Do you ever remember when you first purchased a record by a band or individual (does not have to be their first record by any means) that turned out to be a huge door opening into their music (whether that even be bad or good is probably up for debate)? Well, this is the case for me with several different outfits; and in this particular case, my wife and I had been talking to our friend that worked at a certain record store when he blurted out that I needed to check out Jesu. Admittedly, I was skeptical as he lauded the self-titled debut with heaps of praise even though I had never heard of the band (and considering how he was talking about the band, they would certainly have been up my alley); he convinced me to purchase said album with much cajoling and, in hind sight, lying regarding what the music was like. So, I missed out on the initial release of Heart Ache (though considering it was initially released on a small label out of the United Kingdom, missing the record was not so surprising or difficult of a feat); but, I certainly grabbed the EP (or album depending on how you view it) as soon as I could.
Brutish melancholy and severe loneliness dominate the feel of Heart Ache as Justin Broadrick (who performs all of this record solo) harnesses the harsh guitars and mechanized drumming of Godflesh and turns it into a new sound that travels into new musical waters; both mammoth tracks (hovering near twenty minutes each) are emotionally crushing leaving listeners in a numb state resembling an emotionless husk. The shear sonic weight of both the title track and “Ruined” is staggering and might be one of the heavier records to grace these ears, but this is not to intimate that either track is all screeching and howling because it most definitely is not; instead, both pieces seemingly traverse the more despondent depths of human emotion without the whole mad at the world sound (this is definitely more hopeless and resigned sounding) while steering clear of most metal clichés.
For long time Jesu fanatics, the second piece of this release is particularly important because it dates back to around the time of Heart Ache’s initial release; and, while Dethroned may not be what many hoped would be a throwback to the self titled mode of songwriting, it is, at times, more aggressive sounding than the recent deluge of Jesu material and certainly more raw sounding being devoid of the pop sheen that Broadrick in which has wrapped those latter releases. The title track (an exercise in measured aggression while the interesting vocal effects set this apart) and “Annul” (with its machine like industrial crunch and awesome disaffected sounding vocals) are much more in the semi industrial sound of Godflesh than anything else Jesu has done, whereas “Aureated Skin” seems to presage the Jesu material heard on Opiate Sun.
Simply for having Heart Ache widely available, this release is completely worth getting because it is a great record; but Dethroned’s inclusion makes it even more worth checking out if you have never heard Jesu previously.
Rating:
Heart Ache: 8.7
Dethroned: 7.8
