“It’s us against the world.”
Hardcore is a genre which basically thrives on the unrelenting passion of its fans and artists alike. As a result, the scene is rarely depleted of new artists receiving endless support and respect, which is a trait that can generally only be applied to the hardcore scene, at least to such a large degree. However there are always going to be stand-outs, and among the more prominent acts to rise to the forefront in recent memory is Philadelphia’s Jesus Piece, who have been supplying fans with an especially barbaric flavor of hardcore ever since their inception in 2015.
The 5-piece group in many ways epitomize what it means to be a hardcore band in the 2010s/2020s; their music, which veers towards the more brutal end of the hardcore spectrum and often takes notes from death metal as well as slam, is never in any way devoid of purpose or emotion. Rather it be political division, personal struggles, finding meaning in life, or religion, topically Jesus Piece always delivers in connecting with their fans, which is especially apparent during their notoriously energetic live performances. Now in 2023 the group returns with …So Unknown, a record which serves as a testament to the group’s captivating energy and songwriting proficiency.
…So Unknown rarely pulls any sort of stylistic punches or deviations; if you are familiar with Jesus Piece, going into the album you know what you are going to get. Apart from the atmospheric break here and there (which we will get to later), the album is 28 minutes of pummeling, ass-beating heavy hardcore… and that is completely fine. The group’s intentions for …So Unknown are made apparent in mere seconds, as brutalizing opener “In Constraints” immediately throws the listener into abrasive chugs and the iconic yet beautifully animalistic belts of Aaron Heard.
As previously mentioned, there are some rare moments of calm throughout the 28-minute runtime, but these realistically mostly serve to make the much more prominent moments of violence all the more violent. On paper it seems like an album that is basically 28-minutes of sonic ass-beating would become a chore, but such is not the case on …So Unknown. In addition to the light runtime preventing the album from overstaying its welcome, there is a surprising quantity of memorable moments in almost every track that causes the entire listen to be consistently captivating.
Track 2, “Fear Of Failure” is an early highlight for the album simply because of how stupid heavy and brutal it gets even by Jesus Piece standards. Featuring an array of excess death metal inspired riffs and vocals, the track is an absolute ripper that has an especially commendable level of bite to it. On first listen it actually made me giggle how ferocious of a cut it is in the best way possible; just the thought of seeing this monster live is enough to carve a smile onto the face of any heavy music fan. Track 4, “FTBS”, also deserves a special shout-out for similar reasons; much like “Fear Of Failure”, the track does not necessarily do anything different per se, but instead showcases Jesus Piece playing to their strengths especially well. In the case of “FTBS”, the grooves and breakdowns have a drive to them which makes the song deceptively catchy.
It is legitimately impossible not to bob your head along to the winding riffs and expertly-placed chugs, a testament to the songwriting capabilities of not only guitarists David Updike and John DiStefano, but drummer Luis Aponte who keeps the drive of this track moving in a way that can only be described as satisfying. Bassist and backing vocalist Anthony Marinaro also deserves a shout-out for providing perfectly placed backing vocals that are sure to be great fun in a live setting. These tracks are not the only highlights when it comes to brutality; far from it in-fact. Rather it be the almost thrash-like riffing of “Profane”, the pounding kickwork of “An Offering To The Night”, or the relentless and dissonant driven verses of “Tunnel Vision”, the confidence to which Jesus Piece delivers on their brutality is obscenely impressive. However, it is not only the aspect which provides highlights on the album, as the 5-piece exhibits a surprising ability to create atmosphere and make use of open space if needed.
Track 5, “Silver Lining” is bound to catch the listener off-guard with its ambient-centric and undeniably effective eerie opening sequence. Airy rhythm guitars and a simple drum pattern provide the backdrop to an emotional lead guitar melody coupled with a tension-building keyboard melody in a perfect sequence between one of the more aggressive tracks on the album and the most atmospheric track on the album. This opening is quick but effective in setting the scene for what is to come; while it does unsurprisingly lead into a heavy chug-driven verse, the ambience and floaty nature of the opening is a recurring theme throughout the entirety of the track, coming to a head in the unsettling dissonance of the outro. The level of nuance exhibited by Jesus Piece on this track makes it a definite highlight, and showcases a less talked-about yet near equally important side of their sound.
Much like the highlights of brutality, there are highlights of atmosphere scattered all throughout the record (see the closing to “Fear Of Failure”/sequential opening to “Tunnel Vision” and oddly spacey mid-section/outro to “An Offering To The Night” as examples), but closer “The Bond” deserves special attention. In addition to the practical clinic exhibited by drummer Luis Aponte throughout the track, the culmination of massive chugs and transcendental atmosphere found in the middle section is simply glorious. It is another quick moment which ultimately leads into a pummeling double kick section that paves way for the serviceable closing breakdown, but it is far more effective than it has any right to be; a notion which I believe summarizes …So Unknown perfectly.
Does …So Unknown reinvent the wheel? Absolutely not. Does it need to? Absolutely not. If anything, it is refreshing to have a group like Jesus Piece once again proving that they can reliably deliver a healthy serving of fun, passionate, and confident ass-beating hardcore. If Jesus Piece’s important place in the hardcore scene was not already set-in-stone, then it better be now. There is not a single dull moment or unnecessary track; through relentless emotion and purpose, the Philadelphia 5-piece show that they are not going anywhere. The energy and confidence seems to be as high as ever in the Jesus Piece camp, an effect which is bound to be especially telling for anyone brave enough to attend one of the group’s live performances.
8/10
…So Unknown is out this Friday, April 14th, via Century Media Records, and you can find album preorders here.