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Written by David Lichius Tuesday, 20 February 2007 14:25

Owing a great deal to the statuesque genre known as shoegazing, Conqueror may lack a bit in hooks and shifts, but makes it up thanks to low key vocals and song-crafting.

Picking up where 2006's Silver left off, Jesu's new LP Conqueror is many things. It is loud, heavy, droning, repetitious, dreamy, and epic in scope, just to name a few. It is also by and large magnificent and stunning. Much like Pelican's The Fire On Our Throats Will Beckon, Conqueror will likely be classified in many circles as some variation of metal, which is quite frankly a copout and a tad bit lazy. Loud and heavy it may be, Jesu's latest is a flat-out rock record. Owing a great deal to the statuesque genre known as shoegazing, Conqueror may lack a bit in hooks and shifts, but makes it up thanks to low key vocals and song-crafting of Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Napalm Death).

As previously stated, the cuts on Conqueror are lengthy and fairly repetitious. However, with each new listen, there are new subtleties to be discovered. Not that Jesu fans are going to need any extra prodding or persuasion to pick this disc up, but with the exception of the rather dull "Old Year," the remaining seven tracks are all tremendous. Conqueror is one of the best discs you will see this year. The month is February and there are a slew of anticipated discs still awaiting their street dates, but you can write the prior statement down with a black Sharpie. A | David Lichius

RIYL: Zombi, Pelican, Russian Circles, My Bloody Valentine