Pitchfork

Everybody dies, you know. Bands do, too. Thankfully, Justin K. Broadrick's proclivity for reinvention suggested that the demise of Godflesh would herald a new beginning. And so it is: UK tour posters are proclaiming the arrival of his latest incarnation with stately resurrection imagery, carrying with it all of the expectations of a grindcore second coming.

It should be noted, though, that the God of the New Testament shows far more pathos than the Old. And so it is: Jesu is the compassion to Godflesh's vengeance. Reprising the grindcore/slowcore dichotomy of 1994's Selfless, "Heartache"'s epic shift from a crushing first act to a regretful, Codeine-style midsection might not seem like a significant creative departure. But it's the majestic coda, the acoustic guitars, cascading melodies, and infinite layers of delayed vocals that remove the song from its genre trappings. In fact, it's about as close as Broadrick has come to hybridizing his inimitable guitar sound with the wonderful ambient explorations of his Final side project. Subverting all expectations while entirely aware of them, "Heartache" has touched on a sound that honors its dark past and while looking forward to a glorious future. Amen.