JESUS PIECE

In hardcore, the pit can be performative - clapping is replaced by stage jumps, cheering by backkicks or circle pitting. But there's always a difference between what you do and what you really feel, especially when you see a band with the pedigree of Jesus Piece. At a recent gig in New York, the quintet turned a typical indie live space into a war zone with people as stepstools, railings and wall-mounted tables as diving boards, and missiles made of everything that wasn't nailed down, including the disco ball. "The most important thing is the live performance," drummer Luis Aponte says of JP's venomous live reputation. "You can be in the studio and make the record sound crazy, but if you don't convey the same energy, the same feeling, when you play live, it just doesn't matter."

It all comes from an almost shamanistic quality to the band, with frontman Aaron Heard using a manic, vibrant voice alla Busta Rhymes to orchestrate the kinetic energy of the audience - pushing further towards utter chaos, culminating in a show that stands out among their genre peers and live music in general. Jesus Piece is a live phenomenon, slowed only by a limited number of recordings to date. With "So Unknown", the new and second Jesus Piece LP, the follow-up to their red-hot album "Only Self", their time has come.

"SoUnknown" is their Century Media debut and spreads what fans already knew - Jesus Piece is a fully articulated, armored vehicle of metal hardcore destruction. With the swaggering groove of Chaos A.D. / Roots-era Sepultura, the gun-toting precision of Godflesh and the terror-inducing start-stop rhythms of Meantime-era Helmet, fans have finally arrived at the pinnacle of metal and hardcore - a blend of complex instrumentation that isn't afraid to make room for a simple groove. Jesus Piece has created a body of work that always impresses, gets to the point and never gets in its own way. And much like their live show, their patented mid-tempo sound is just a springboard to chaos - effectively utilizing half-speed breakdowns, left turns into breakneck riffs and moody ambient atmospherics. "So Unknown" is a smorgasbord of ten hate anthems bursting with catchy riffs and fresh ideas. The record wastes no time in kicking off with a roar from Heard. From there, album highlights like "Gates of Horn" dive into an industrial ambience that sits alongside start-stop rhythms reminiscent of classic Ministry that breathe and explode before melding into a fearsome, swinging groove.

"Tunnel Vision" begins with an atonal riff straight out of the black metal playbook before transitioning into a driving double-kick section and then a half-speed wrecking ball. "Silver Lining" starts off almost deceptively clean with an eerie Coil-esque atmosphere in a minor riff, followed by another mid-tempo steamroller before settling back into a relative calm. "FTBS" is the groove par excellence, a breakneck crowd-killer that comes along with Meshuggah notes until it slows down to a crawling pace for its final death march.

Co-produced and mixed by Randy LeBouef (Every Time I Die, Orthodox) and clocking in at just under 28 minutes, "So Unknown" documents the lives of the five band members as they step into the abyss of life and react to the changes. "The making of the album took everything out of us. It was an intense and challenging process," Aponte recalls. "The record reflects a lot of confusion, but also an evolution. During the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty and emotion - we all changed and grew a lot. So if there's a single thought or concept for the record, it's the constant metamorphosis. That's how we operated as a band on this LP - we spent a lot of time songwriting and working things out as a unit, then stepping up. It definitely reflects that we've matured, that we're playing the best we've ever played, and that we feel like a real band for the first time."

Jesus Piece consists of vocalist Aaron Heard, guitarists David Updike and John Distefano, and drummer Luis Aponte. Formed in Philadelphia in 2015, the band released three EPs (the S/T EP, the 3 Song Tape, and the Malice at the Palace split) before releasing their debut album "Only Self" for Southern Lord Records in 2018. The release clearly stood out from the majority of the hardcore and metal crowd, with diversity that can be attributed to the unique approach and chemistry between the members. Even their name bypasses the typical hardcore naming conventions and instead comes from a gem beloved by the hip-hop scene. "It's been the same five guys from the beginning," says drummer Luis Aponte. "That's extremely rare for a band and says a lot about us, because we've been able to evolve together. We all have our own lives, our own backgrounds and our own individual styles. I think that shapes the music we've made from the beginning to now."

Even with a triumphant new LP in the bag, Aponte is quick to return to Jesus Piece 's core competencies when it comes to publishing, and how they work well together. "A big goal with "So Unknown"', besides the songwriting and technical goals, was to capture the same energy on record that we have live - so people get that sense of urgency and danger," Aponte explains. "I think LeBeouf captured that with everything on the record, from Aaron's vocals to the dynamics and overall sound. It's as close to a Jesus Piece experience as you can get without being in front of us."