Posts Tagged ‘jesu’

Album of the day: Godflesh – Streetcleaner (Reissue)

Posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010

Praise for Godflesh‘ Streetcleaner (Earache) from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: It really doesn’t take much for us to find an excuse to gush about this, one of our favorite metal records EVER, the industrial metal juggernaut that is Streetcleaner. A crushing sonic milestone by which all other heaviness must be measured, and we’re not exaggerating (as we’re prone to do) when we say that Streetcleaner still sounds better than 90 percent of the heavy records we hear today, which is incredible considering that it was recorded more than 20 years ago!

If for some insane reason you don’t own this already, this deluxe double disc reissue is the perfect reason to finally get it, and for the rest of you, if as obsessed with Streetcleaner as we are, a whole disc of demos and unreleased versions should definitely be enough to get you to buy it again. More on the bonus disc down below, but first, let’s get to the record itself, the mighty Streetcleaner…

It’s weird to think that amongst the legions of fans out there who LOVE Jesu, there are probably loads of folks who don’t realize that Jesu was born out of the mighty behemoth that was Godflesh. Justin Broadrick, who started off in grind pioneers Napalm Death, made a quick pitstop in Head Of David, and eventually struck out on his own in Godflesh. These days, drum machines and metal are not strange bedfellows, but back in the day, this was some seriously what-the-fuck action.  Metalheads and punk rockers alike were confused, but got over it pretty quick once they realized that Godflesh might just be the heaviest, fiercest thing they had ever heard.

And Godflesh at their heaviest was to be found right here, on Streetcleaner, adorned with the now iconic image of crucified men on crossed in front of a cascade of burning lava (a frame from the genius movie Altered States), this record, originally releases in 1989, still sounds as fearsome as ever.

And now that we have a handful of Jesu records to reference, it’s easy to hear that some of the seeds that would eventually blossom into the dreamy shoegazy metallic bliss of Jesu, were present even back then, albeint buried beneath a black hole crush of churning downtuned riffage and blistering skull rattling programmed beats. Our old three sentence / 14 word review still says it best: “One of the heaviest, scariest “metal” albums EVER. Drum machine doom death. Godflesh’s best.”

And as if that weren’t enough (which it most definitely IS!!), this new version comes with a second disc, overflowing with awesome rarities, including a whole mess of previously unreleased original mixes, which definitely sound different enough to be worth your while, as do a handful of 1990 live tracks, some rehearsal tracks from 1989, and coolest of all, a couple demos, just Broadrick with guitar and drum machine!

As if the above didn’t already make it abundantly clear, Streetcleaner gets the absolute highest aQ recommendation. And remains one of THEE most essential metal records EVER.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

Tags: album of the day, Aquarius Records, Earache Records, Godflesh, jesu, Justin Broadrick, Streetcleaner
Posted in 2010, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | 3 Comments »

Godflesh: Streetcleaner re-release due in June

Posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010

British industrial metal pioneers Godflesh have announced that they are to re-release their seminal album from 1989, Streetcleaner as a deluxe multi-panel digipack including a bonus disc featuring previously unreleased tracks, live performances and alternative mixes and demos. All tracks on the original album have been re-mastered by founding member ...read more

Jesu Cancelled; Church of Misery to open on main stage

Posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010

Due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, Jesu has been unable to reach Tilburg. As a balm for this sad news, please join all Roadburners in welcoming Church of Misery to the main stage Friday afternoon at 4pm, folled by Trinacria at  6:30pm. We are disappointed that Jesu can not be ...read more

Album of the day: Jesu – Opiate Sun

Posted on Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Lovingly pinched from Pitchfork: The EP might be the ideal format for Justin Broadrick’s music, regardless of his alias. Whether he’s trying to erase your head via concrete-slab guitars in Napalm Death, reduce techno to a series of clockwork hammerblows with Final, or massage your pleasure centers with neo-shoegaze in ...read more

Godflesh Mainman Justin K Broadrick Doesn’t Rule Out Possibility Of New Material

Posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Godflesh the industrial metal band from Birmingham, England which formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick (guitar, vocals, and programming) and G.C. Green (bass) and disbanded in 2002, will perform at this year’s installment of the Hellfest, set to take place June 18-20, 2010 in Clisson, France. This will mark ...read more

Roadburn’s Album of the Decade: Electric Wizard – Dopethrone

Posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

The votes are in, the points have been awarded and the math has been done. More than 150 of you have taken the time to forward your Top 10 list for the Roadburn Album of the Decade. Here then is your list (and a stunning list it is). It seems ...read more

Tom Gabriel Warrior announces the first bands for Only Death Is Real event at Roadburn 2010.

Posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Tom Gabriel Warrior, the founder of Swiss pioneers Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, and now TRIPTYKON has announced the first confirmed acts to appear at his curated event, titled Only Death Is Real, appearing  at Roadburn  Festival 2010 in Tilburg, Netherlands on Friday, April 16th. Following is a list of the confirmed ...read more

Justin K Broadrick interviewed by BrooklynVegan

Posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Klaus Kinski of BrooklynVegan recently conducted an in-depth interview with Justin K Broadrick of Jesu-fame. An excerpt from the chat follows below. BrooklynVegan: What’s next for Jesu? Final? Justin K Broadrick: “The Jesu Opiate Sun EP on Caldo Verde for October 27th. I’ll begin writing the new Jesu album come ...read more

CraveOnline reviews Greymachine’s Disconnected

Posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009

On the exact opposite end of the scale are the Greymachine and their new album Disconnected which is a brutal and ugly album. How ugly? Imagine a low flying plane cruising over the remnants of a burned out city filled with desperate people killing each other for basic survival. Take ...read more

For your online listening pleasure: Greymachine, Jesu & The Devil’s Blood

Posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009

There’s some nice, new music online: stream the whole GreyMachine (Jesu’s Justin Broadrick, Isis’ Aaron Turner, Head of David’s Dave Cochrane and Godflesh / Jesu’s Diarmud Dalton) debut album here. A track of the album, Vultures Descend, has been available as mp3 for some time now. A new Jesu song, ...read more