Customer Reviews

Conqueror

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

i had been long curious about this band and had read lots of praise for the past records. the adjectives used in the reviews drew me into a world of curiosity and interest. all the things that i had heard about Jesu proved to be true, but even more so. could it be that somethings are better than the hype can even allow?

usually, no. but, with Conqueror; all my expectations were surpassed.

first off all, hat's off to the album's designer. it's gorgeous. stark white glossy digipak with silver metallic ink printed on the transparent slipcase. the profile of a shadowy insustrial landscape against a blank sky signals the signs of things to come upon putting the cd into the stereo. a somewhat cold and detached sound..but full of style, grace and much warmth.

as the title track gently buzzes into play, i could feel my heart racing...as if i was listening to the sounds of white light being glazed over a kaleidescopic hourglass and reflecting through the multicoloured sands contained within. and within moments, a huge guitar riff that is pulverizing in it's crushing heavy slog, yet completely sweet and embracing a pop sensibility.

the production on Conqueror is nothing short of audio perfection. the tone of the guitars is handled with a diamond cut precision. the bass and drums obey within each song's structure and yet shine on their own with ease. all this would be just grand, but if the songs were crap, then what would it matter?

well, that's the real good news about this album...the songwriting is a delight to hear. it's catchy enough to easily creep into your head, but never so catchy that you'll be awake at night trying to get "that darn Jesu song" out of your head. this is part of the magic that this album holds. it is simple, gorgeous melodic songs that are easy to digest, yet demand repeated listens.

if i was forced to make reference points, i would point out M83, My Bloody Valentine,
or quite simply, Black Sabbath with a whole lot of sunlight.

**by the way, mine is the Japanese version of this album which includes an entire BONUS DISC with two long songs (approximately 30 extra minutes of music). these two songs are great; but differ quite a bit structurally then the main album. there are less vocals and lots of fuzzy, warm drones sneak in and take over the music for extended periods of time...really nice and worth the extra cash.

i had been long curious about this band and had read lots of praise for the past records. the adjectives used in the reviews drew me into a world of curiosity and interest. all the things that i had heard about Jesu proved to be true, but even more so. could it be that somethings are better than the hype can even allow?

usually, no. but, with Conqueror; all my expectations were surpassed.

first off all, hat's off to the album's designer. it's gorgeous. stark white glossy digipak with silver metallic ink printed on the transparent slipcase. the profile of a shadowy insustrial landscape against a blank sky signals the signs of things to come upon putting the cd into the stereo. a somewhat cold and detached sound..but full of style, grace and much warmth.

as the title track gently buzzes into play, i could feel my heart racing...as if i was listening to the sounds of white light being glazed over a kaleidescopic hourglass and reflecting through the multicoloured sands contained within. and within moments, a huge guitar riff that is pulverizing in it's crushing heavy slog, yet completely sweet and embracing a pop sensibility.

the production on Conqueror is nothing short of audio perfection. the tone of the guitars is handled with a diamond cut precision. the bass and drums obey within each song's structure and yet shine on their own with ease. all this would be just grand, but if the songs were crap, then what would it matter?

well, that's the real good news about this album...the songwriting is a delight to hear. it's catchy enough to easily creep into your head, but never so catchy that you'll be awake at night trying to get "that darn Jesu song" out of your head. this is part of the magic that this album holds. it is simple, gorgeous melodic songs that are easy to digest, yet demand repeated listens.

if i was forced to make reference points, i would point out M83, My Bloody Valentine,
or quite simply, Black Sabbath with a whole lot of sunlight.

**by the way, mine is the Japanese version of this album which includes an entire BONUS DISC with two long songs (approximately 30 extra minutes of music). these two songs are great; but differ quite a bit structurally then the main album. there are less vocals and lots of fuzzy, warm drones sneak in and take over the music for extended periods of time...really nice and worth the extra cash.

This album took a little adjusting for me. I admit I really liked the debut self-titled album with it's dark and gloomy atmosphere. This is NOT that album. Conqueror is much brighter and optimistic. I went into it expecting a return to the darker (not sure why now that I think about it) and thus took several listens to figure out if I liked it. I don't like it, I LOVE it. Each song is as beautiful as it is unique. Tracks to pay attention to are Transfigure, Weightless & Horizontal and Stanlow.

On a different note. I had purchased the US release which was either misplaced or stolen shortly after recieveing it. When I went to re-order it found that there was an import version that had the Sunrise and Sunset tracks that were not going to be released in the states. I thought what the hell and bought the import. It was worth every penny. If it is still available by the time you are reading this, by all means get the two extra tracks. You won't be disappointed.

I suppose you could read this mantra, this virtual cadence (Justin sings it over and over) from "Weightless & Horizontal" in several different ways- to stay anchored, focused, to not get swept away in the things that don't matter. I find it oddly surprising that people are a bit focused on the "poor" production of this record, because it sounds excruciatingly organic to me. Seeing Jesu live in NYC just solidified that. Personally, I wouldn't change much about the production. I was never a huge Godflesh fan, but I did LOVE his earlier, less-known work with Head of David, which Jesu reminds me of a little. It's a great soundtrack for a dark, rainy day. Just try not to lose yourself.

Having never heard Heart Ache, I can't claim to be a definitive expert on all facets of this Justin Broadrick project (although I know enough about Napalm Death, Techno Animal, Ice, Final, and Godflesh to consider this my favorite of his many iterations).

With that said, I can honestly say I was somewhat disappointed by Conqueror. It's a solid batch of songs on their own (if somewhat repetitive--but that's to be expected), but something gets lost in the mix--namely, guitars. Broadrick seems to have moved away from the chugging, percussive distorted guitar rhythms that made Godflesh (and the self-titled Jesu album) so powerful in favor of a dreamier, more melodic approach. While that's perfectly fine in-and-of-itself--"Medicine" and "New Year" in particular are beautifully structured--mixing the guitars so low in favor of synthesizer drones and vocoderized vocals completely undercuts the beauty of the noise, particularly in the latter case, in which Broadrick's singing is ever-so-slightly off-key (which is inexcusable if you're using a vocoder in the first place).

Not to say this is a bad album--quite the contrary. Broadrick continues to tweak with the Jesu formula, with some considerable degree of success--"Transfigure," for instance, effectively blends the softer, more melodic guitar with Broadrick's lullaby vocals and airy synths to considerable effect. Likewise for the aforementioned "Medicine," which will probably draw the most Hum comparisons of any song on the album (this is a good thing). For all its strengths, however, it treads perilously close to a misstep for Broadrick, almost sounding like the album he would have made before Silver rather than after it; although I usually hate to encourage static behavior in any artist, it would be interesting to hear this album if it were mixed more like the self-titled album--that is, with the guitars at a roar, the vocals scraping the edges, and the synths as background accompaniment rather than featured attraction.

Still, this album is very much worth buying new, which is more than can be said for much of what's out there.

Very promptly and safely delivered to my door.
This post-metal album is meditative, touching and uplifting. The tempo of most songs is slow and soul-searching, so all the melodies and different instruments can be absorbed at a comfortable pace. Vocals add another level of substance and the accompanying artwork is fitting.
Lyrics included.

Man, how cool would it be to be Justin Broadrick? Not the view-from-the-end-of-a-noose part, but the genre-defying credibility part. Guy's got so much cred folks bow down on the street when he passes. When he goes out, anyway. And even though he's been steadily mining emo territory since disbanding metal misanthropes Godflesh, when he puts down the gun and picks up a pen we find reason to care all over again. And well, Conqueror changes not a god damn thing. The funeral march shoegaze of "Old Year" reminds me, abstractly, of "We All Falter" from 2004's self-titled ("Now you're stuck in the old year/ but I believe in the new year" is crude but effective), and the buoyant, almost poppy "Medicine" introduces jangly guitars while still keeping the tempo at a lethargic crawl. I kept waiting for a heavier moment like "Man/Woman" off the first LP, but it never comes. And therein lies the problem. While thematically strong, musically Conqueror is one of the most stilted and repetitive CD's I've ever heard. There's nothing wrong with keeping it simple - Broadrick's made a career out of it - but this is just too much. The cymbals crash, Broadrick wails, whine, rinse and repeat. There's nothing here to suggest Broadrick is branching out or incorporating other sounds into his repertoire. Damn it, I need some aggression with my angst! Like all Hydra Head releases, Conqueror benefits from nice packaging and layout, but there's something missing that prevents it from being the head turner that Jesu and Silver (and Heartache) were. Still, it'll take more then a couple of speedbumps to derail Jesu's cult status among the faithful. If you're a fan of meditative, introspective music, put this on and prepared to be conquered.

Well, I bought this CD the moment it was released. (I had actually heard before it was out- but...) What's my verdict? The opening title track is catchy in it's crawling hypnotic groove- heavy guitars and sung vocals. Since Justin Broadrick killed off Godflesh in 01' he's actually been singing. Each release shows Broadrick getting more and more bold in his attempt at singing traditionally- the results are hit and miss. Mostly- it's a hit. Some tracks while good don't quite live up to repeated listens quite the way earlier Jesu and Godflesh does, but having said that- it's still is solid. Recommended tracks: "Medicine"- which has the hookiest vocal melody ever by Justin w/possibly one of the heaviest guitar sounds of the band's career. "Mother Earth" while at first feels plotty- launches into a sonic assault of slowed down doom the likes of which Cathedral wishes they could pull off. (With all due respect) Are there a few meandering moments here and there? Yes. But it doesn't overshadow what's good about the record.

(why you can't go back and correct a mistake as simple as the number of stars is beyond me).

Anyways, jesu's second full-length album, "Conqueror", absolutely delivers. Justin's vocals, although nothing stunning, are very serviceable for this type of project in which he doesn't require the angst driven growl of Godflesh or the superpipes of something like The Mars Volta. The production is extremely good and separation of all the elements is both apparent and cohesive.

jesu hovers in that middle spot between My Bloody Valentine (a noted influence) and maybe something like Nadja. While there isn't the brave musicality of Isis (nor the screaming/growling) or Sunn O))), jesu manages some really beautiful moments that only a major chord can bring. There's nothing flashy about the drums, just really consistant and thumping. The use of synths is also quite welcome in that it adds another texture to the music.

I'd recommend anyone that likes this try out MVB "Loveless" (but then it's assumed you already have done so as a segue into this band), Nadja's "Bodycage", "Touched", "Thaumogenesis" (even though with an average song length at around 20-min. it takes a bit more patience than most listens), Isis' "Ocean" and "Panopticon", and maybe even Tim Hecker's "Haunt Me Haunt Me, Do It Again" and "Harmony in Ultraviolet" for something that takes the wall-of-sound philosophy into the more quiet arena.

Beautiful music. Very far from Godflesh.
The comparison with My Bloody Valentine is justified, but it also reminds me the kind of atmosphere in Mark Kozelek's music (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon).