The change in sound heralded on the Silver EP is taken further on this new album. The melancholic ecstasy of the debut album has now taken on a more hopeful tone. Instead of the thick and syrupy atmosphere present before, Justin Broadrick has opened up the music of Jesu to a more expansive feeling of freedom. The shift in sound is mirrored in the artwork of Conqueror: stretches of sky dwarfing the industrial buildings below, a far cry from the agoraphobic view out of the window that adorned the first album, dominate the record. It takes a little more listening to get into than previous Jesu releases but is definitely worth the effort.
It is impossible not to think of My Bloody Valentine when the album's title track starts up. The queasy, off-kilter noise of Loveless is an obvious influence on Jesu. This is blissful, psychedelic songwriting of a high standard. Granted there is very little pushing of the proverbial envelope but instead the craft of writing music that envelopes the listener is refined. In any case, Broadrick has pushed enough envelopes in his time to be indulged in writing some good, honest songs. The music is deceptively simple; grooves, riffs, melodies and lyrics that would be all right (or in the case of a couple of the lyrics, a little cringe worthy) on their own become euphorically intense when combined together.
Any of the songs here can be picked out as being an example of why this album is so good. A particularly great example is "Weightless & Horizontal," a slightly mid-paced piece (if anything can be slightly mid-paced!) that is a sublime piece of music. The positive spirit that permeates Conqueror is at its strongest on this song: every time I listen to it I get an urge to run out and do something important. The drums rise up throughout the song, becoming a thumping call to march forward in victory as Broadrick's slightly treated voice repeats the refrain "Try not to lose yourself" over a wall of riffs. I am guessing that Ted Parsons has resumed his position at the drumming stool, if not, it is a bloody good impression of his drumming. The hard hitting beats are elegantly tight and simple, punching out holes in the fog of guitars and vocals.
As expected, the album is impeccably recorded and produced and it is no surprise that the further the volume is turned up, the better it sounds. There is plenty of space between the instruments, allowing the texture of each interlocking riff to be fully appreciated. There are of course the usual swells of physical sound pummelling the listener back and demanding all attention. All of the instruments sound gorgeous. The guitars are perfect; they have just the right amount of crunch balanced with a decent tone. I could listen to them on their own for the length of the album but luckily the bass, drums and miscellaneous noises (probably derived from the guitars in some way) fill out the songs like smoke in a burning house. It always sounds like each of the players is playing catch up with the others; they are not out of time but as one riff ends, another is already halfway through its arc. It feels like they are circling around the songs and the listener. The feeling is particularly strong towards the end of the album, especially on "Brighteyes," which is a strong contender along with "Weightless & Horizontal" for song of the year.
While it's not my favorite Jesu release, Conqueror is certainly more than worthy of the Jesu name. The eight pieces explore the lighter fringes of the Jesu sound and in spite of the huge distorted and downtuned guitars, this is the lightest album of heavy music I have heard. I mean this in the nicest possible way, Conqueror has all the Sturm of heavy metal in all its forms but none of the genre's Drang: this is a totally uplifting experience.
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