The Last Days of Jesus - :ON BLACK: (2022)
by Flork
As I sit in the AuPark foodcourt last week with dr. and Anjou from The Last Days of Jesus, I contemplate the impromptu history lesson of the region and its impact being presented to me. Anjou talks in depth of the Hussites and their importance and how their movement spread throughout the lands. As I quietly eat my kebab and listen to the accounts of persecution and conflicts, I realise that the band itself is living history. TLDOJ has been around since the early 1990s and have toured extensively throughout Europe, even Russia and USA. Nowadays, in 2023, marking their thirtieth anniversary since their inception (2022, actually), The Last Days of Jesus have recently released an amazing 15-track compilation of recordings from 1995 to 2007. The songs were compiled from all of their albums, from their first, full-length album Arma Christi (1995) to Dead Machines’ Revolution! (2007). This is also a collaboration with Jablka Daleko od Stromu, a blogspot/label where you are likely reading this review.
But let’s get to the music. :On Black: leads with the timeless classic Army of God, one of the catchiest tunes the band have released to date with loads of Gothic effects and a heavy bass and rhythm section. This song oozes with creativity and originality, especially with its witty lyrics and vocals provided by lead singer MaryO. There’s also a lusty, sexual energy behind it, making it the perfect pilot track for the album. Of course, in addition to random religious references, lots of the content throughout the album contains a good amount of double entendres and sexual allusion in a dark sort of way that only the TLDOJ could accomplish. And one thing for sure is that The Last Days of Jesus have always delivered quality production. All of their tracks are produced at a high level of attentiveness with the smallest of details placed and positioned towards the audible forefront. And so, each of their compositions are not only set apart from each other in terms of originality, but are performed and recorded to the highest of standards. The skill and talent of each musician is heard right from Arma Christi and continues to their more recent recordings, with catchy lyrics and riffs prevailing everywhere. In fact, all of their songs from 1995 to 2007 maintain a certain style in terms of composition and production, and so :On Black: is the perfect history lesson for both older fans and those listening to the band for the very first time.
Lyrically, all tracks are dark and heavily sarcastic. Take 1001101: The Weekend, for example, “Living in a boring world, working on your a boring dreams... living in a coffin". Or Dark Side of My Mind “Are we so young or so old to feel the stabs? Are we so cruel or merciful to make love?”
Musically, all the songs could be the soundtrack of the Halloween or any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. They are all a bit dark and morbid but in a fun sort of way. It’s like mixing punk and goth and producing the epitome of dark punk rock. Machine of Calm and Corrupted are so catchy with their choruses and refrains with their macabre lyrics sung in dark contrast to their melodies. And this is why I love this group: it’s a Halloween party that has lasted 30 years. There is nothing overly haunting or disturbing to the music, it’s just the dark side of the members’ minds made audible in a fun form of goth’n’roll. Some of my favourites are Too Weak for Suicide, Connected or Infected and of course Psycho TV. I also particularly like Looter Do-Gooder, which is almost a parody of a children’s song.
Overall, I love this album and hope that The Last Days of Jesus will once again record new material. Yes, the nineties and 2000s have passed and people move on, and as often as not, life gets in the way. Marriages, children, day jobs, and so on. But this is an iconic group that has made waves in the past and has the potential to make more in the future. :On Black: features so much great music, yet it’s hardly a “Best of” compilation. In fact, it’s somewhat of a history lesson in itself, where each song recounts times during a glorious decade not too long ago, and not at all far away.
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LINKS & CREDITS:
MC Tape The Last Days of Jesus :ON BLACK: released by Jablka daleko od stromu (JBLK-09, 2022, LTD 60) is available here:
https://thelastdaysofjesus.bandcamp.com/album/on-black-ltd-mc-version
https://jablkadalekoodstromu.bandcamp.com/album/distro
MC Cover design by Mykola Kovalenko
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