Band:	Jesus Piece
Album:	...So Unknown
Style:	Hardcore, Metalcore
Release date:	April 14, 2023
A review by:	RaduP

01. In Constraints
02. Fear Of Failure
03. Tunnel Vision
04. FTBS
05. Silver Lining
06. Gates Of Horn
07. Profane
08. An Offering To The Night
09. Stolen Life
10. The Bond

You have metalcore that relies a lot on melodic elements, and metalcore that relies a lot on noisy chaos. And then you have metalcore that knows that the "core" in it comes from hardcore punk.

I've come to find out about Jesus Piece through vocalist Aaron Heard's contribution to the latest Sanguisugabogg record (one that I also covered). I don't remember that much about what Heard was doing on Homicidal Ecstasy, but the name Jesus Piece did stick to memory, so seeing them also appearing in the recent releases list while that album was still in memory did make my brain connections click. As someone who does enjoy a variety of the harsher styles of punk, I'm always curious of how these interact with the metal world. It is safe to say that Jesus Piece lies much much closer to the punk world than the metal world, but harsh enough they definitely are.

A lot of the metalcore/grindcore/mathcore really relies of very dissonant noisy panic chords to make their music as dense and chaotic as possible. Jesus Piece aren't overly reliant on anything, but they prefer the chugs and breakdowns alternative. It's not a surprise if I say that I don't hear anything in So Unknown... that I haven't already heard in a bunch of other hardcore bands. Going back to their EP and debut album I was hoping I'd get a bit more of the sludgier bits and I especially hoped they'd expand on the ambient outro of the last album, one that I found to be especially evocative for a hardcore band's ambient outro. Those elements barely make any appearance in So Unknown..., instead something closer to Hatebreed or Kickback or newer acts like Incendiary or Knocked Loose get into the sound.

While that's not necessarily the turn of events I was hoping for Jesus Piece after checking their older material first, they still manage to make the beatdown hardcore integration work on So Unknown... for a couple of reasons. The main one is that Aaron Heard is indeed a beast of a vocalist, even if I'm not sure how much of the album's vocals are actually his. And just like Only Self, this album doesn't have intention of staying for more than 30 minutes, being even shorter than its predecessor. But most importantly is that, while a lot of this album is a meat and potatoes modernization of early metalcore, it seeps in some dissonance and intricacies and ambiance that's more in line with the recent developments of hardcore, while not leading the album down the chaotic path.

With five years in between their debut album and this sophomore, I reckon that Jesus Piece did beat the sophomore slump, but time didn't yet tell if they'll be able to carve a niche for a sound that still doesn't feel unique enough.