engulfing winter doom is often brushed aside eventually by the saving grace of light's resurrecting radiance. All this most noticeable on 'Weightless & Horizontal', starting in absolute barren desolation somewhere on the Moon's craters, so hopelessly far from life...before a beautifully moving eruption of warmth grabs the mind, seizing the soul, and freeing it from its lonely decay. "Try not to lose yourself" starts off being this disturbingly dark line in context of the depressing first part, but becomes this triumphant premise of vibrant life in the second part, repeating again and again tirelessly, like pushing away those oppressive clouds.

That hope is nearly always intertwined with hints of melancholy, as if indissoluble, with the prevailing high gain heaviness behind: that intrinsic, unbreakable bond between happy and sad being such a potent allegory of life's tangible struggles, perpetually oscillating between the tragedy of the lows and euphoria during the highs. What is striking here is the vacant demeanor of the instrumental and voice, purposely made to be the cold and numb musical avatar of Soma (from Huxley's 'Brave New World'), and its cohabitation with the evident pulses of life - the very urge for living. As a recurrent line states: "The medicine is all we need". Broadrick at one point asks: "are we worth saving ?" - a daunting interrogation to be sure but not without a glimpse of hope as it is the form of a question, leaving room for possible redemption. The entire album is in the image of that: yes the days are dark and we've practically given up, but not quite, and the beauty is there, we can see it, but we aren't sure what to make of it all. It's a painting of the world, and existence, as a confusing struggle to grasp its very essence; constantly torn between the passions of Heaven and Hell.

Jesu's first releases, the Heartache EP and the self-titled album were awesome, and were in familiar sonic territories if one's familiar with Justin Broadrick's previous band Godflesh. But when Justin was showing signs of calming down on the last EP called Silver, I was worried about what this was leading to and how it was going to sound on the full length album to come. What I have here is a really awesome digipack complete with a cute slipcase of their 2007 full length album called Conqueror. So what's the verdict, you ask?


Jesu does indeed progress in this new found style influenced by the guitar layering and atmosphere building ideas as displayed and pioneered by those shoegazing bands from over a decade or two ago. This album is not as straightforward and one dimensioned as that sentence might hint but I was just giving the ol' heads up. Also I had to mention it, now that shoegazing is becoming a frequently used term in your favourite metal forums all of a sudden, when all those bands were completely treated as no-way-dude by the metal folks back then. You now have the whole post-metal scene which borrows a lot of these ideas, you even have a one-man black metal project turned into a substandard shoegazer band called Alcest which is apparently quite kvlt in the Necro and Grim©® circles. Jesu though, is one band that does it absolutely right.


The title track begins in a pretty usual way. Industrial noise, programmed drums and then the sludgy big riff. It's still signature Justin histrionics but there's a few layers of trippy soundscapes and the soft poppy vocal lines that simply serve as another instrumental layer and not as the mouthpiece of the band. The second track Old Year is a little darker and eerier than the first but all the aforementioned elements are still intact.


Transfigure again begins with this slow brooding yet beautiful riff-melody accompanied by those vocals I was talking about earlier. How marvelously there are minimal changes yet the riff resolves to the same three note melody. Around 4 and a half, I was trying to figure out where they were going to take this, when there's this near-minute-long subtle melody bit over the riffs that soon closes the song out in style.


Weightless & Horizontal begins with just eerie synths, joined then the big riffs and then the vocals. Later when these vocals go unaccompanied for a couple of lines with the guitars joining in again, though expectedly, was a cool little touch that would've sounded just corny and done-to-death in most other hands. They do the same with the synths going unaccompanied and this time both the vocals and guitars go crashing in. Ten epic minutes go by without boring the shit out of you. Just pointing out the little nuances in songwriting which otherwise is quite minimalistic except the grand sonic sequences which translates to something new to notice every time you spin this.


Brighteyes is the band both at its the heaviest and softest. At the same time. The downtuned, palm muted, slow, sludgy guitar chords for the tragic sounding laconic pop melody is an idea that keeps working on this album but the contrast is on full display right here. The drone that these guys are known for come out in flying colours on this song too. One of the picks of the album for me. Wait a sec, come out in flying colours? Have you heard anyone who's not a teacher or a boring uncle visiting you as a kid use that term, till right fucking now?



Another thing that you'll feel by the end of this. As heavy, intense, distorted and sludgy as this can get, there's no denying the fact that this can be the most uplifting music this side of...everything. It's the progressions for sure, the mood and the atmosphere built around them, not to mention the melancholic vocals that add to the dream-like music throughout the album. And damn good and understated job by Ted Parsons (Prong) on the drums too. This is ace, different from the earlier sounds and different from everything else out there; still is ace.


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For the country that invented the genre in the first place, the UK metal scene is dead. The majority of metal bands you'll find on these shores are trying to relive the NWOBHM years or just joining the international community of incredibly generic bands, of any genre. With a couple of notable exceptions, there are no British metal bands at the moment doing anything fresh or original. That is, until you encounter Jesu.

Hailing from Birmingham (the home of many legendary bands down the years), Jesu are a three piece, led by songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Justin K. Broadrik (a man who's been involved in thousands of musical projects, most notably Godflesh). They play industrial ambient music, with obvious influences from 'post metal' bands such as Pelican and Isis. However, you couldn't name one artist who plays industrial, ambient or 'post metal' music that sound anything like Jesu. They've created their own sound, and it works incredibly.

I think the first thing that hits you about Jesu is the vocals. They're entirely clean, and while quite frequent, they aren't at all the most important aspect of the music, more a vehicle for expressing the lyrics and themes. Justin has a very good voice, even though you rarely get to hear it on its own without any effects (don't worry though, there's no Cynic vocals here, just some delay and echoes). Most of the time his vocal lines are very droning, but they're never monotonous, just simple melodies repeated frequently. Don't let this put you off though, because as I said, Justin isn't a 'frontman', there's no spotlight-grabbing in the vocal department, and even if you don't like them (which I doubt anyway) they're easily ignored.

As the vocals are simply there to accommodate Justin's lyrics, they certainly need to be noticed. The lyrics are incredibly cryptic, but they will always stick in your head, as the words are always used sparingly, and are made to count. The way I see it, the album deals with experiences all people go through, and why they are truly important to our development, and in, I suppose 'conquer' life. The aspects of life that I see Justin talking about include love, home, youth, modesty and respect. The lyrics are definitely open to interpretation, but however you view them, they are memorable and worth thinking about past the time you're listening to the album.

The synthesisers are applied in a way which you see often in famous British bands. They have pop sensibility, and know how to make melodies work so that they make the whole song remain in your head without any particular 'hooks' that make them memorable (or, in all fairness, irritating). They are certainly more prominent than in Jesu's earlier work, but they combine with the other instruments very well.

The guitars and bass are, I suppose, the only things which really makes Conqueror a metal album. On Jesu's self titled debut full length, the guitars were the driving force behind the music, with droning doomy riffs keeping a sense of direction. This time around they are strictly in the background, only creating a palette for the synths and vocals to paint with. There are a few guitar leads (and I think I hear a few solos too), but they aren't particularly different from the synth melodies throughout the album. The guitar tone and production is absolutely perfect, very fuzzy and low, but not so much that it dominates any one of the songs. However, their presence can be subconsciously felt. For example, halfway into the opening title track, the guitar changes to some strange effects while the rest of the band continues in the same fashion. You can tell that only a small change has been made but instantly the layered atmosphere of the music goes away. Of course it's only temporary but it indicates what importance the guitar and bass still has, even if they aren't the most important factor anymore.

Much like the guitars, the drums are not meant to be flashy. Almost completely devoid of fills, or anything else which shows Ted Parsons' artist mettle for that matter, the drums simply keep the beat, but it works. The drumming helps keep your emotions indecisive, as the tempo and backing of the music is incredibly depressing, but the melodies are almost entirely in major keys. Only on 'Transfigure' do the drums have any particular speed to them, it works there also, and it only proves what I said about deciding what emotion they're giving off, as 'Transfigure' is one of the most uplifting songs on the album.

Jesu's first album was good. It was industrial drone and it was effective at expressing the feelings Justin had. Then, their next EP 'Silver' was a change in sound and a step up, people were getting their hopes up and Conqueror delivers. It's essentially one long piece as all of the tracks have the same atmosphere, and it should be considered as a work in itself, not a collection of works. From start to finish Jesu are modest about what they do, and there are no buildups, no standout moments, no standout tracks, just an immense soundscape, and you know what? It's a breath of fresh air into this style of music and this country's music. It's beautiful.

I thoroughly enjoyed the self-titled debut full-length. I was unsure what Jesu of what to expect when i discovered a second full-length was on the cards, i suppose that's the beauty behind Jesu, you never know what you're in for. However, with mystery comes apprehension. I felt a significant amount of that when i first pressed play on the title track for the album, 'Conqueror'. I had read various reports that Jesu were going to lean towards other genres instead of focusing their main efforts on Drone and Ambient, so it could be said i was somewhat fearful. As i stated in my review for the debut album, i was never much of a fan of the Drone genre until Jesu came along and when i heard reports that Jesu were going to delve into the Shoegaze and Pop areas of music i was somewhat confused. One of the aforementioned genres is completely new to me and the other is one i steer clear from. Doubts were growing, apprehension was mounting and the sweat was running down my face.


With that said, i was actually pleasantly surprised. 'Conqueror' has been steadily playing on my laptop since i came across it. Although some of the original elements that made Jesu so appealing are still there, a lot is different. Jesu have a different sound about them. The music washes over you and drowns you in a warm feeling. Something the debut album didn't do. 'Conqueror' is still slow, but its never dull. The master that is Justin Broadrick is a highly talented vocalist and musician, although not all the credit should go to him. People are quick to forget Diarmuid Dalton and Ted Parsons, myself included. As aforementioned, 'Conqueror' has an entirely different atmosphere and tone. Its not as heavy for me. Its softer, more accessible and portrays a swelling amount of aggression in an entirely different manner.


The guitars are quintessential. The droning riffs create a harmonious and ambient tone. The vocals are the most improved aspect of the music. Justin is by far a better vocalist now than he was on the debut release. Uncompromising screams are no longer the order of the day. They have been successfully replaced by a softer and more entrancing style of vocals. One which suits the new approach Jesu have taken very well. 'Conqueror', to me, is by far more upbeat than the self-titled album. I'm usually weary of upbeat music as i thoroughly enjoy my depressing and angst filled music, but this pleasantly surprised me again and in many other ways. Jesu manage to convey negative emotions through positive music to good effect. I didn't think it was possible, but it most certainly is!


Some people are critical of the lack of variety this album possesses, but i feel it has enough to maintain the listeners interest by appealing to senses and emotions the listener may feel they never had. People perhaps may not take to the new style Jesu have seemingly adopted for now, however it may open up a whole new genre to avid fans of Jesu. With every negative comes a position with Jesu, which is incredibly appealing. At times the songs, due to there length, may become a little repetitive, but i'm used to that and generally speaking i tend to embrace it with open arms. I like my songs to be lengthy and repetitive so i can truly grasp the concept of the music and sample the atmosphere it creates.


Notable highlights include, Conqueror, Transfigure, Medicine and Stanlow.

When Broadrick announced that this album was going to be more poppy then his previous efforts, I was both pleased and disappointed. I loved the poppiness of the Silver EP, wherever it was the dreamy shoegaze of the title track (which was probably my favourite song of 2006) or the blissed out shimmer of Dead Eyes - But I also loved loved the drone that was in much of the Self Titled album. As far as I know, this is the first album Broadrick has ever tried to be really melodic, which I guess I why this album has a few lower points. Fortunately, there are some great moments here too.

There's a few things you notice straight away with this album. The first thing I noticed is that is sounds much more organic then previous releases. The drums sounds a lot rawer and a lot more live sounding, the guitars aren't as processed as they where in previous albums, and the vocals sound more natural. Another thing you'll notice is the big increase of electronics. There's always been plenty, but here, it's common for them to drive the songs, with the guitars taking a back seat. The synths are sounding better and better too- check out the opening of Mother Earth, which is full of chiming guitars and some really blissful synths, or Stanlow, the last and best track on the album, which has the electronics playing some catchy and melodic stuff over the usual downtuned guitars. Finally, the vocals- In keeping with the whole pop feeling, they're mixed nice and high, with less effects on them, which is both a good and a bad thing. Broadrick's voice has improved with every release, but the effects always added a real unique edge to his voice, which isn't there anymore. Also, some of his lyrics aren't too great, which wouldn't have mattered much previously, but not that they're audible it's a bit harder to take.

All these changes don't matter that much if all the songs are great. Well, most of them are, but there's a few disappointments here, that's for sure. Oddly enough, this album appears to be quite back loaded, with most of the best tracks later on. The first two tracks are probably the worst two songs on this album, and indeed the worst songs Jesu has ever made. Conqueror is really unfocused, and despite some sweet vocals, there's lots of crap "Ah-ahh, Ah-ahh, Ah-ahh, Ah-ahh..." kind of vocals that sound pretty ill-fitting. That's followed up by the even worse Old Year, which suffers many similar problems, mainly, a lack of focus and progression, and a really annoying drum beat ripped off Silver.

I can definitely imagine some people getting all bummed out when they start listening to this album. Never fear though, there's better songs around the corner. There's the rocking shoegaze of Transfigure, with some excellent MBV-style guitar and subtle, expressive synths. Brighteyes is quite similar to his older work, being really slow and depressive, while Mother Earth is by far the most happy and blissed out track you've ever heard, full of steady, pounding drums, cheery guitars and soaring synths, all of it ending in a long, jam kind of thing that is pretty damn sweet. In my opinion though, nothing quite compares to Stanlow, the final track, which is were JK Broadrick finally realises his vision of writing a pop album. This song is also the one furthest away from the Jesu of old- it's full of pristine synths and electronics, with the guitars pushed into the background. The vocals are gorgeous and work great with everything else. When the beautiful clean guitar comes in around the end, you know you can't get anything better then this. Possibly the song of 2007??

I'm not too sure about Jesu's new direction- I did love the first album's repetition and super loud guitars, but this style is also quite nice. Fans of shoegaze and post-rock will love this, as will most Jesu fans, but metal purists will definitely want to try before they buy (which at this point is still impossible. Leaks ftw!). Anyway, a great shoegaze-metal album with some low points, and some real high points. Recommended.