Ascension (Jesu album)

Last updated

Ascension
Jesu-Ascension.jpg
Studio album by
Released10 May 2011 (2011-05-10)
Recorded20102011 at Avalanche
Genre Post-metal, shoegazing
Length61:34
Label Caldo Verde (CV013)
Producer Justin Broadrick
Jesu chronology
Christmas
(2010)
Ascension
(2011)
Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 75/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The A.V. Club A [3]
Consequence of Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Metal Storm 8.3/10 [6]
Pitchfork Media 7.0/10 [7]
PopMatters 7/10 [8]
Prefix Magazine7.0/10 [9]
Revolver 3.5/5 [10]
Rock Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Ascension is the third studio album by the British post-metal band Jesu. The album was released on 10 May 2011 through Caldo Verde Records. [12] Ascension is the first full-length studio album released by Jesu since 2007's Conqueror . [7] [13] On 8 June 2011, Daymare Recordings released the album in Japan with a bonus disc containing four additional tracks unavailable on the original release. In August 2018, the album was reissued on vinyl via American record label Robotic Empire and featured brand new mixes for each song by Justin Broadrick, as well as new mastering provided by John Golden of Golden Mastering.

Contents

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Fools"8:12
2."Birth Day"5:09
3."Sedatives"5:10
4."Broken Home"8:52
5."Brave New World"4:13
6."Black Lies"5:27
7."Small Wonder"7:31
8."December"7:51
9."King of Kings"6:24
10."Ascension"2:45
Total length:61:34
Japanese edition only bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Fools" (Alternative version)8:07
2."Birth Day" (Alternative version)5:08
3."King of Kings" (Alternative version)6:43
4."King of Pride"6:53
Total length:26:50

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godflesh</span> English industrial metal band

Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick and G. C. Green (bass) renamed the band and decided to use a drum machine for percussion. Melding heavy metal with industrial music and later with electronic music and dub, Godflesh's sound is widely regarded as a foundational influence on other industrial metal and post-metal acts and as significant to both experimental and extreme metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesu (band)</span> British experimental metal band

Jesu are a British experimental metal band formed in 2003 by Justin Broadrick following the breakup of his band Godflesh. It shares its name with the last song on Hymns, the final album of Godflesh's initial run. Jesu's sound is heavily layered and textured, incorporating a diverse mix of influences. Broadrick himself has stated that "...it's very loosely speaking pop/rock/metal/electronica ... I'm intentionally writing what I consider to be coherent 'pop' songs".

<i>Jesu</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Jesu

Jesu is the first full-length album by British experimental music band Jesu, released through Hydra Head Records on 8 December 2004. Unlike the Heart Ache EP, where Justin Broadrick executed all instrumentation himself, this release features Ted Parsons on drums, Diarmuid Dalton on bass, and a guest appearance by Paul Neville on guitar on the track "Man/Woman". The album was released in Japan by Daymare Recordings and contains two additional instrumental remixes on a bonus disc. In February 2005, a double vinyl picture disc set was released by Hydra Head, limited to 1000 copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Broadrick</span> English musician, singer and songwriter

Justin Karl Michael Broadrick is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and industrial music. Following Godflesh's initial breakup in 2002, Broadrick formed the band Jesu.

<i>Streetcleaner</i> 1989 studio album by Godflesh

Streetcleaner is the debut studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 November 1989 through Earache Records and was reissued with a second disc of previously unreleased material on 21 June 2010. The album is widely acclaimed by critics and is often cited as a landmark release in industrial metal; though not the genre's first release, Streetcleaner helped define what industrial metal would become.

<i>Pure</i> (Godflesh album) 1992 studio album by Godflesh

Pure is the second studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 April 1992 through Earache Records. Though originally labeled only as industrial metal, the album has since been recognised as one of the earliest post-metal releases. Musically, Pure is rhythmically mechanical and features harsh guitars, with protracted songs and an abundance of deliberate repetition. Like much of Godflesh's music, it is regarded as particularly heavy and aggressive, and these elements helped it gain critical acclaim.

<i>Selfless</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Godflesh

Selfless is the third studio album by British industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 26 September 1994 in Europe and on 18 October 1994 through Earache and Columbia Records. Being the band's major-label debut, the record features a more conventional and rock-oriented sound compared to Godflesh's previous releases. It spawned two singles, "Xnoybis" and "Crush My Soul". The music video for the latter was directed by photographer Andres Serrano.

<i>Hymns</i> (Godflesh album) 2001 studio album by Godflesh

Hymns is the sixth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 23 October 2001 through Music for Nations and was the band's final album before breaking up in 2002. In 2010, Godflesh reformed and in 2014 released their comeback album A World Lit Only by Fire. Hymns had a troubled production and was intended to be distinct departure from Godflesh's intensely regimented industrial sound to something more traditionally hard rock. It was the band's second and final album to feature a live drummer rather than a drum machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Broadrick discography</span>

This is a partial discography of Justin Broadrick, a prolific English songwriter, guitarist, singer, producer and general multi-instrumentalist musician most known for being the leading force of the industrial metal band Godflesh. Broadrick is also recognized for his experimental project Jesu, his key contributions to the seminal grindcore album Scum (1987) by Napalm Death, and his strong presence in the electronic and industrial remix community.

<i>Jesu/Eluvium</i> 2007 EP by Jesu and Eluvium

Jesu/Eluvium is a split LP between Justin Broadrick's Jesu and Matthew Cooper's Eluvium. It was released through Hydra Head Records on July 5, 2007. The album was recorded at Broadrick's own Avalanche Studio. Broadrick and Cooper wrote, recorded and mixed their respective tracks with John Golden mastering all tracks. Broadrick featured the tracks he had produced later on the Jesu release Why Are We Not Perfect?.

<i>Opiate Sun</i> 2009 EP by Jesu

Opiate Sun is the fifth EP and tenth overall release by Jesu. It was released in America through Mark Kozelek's Caldo Verde label on 27 October 2009. Kozelek had been impressed by Justin Broadrick's performance when he saw him live in San Francisco in 2007, and approached Broadrick about putting a release out on Caldo Verde. Daymare Recordings released the album in Japan on 6 November 2009. The Daymare version of the album contains an exclusive bonus track.

<i>Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came</i> 2013 studio album by Jesu

Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came is the fourth studio album by the British post-metal band Jesu. It was released on 23 September 2013 via frontman Justin Broadrick's own record label, Avalanche Recordings.

<i>Heart Ache/Dethroned</i> 2010 compilation album by Jesu

Heart Ache/Dethroned is a double EP release by the Welsh band Jesu. Released on 16 November 2010 through Hydra Head Records, it combines the band's out-of-print, debut 2004 EP Heart Ache with a previously unreleased EP titled Dethroned. Jesu founder, Justin Broadrick, began working on Dethroned around the same time as Heart Ache in 2004, but it was not completed until 2010. Broadrick said the release of Dethroned took so long because he didn't want it to be a stand-alone EP and was waiting for the right album with which to combine it. Broadrick chose a reissue of Heart Ache to pair with Dethroned because they were written around the same period and contained similarities to his previous band, Godflesh. He said, "Both Heart Ache and Dethroned, for me, contain a huge amount of Godflesh to some extent, it's that period when the ghost of Godflesh still somewhat influenced the Jesu sound and songwriting."

<i>Decline & Fall</i> (EP) 2014 EP by Godflesh

Decline & Fall is an EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 2 June 2014 through frontman Justin Broadrick's own record label, Avalanche Recordings. The EP is the second release by Godflesh since Hymns (2001), following the 2013 single "F.O.D. ". It precedes the group's seventh studio album, A World Lit Only by Fire (2014), and the two were recorded in the same sessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diarmuid Dalton</span> British musician and songwriter

Diarmuid Dalton is an Irish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bass guitarist of post-metal bands, Jesu and Iroha. Dalton frequently collaborates with Justin Broadrick, who is the founder of Godflesh and Jesu.

<i>A World Lit Only by Fire</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Godflesh

A World Lit Only by Fire is the seventh studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 7 October 2014 through frontman Justin Broadrick's own label, Avalanche Recordings, and was the band's first full-length album since 2001's Hymns. It was preceded by the digital singles "New Dark Ages" in August 2014 and "Imperator" in September 2014, and it was followed by several international tours.

<i>Posthuman</i> (JK Flesh album) 2012 studio album by JK Flesh

Posthuman is the debut studio album by JK Flesh, a solo moniker of English musician Justin Broadrick, and was released on 7 May 2012 through 3BY3. Though Broadrick had been creating music under the title of JK Flesh since the early 1990s, Posthuman marked the first release of the project.

<i>Jesu/Sun Kil Moon</i> 2016 studio album by Jesu and Sun Kil Moon

Jesu / Sun Kil Moon is a collaborative studio album by American indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and British experimental act Jesu, released on January 21, 2016 on Caldo Verde Records and Rough Trade. The album also features guest musicians Will Oldham, members of Low, Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Jesu and Sun Kil Moon including drummer Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth played six shows in February and March 2016 to support the album.

<i>Streetcleaner: Live at Roadburn 2011</i> 2013 live album by Godflesh

Streetcleaner: Live at Roadburn 2011 is the first live album from English industrial metal band Godflesh. The release was recorded on 14 April 2011 at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. Apart from being the group's debut live album, it was also the first time they played Streetcleaner in its entirety.

<i>Post Self</i> 2017 studio album by Godflesh

Post Self is the eighth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 17 November 2017 through frontman Justin Broadrick's own record label, Avalanche Recordings, and was the band's second album since reforming in 2010. The single "Post Self" was released for streaming on 31 October 2017, and a second track, "Be God", was released for streaming on 11 November 2017, six days in advance of the full release. Godflesh avoided interviews in the wake of Post Self, hoping to retain some of the album's purity and give listeners a chance to digest the music in a vacuum.

References

  1. "Ascension Reviews" . Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  2. Jurek, Thom. Ascension at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  3. Heller, Jason (11 May 2011). "Jesu: Ascension" . Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  4. De Rebere, Paul. "Album Review: Jesu – Ascension" . Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  5. Thomson, Jamie (1 July 2011). "Jesu: Ascension – review". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  6. "Jesu – Ascension review". 30 June 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  7. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (6 May 2011). "Review: Ascension". Pitchfork . Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  8. Mathers, Ian (23 June 2011). "Jesu: Ascension" . Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  9. Jenkins, Craig (30 June 2011). "Album Review: Jesu - Ascension" . Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  10. Geist, Brandon (12 May 2011). "Review: Jesu – Ascension". Archived from the original on 4 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  11. "Jesu – Ascension". 13 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  12. "Ascension – Overview". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 May 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. Fitzmaurice, Larry (30 March 2011). "New Release: Jesu: Ascension". Pitchfork . Retrieved 8 May 2011.