ALBUM REVIEW: …So Unknown – Jesus Piece

JESUS PIECE made a pretty sizable impact in the metallic hardcore scene towards the end of the last decade. If CODE ORANGE and KNOCKED LOOSE were right out front, the Philadelphians’ 2018 debut full-length Only Self had them snapping at their heels with its industrial-flecked aggression. Strange then that it’s taken them nearly five years to follow it up; although as drummer Luis Aponte was keen to emphasise to us in an upcoming feature, the five-piece never actually went away, and they’ve now channelled all the growth and struggle of the past few years into their Century Media Records debut …So Unknown.

As sophomore efforts go, this album does exactly what it needs to, hammering home all the best bits of the debut while picking up on some of its more ambitious ideas and executing them a little more confidently and cohesively. What that means first of all is that …So Unknown carries an abundance of aggro, and it demonstrates that outright with opener In Constraints as brutal gutturals and bludgeoning riffs grab the listener with full and immediate force. This is certainly the primary gear of the record – no doubt as anyone familiar with the band would’ve expected – and if you came here for violence there’s not one of these ten tracks that will leave you wanting.

As for the growth in JESUS PIECE’s sound though, generally …So Unknown just feels that little bit more atmospheric and expansive than its predecessor. If Only Self’s closing pair of I and II hinted most obviously at the band’s ambient and ‘post’ influences, it was actually when they wove such elements more directly into their usual fare – most of all on In The Silence – where those ideas felt most accomplished. …So Unknown seems to grasp that far more consistently, with tracks like Tunnel Vision, Stolen Life, and especially the middle highlight of recent single Silver Lining all presenting more dynamic takes on the quintet’s metallic hardcore fury that make the record feel bigger and broader without ever really taking away from the sense that the band are right in your face.

All told this makes for an ultimately more engaging listen than the already very strong Only Self, one that’s slightly less predictable and crucially one that doesn’t peter out as some might have suggested of the last couple of tracks on that record. It’s a tight and taut 28 minutes with not an ounce of fat on it, and it’s made even more muscular in the steady hands of producer Randy LeBoeuf – a mainstay in the liner notes of beefy hardcore records everywhere over the past few years – who brings a sound out of the band that feels both precise and powerful yet raw and visceral at the same time.

And so this record is essentially JESUS PIECE doing everything they needed to for album number two. Bigger, harder and more ambitious than that which came before, it may have taken them a while to get here, but …So Unknown is all the fuel they’ll need to keep running with those at the very front of the pack. UK readers, get yourselves an Outbreak ticket and don’t miss these guys when they bring these tracks to Manchester this summer – devastation guaranteed.

Rating: 8/10

…So Unknown is set for release on April 14th via Century Media Records.

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