Spotlight On: Justin Broadrick/Jesu

Justin Broadrick/Jesu

A ways back now, I went through a phase where all I listened to was Industrial music. It started with my introduction to Nine Inch Nails and sort of downward spiraled from there, I couldn’t get enough. But eventually I grew board of just listening to one genre and wanted to branch out, as will happen with burgeoning Music Curators. But I still have an appreciation for good Industrial sounds, so years later when I was scouring around looking for albums to fix the Metal bender I was on, I came across the band Godflesh and, upon hearing them described as an Industrial Metal band, wondered how I missed them the first time around.

So I sat down to listen to Streetcleaner, Godflesh’s “classic” debut LP. And hated it. It’s not often that I stop listening to an album less than halfway through because I can’t stand it. I will usually hold out to the end even if I don’t like something because I hate just giving up. But something, actually, almost everything, about Streetcleaner repulsed me. The turgidly slow pace, the barked vocals, the rock blender tone of the guitars. Everything. I probably did one of my emphatic “I will never trust whoever this musician is ever again” ranting things and used the album as a Frisbee from then on.

But who was it I was not trusting anymore? I didn’t have a name attached to Streetcleaner besides Godflesh and that later proved to be a good thing as, if I had associated a name to the band, it would have prolonged or even prevented my later discovery of Jesu. Jesu (pronounced “Yeh-Soo”) is the main project of one Justin Broadrick, an excessively prolific English musician who, as I have come to discover, is intrinsically linked to the evolution of Industrial, Metal and even Grindcore.

Broadrick has been creating music since the early 80’s with his one man Dark Ambient project Final (which continues today,) but since then has founded or been a part of a myriad of other bands. His main project of current is Jesu, a sometimes one-man band, sometimes trio, who create some of the finest Metalgaze known to man. Now you’re probably wondering: “what is Metalgaze?” Easy. It’s Heavy Metal mixed with Shoegaze, which is a heavily textured and overwhelmingly loud kind of Rock (I’ll explain more at a later date.)

Now, even under the banner of Metalgaze, it is difficult to truly confine Jesu’s sound as it incorporates elements of Downtempo Electronics, Drone Metal and Industrial. But the interesting thing about it is that, despite being classified a Metal band, which brings certain connotations of doom and gloom in this day and age, I find Jesu to be a very uplifting project. This is ironic

considering the sort of depressed nature of Broadrick’s lyrics (and song titles, read: “I Can Only Disappoint You.”) But seriously, I feel amazingly contented when I hear Broadrick’s signature rumbling roar of a guitar sound. It’s very distinct, he only uses certain sounds, so once you hear his pallet you will always know it’s him on guitar. The music he crafts with Jesu is very expansive, spacious even. It rumbles but does not often grind and being the master of textures that he is, Broadrick washes much of his work in Jesu with downright pleasurable synthesizer sounds. The slow tempo and lengthiness of the compositions he creates gives you time for the music to sink in and really make you feel like you’re drifting into another state of consciousness, a place where things move leisurely through a cascade of thundering echoes.

Despite only being active since 2003, Jesu has built up quite an extensive discography, with several full-length works and a veritable sea of EP’s. This kind of prolificness reflects the overall workaholic behavior of Broadrick. I was exploring his other work when I discovered, to my shock, that Justin Broadrick had been the brain behind Godflesh. The same man who created such gorgeous work as Jesu’s Conqueror and Lifeline EP had created Streetcleaner? At first I was a little freaked out, but I’m not going to fault a musician’s entire body of work because of one bad album. And as Jesu has shown, and continues to show, it is possible for a musician to mature and grow beyond their own restraints. In that regard Jesu’s consistency of quality releases is a powerful victory for Broadrick, who thankfully has almost entirely abandoned his one-note bark In favor of an actual singing voice that could lull to into peaceful sleep if it wanted.

In closing, I’d like to recommend that to start you’re exploration of Jesu, you begin with either their second LP, Conqueror, which features the full trio of Broadrick, bass player Diarmuid Dalton and drummer Ted Parsons, or his Lifeline EP, which features Broadrick himself, accompanied only by his guitar and drum machines. However, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you should check out my favorite Jesu release out there: the Infinity LP, which consists of one 50 minute long track that is, in my opinion, Broadrick’s most compelling work. If you’re made unsure by the genre tag of “Metal,” just think of it as really heavy Ambient Rock. And get ready to bliss out. Cheers.

Recommended Listening:

Conqueror (2007, Hydra Head/Daymare)

Lifeline (2007, Hydra Head/Daymare)

Infinity (2009, Avalanche/Daymare)

Opiate Sun (2009, Caldo Verde)

Tracklisting:

01: “Losing Streak”

02: “Brighteyes”

03: “Lifeline”

04: “You Wear Their Masks”

05: “The Playgrounds Are Empty”