Jesus Piece - Only Self (Southern Lord) 2018
9
Philadelphia five-piece Jesus Piece come pummeling to your record player with a boulder heavy take on Hardcore and a backbone that is groovier than it has any right to be, and more cohesive and inventive than 99% of most other Hardcore acts in recent years. Only Self is the kind of album that cements a bands reputation for years to come and lays a clear challenge to other bands to come and raise their own bars significant amounts.
Granite heavy, with a clearly dynamic and groove lead rhythm section that provides guitars and vocals the depth and scope to spread itself in weird and wonderful ways free of a clinging and isolating impetus. It is full of jazz inspired moments, brutal blast-beat sections, vocals that sound as threatening and as vicious as Grady Avenell’s worst nightmares – and never once loses sight of the endgame. Complete and unrelenting sonic devastation.
This is an album by a band who are done with fucking around and want to heads of record executives and radio influencers adorned on spikes right and left of centre-stage, dripping blood and still warm. With the music on show as evidence here, the only way is superstardom, and the only road is through every other posing, insecure, uninspiring band that dare stand under the “Hardcore” banner right now. Sorry boys and girls… there is a new daddy in town. Jesus Piece are not your friends. They are your new goddamn bosses, and they mean to punish and push and fuck you up.
I for one think its about time someone came around who do not care about the past and push this genre fiery and fuming into the future.