Jesus on Extasy Bio

1769 - James Watt redesigns the steam engine. The driving force behind pumps, hammers, compressors and rollers, this machine becomes the pacemaker of the industrial revolution. Soon, Germany sees the first industrial landscapes develop in the Ruhr area. But the end is already waiting just around the corner Ö

Just how productive eras of decline can be for the arts materialised at the fin de siècle with its clash between decadence, a lust for life and an apocalyptic atmosphere. Now, a few years after the turn of the millennium, such existential orientations are thriving again among the industrial ruins. In Bochum, for example, where Dorian Deveraux and Chai met in July 2005, starting to picture by the light of a bare lightbulb their dreams of an unrestrainedly euphoriant music. Little did they know that they were about to accomplish great deeds. When suddenly an ingenious spark, produced by one of their glowing synapses, ignited the mix of liquor and cheap red wine sloshing through their joint think tank. The result was a creative big bang. An initial spark. A powerful burst of energy that caused an uproar among all those pumps, hammers, compressors and rollers. Loud, inescapable and sexy. The revolution has gone into the next round. The 21st century has started at last!


Intoxicated by the machine

Noisy, pounding machines - industrial music, the soundtrack of the age of the machine, ensures full steam ahead at maximum wattages. Dorian and Chai, on the other hand, have rescued a tasteful breath of decay, transporting it into their virgin mix of uncompromisingly thumping beats and intricate melodies. Thundering decibels are underlined by decadence, its eruption enhanced by eroticism, its aggression boosted by absinthe, their industrial rockíníroll merging toughness and hedonism, dirt and dandyism. A perfect mix.

Having consumed several bottles of vodka, the two musicians christened themselves Jesus On Extasy and embarked without delay on their pilgrimage through the music temples. Their mission: to preach ecstasy with irresistible rhythms, driving synth sounds and bittersweet melodies. Exorcising with relish the devils, the way Deveraux does on ìAloneî, a number about the sufferings of a man who falls prey to the demons of the fair sex.

But beware: the singer, who hails from the stronghold of voodoo, New Orleans, is no saint himself. Dorian is no ascetic, in fact heís a bit of a hedonist. Inspired by that power that always strives for evil, yet always achieves good, he comes across as the elegant, artful seducer, while Chai projects in his performance the mesmerisingly animalistic element. As a consequence, broken hearts and guitar necks mark the path of this band who hurl themselves at life on a wild rollercoaster ride.


The future has begun

Dorian and Chai are men of action. After all, a revolution is rarely started by the faint-hearted, and Jesus On Extasy couldnít care less about conventions. From the beginning, their main concern has been with tearing down genre boundaries, bombarding their ever-growing fan base with songs à la ìAssassinate Meî. The same-named, self-produced EP soon became a sought-after collectorís item. Moreover, the title track was knighted by a remix courtesy of KMFDM, the grand old men of industrial rock. Jesus On Extasyís return to the festival, Bochum Total ñ the location of their first momentous meeting ñ, turned into a triumph, Jesus On Extasy playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand precisely one year after the foundation of the band, the press joining in the hymns of praise applauding the talent of these newcomers. The conclusion of the hype: if KMFDM are among the founders of this genre, Jesus On Extasy are its future!


Sweat on the second skin

Where there is light, there is also shadow. Where there is success, there are always the grudgers, false friends, hypocrites, freeloaders. Difficult times lay ahead, what with the unexpected departure of bassist Ivy ... but Dorian Deveraux and Chai didnít falter in their belief. Their belief in their chosen path, their music and their mission: to hook the masses and make them dance along to their pulse. So giving in is not an option. Not for nothing have the band a song entitled ìSecond Skinî among their repertoire. This is the time for self-regeneration.

Alicia Vayne (guitar, ex-Pain) and Ophelia Dax (synthesizers, ex-Rya) make sure that Jesus On Extasyís second skin glows even more seductively, allowing the musicians to float across virgin musical soil even more artfully. Sex, rockíníroll, ecstasy and sweaty abandonment to a rhythm machine that pumps away at full throttle - the band has been reborn. With a lot of verve, they combine the elements of the industrial revolution with their very own personal touch. Jesus On Extasy - thatís dynamism, precision, pressing forward, the fusion of the wreckerís ball and sophisticated elegance.

Who says that industrial rockers shouldnít perform in style? Certainly not these shooting stars from the Ruhr area. Beauty is an integral part of their vision, which ìHoly Beautyî, the quartetís first album release, attests to, allowing the legal consumption of that highly effective dance therapeutic - liberating to spirit and body alike -, that is Jesus On Extasy.