Heart Ache & Dethroned

Both of the records on this expanded reissue are rooted in the beginning stages of Justin Broadrick’s Jesu project, but the *Dethroned* EP wasn’t wrapped until 2010. Because of this, you’re basically getting a six-year snapshot of how the singer/multi-instrumentalist shed the industrial strength shackles of Godflesh — and to a lesser extent, the post-apocalyptic productions of Techno Animal — in favor of cloudier pastures. “Metalgaze” music, if you will, although there’s more going on here than guttural guitars and the exorcised spirit of Kevin Shields, circa 1991. In the case of Jesu’s first proper record, 2004’s *Heart Ache* EP, Broadrick serves up a pair of 20-minute pieces that graze everything from piston-powered rhythms to sludge-caked doom riffs. Not to mention a piano progression or two. As for *Dethroned*, it features four tracks that hover around the seven-minute mark and err more on the staring-at-the-sun side of things. Whether this is a hint of what’s to come next or not, it’s yet another compelling chapter in the evolution of a true heavy-metal icon.

There are few artists operative at the fringes of popular music today whose sound has not been in some way or another informed or shaped by the works of Justin K Broadrick. As a founding member or sole proprietor of seminal outfits such as Godflesh, Napalm Death, Techno Animal, and Final, Broadrick has managed to help change or even define the now widespread genres of industrial and death metal, abstracted hip hop and dub, grindcore, and ambient electronics. So is also the case with his work in Jesu, who in the course of a very productive seven year existence have taken the churning pummel of his former project Godflesh, augmented it with the textural melody of 90s shoegaze rock and spawned a new sub-genre and the inevitable legions of imitators. And while imitators may abound, as the originator of this relatively newfound musical territory Jesu is still the clearly visible leader. For those who may only be vaguely familiar with the history and subsequent trajectory of Jesu the re-release of the debut EP, Heart Ache, may function as the most suitable starting place for the process of initial immersion and discovery. Over the span of two towering 20 minute tracks one can hear not only the smoldering remnants of Godfleshembedded in the aural tapestry, but also the foundational elements that would define the future of the Jesu lexicon - extended and hypnotic structures, overlapping multi-layered melodies, alternately harsh/beautiful sonic embellishments and a palpable sense of the human capacity to express feeling through the mode of song craft. While Heart Ache itself may be reason enough to warrant investigation by the uninitiated, the inclusion of the recently completed Dethroned EP as a part of this release gives further reason for new listeners and long time devotees to discover (or remember) why so many accolades lay heaped at the altar of Jesu. The 4 tracks from Dethroned were originally conceived and partially finished in 2004, but were only finally completed in 2010. Perhaps due to the length of time over which these tracks were created the full evolution of Jesu is apparent within their structures, fluctuating from suffocatingly heavy to delicately sparse and covering an emotional spectrum of considerable depth. While "full circle" might not be quite the appropriate term to describe the content of Dethroned there is a completeness to its statement, recalling the monuments of Jesu past while simultaneously pointing towards the ever widening path of its future.

Justin Broadrick's latest release gathers the previously unreleased four-track EP, Dethroned, and Heart Ache, Jesu's long out-of-print debut.

Justin Broadrick almost suffered a nervous breakdown in 2002 when his pioneering industrial-metal band Godflesh imploded. Yet it took only four months for him to release Heart Ache, the debut EP by his current project, Jesu. Named after the last track on Godflesh’s final album, Hymns, Jesu has become a unique entity…

This pairing of Justin K. Broadrick's Jesu releases offers an excellent way to look at the evolution of a project.

These days, it might sound foreign to try and release a debut record with just two songs that both stretch beyond the 15-minute mark, but UK experimental...