Justin Broadrick is a songwriter, guitarist and producer.
Broadrick first appeared, aged 15, writing and recording side A of Scum, Napalm Death’s debut album. Leaving Napalm Death after this release, he went on to form Godflesh with G. C. Green in 1988. Over the next 14 years Godflesh released a handful of influential albums on Earache Records, proving them to be a seminal act in the industrial metal scene and a foundational influence on post-metal and beyond. Godflesh disbanded in 2002, reforming in 2010 for a series of live dates and 2014’s studio album, A World Lit Only By Fire.
Concurrently, Broadrick had begun experimenting with Kevin Martin, AKA The Bug, exploring everything from dub and techno to hip-hop, breakbeat and rowdy ambience under the guise of Techno Animal, a project that ran throughout the ’90s and saw the release of 6 albums.
In 1999 Broadrick founded Avalanche Recordings, which would serve as an outlet for his work over the following years, namely as Final, Jesu and JK Flesh. Jesu was born in 2003 from the ashes of Godflesh, combining the sonics of metal with the sensibilities and hooks of pop. The ambience and lush guitars of Jesu’s output display a marked departure from Godflesh and show an artist looking to explore and push his musical boundaries. This was further evident in Broadrick’s other projects, as Final, combining electronics with minimal ambient-guitar and as Pale Sketcher, eschewing guitars and relying solely on synthesisers and drum machines to conjure up bleak ethereal soundscapes.
As JK Flesh, Broadrick released his debut album Posthuman in 2012. Returning to techno beats but submerged under waves of guitar, this album saw Broadrick return to his 90s dabblings in techno and hip-hop, while also expanding the scope and ambition of what a metal artist can do alone.
Broadrick’s recent work has seen him collaborate as Jesu with Sun Kil Moon, combining the ambient shoegaze haze of his guitar work with Mark Kozelek’s lyrical stream of conscience vocals.
As is evident, Broadrick is a truly prodigious artist, with his ambition matched only by his influence; the reach and importance of his music can be felt across his vast discography.
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