They’ve been building up considerable momentum on the live circuit for a few years, but Philadelphia-based metalcore quintet Jesus Piece haven’t been given a proper chance to prove themselves on record until now. Their incendiary on-stage performances have helped to sustain the buzz around the band since they released their self-titled debut EP in mid-2015, months after forming, but they’ve been taking their time crafting their first full-length statement. It’s no wonder: how many bands do you know who have struggled to bridge the gap between live performances and studio output?
It can be akin to capturing lightning in a bottle, but that extra gestation period has allowed the band to present the best version of themselves on ‘Only Self’, and it shows. Such has been the hype around them—particularly since their split single with Malice at the Palace last year—that they could have fully capitalised on it and knocked out a record that played into it. Thankfully, they’re much smarter than that, and as a result, the new material puts the older stuff in the shade. Opener ‘Lucid’ enters at a high dramatic pitch with an unsettling drone before erupting into life, keeping the listener guessing with rapid-fire tempo changes and abrupt shifts in tone that aren’t heard so much as felt.
Jesus Piece know how to elicit visceral responses to their music, and their secret weapon is producer Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Harm’s Way, Like Rats etc.), who evens out the band’s hefty, metallic assault and ensures all elements of their sound are given space to breathe. Bassist Anthony Marinaro benefits most of all from Nelson’s approach, the rumbling low-end on tracks like ‘Punish’ and ‘In the Silence’ cutting through even front man Aaron Heard’s guttural roar to add a layer of oppressive sludge to the band’s expansive sound. As if that wasn’t enough, the record clocks in at 32 minutes across 10 songs, stitched together and meant to be listened to as a self-contained piece. ‘Intense’ isn’t the word.
Living up to the promise shown by pre-release singles ‘Curse of the Serpent’ and ‘Neuroprison’, the record is as forceful and focused as we’ve come to expect from Jesus Piece. Everything is held together by powerhouse drummer Luis Aponte, whose work on this record (particularly ‘Workhorse’ and ‘Dog No Longer’) indicates that he’s made some serious strides in three years and should be heralded as one of the best in the scene before much longer. Still a relatively new name in metalcore circles, being given time to develop has definitely paid off for Jesus Piece on record.
It remains to be seen how they progress from here, but they save the most impressive cuts for last, with counterparts ‘I’ and ‘II’ cut from much different cloth than the rest of the record; their cavernous, menacing take on atmospheric doom a fully-realised version of the band’s more restrained side. We’re only given glimpses of that throughout ‘Only Self,’ a record that concerns itself more with creating a maelstrom of aggression, but the last two tracks offer a tantalising glimpse into the future, whatever form that may take. Never mind the hype; their debut album deserves —no, demands — to be experienced free of outside influence. Give yourself into it for half an hour or so and prepare to be floored.
GARETH O’MALLEY