Ascension is Jesu's third studio album and was originally released on Caldo Verde Records in 2011. Now completely remixed by Broadrick himself and remastered for vinyl by James Plotkin, Robotic Empire is pleased to offer this gem on vinyl for the very first time! Housed in a gatefold jacket with matte finish, printed inner sleeves that contain full album lyrics, white colored vinyl or standard black vinyl, and includes a high quality digital download card. Jesu is back with Ascension, Conqueror's proper sequel. It's better than anyone, let alone Broadrick, had any right to expect. At first, Ascension sounds like a muted, grayscale version of Conqueror's heavenly pressure and kaleidoscopic apocalypse. But as new elements like acoustic guitar and radically submerged vocals begin to fuse with meteoroid riffs and celestial melody, the album reveals a barren sense of triumph. "Fools" chimes like church bells in a sunken cathedral; "King Of Kings" concludes with a coda sculpted of clouds and drones. Only "Broken Home" conjures Conqueror-era Jesu-the song could be a child of "Weightless & Horizontal" and "Brighteyes"-but even then, its lead-apron heaviness bids a suffocating yet soothing farewell to what came before. No longer struggling to wake from bad dreams, Broadrick has rubbed the sleep from his eyes, dug through the rubble, and planted Ascension on the summit of the ruins of the world. - Jason Heller (AV Club)
