Jesu

Conqueror

(Hydra Head)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

Justin Broadrick has downshifted markedly over the course of his career, from the grunting grindcore terseness of early Napalm Death to the more nuanced industrial muscle of Godflesh—and now, some 20-odd years after he began, to the dense and deliberate sound of Jesu.  Conqueror is a crystallization of Broadrick’s current influences, which largely include heavy shoegazers in the vein of My Bloody Valentine and melodic metal leaders like Isis (a frequent Jesu tourmate of late).

However, the bleak world view from Broadrick’s earlier work has remained intact.  He’s still smitten with crushing and chunky riffs, even if it now occasionally sounds like his band was recording in a tar pit.  This plodding pace suits the dirge-like quality of Jesu’s songs, and Broadrick’s droning and delicate vocals provide a welcome contrast throughout, even when he’s just intoning a series of soft oh-ohs, as on the title track.  Some of Conqueror’s considerable power is derived from dogged repetition, but that same quality does led to occasional monochromatic wheel-spinning.  More often than not, though, Jesu’s mechanical precision compels.