Philly-grown band Jesus Piece helped revitalize metalcore. They’re playing a hometown show Thursday.

Jesus Piece was once a beloved but obscure part of Philadelphia’s heavy music scene. They’re now a household name in these music circles.

On Thursday, Feb. 9, they’ll be playing their first hometown show since before the pandemic at Union Transfer at 7:30 p.m., ahead of the April 14 release of their new album, ...So Unknown, through their new label, Century Media.

The hard-core acts Show Me the Body, Scowl, and Zulu will also play the show, alongside the rapper TrippJones.

“This record sounds better than anything we’ve done,” front man Aaron Heard said.

Although it builds on the sound established with their 2018 full-length debut, Only Self, this time around, the songs, according to guitarist John Distefano, are groovier and more concise.

Productionwise, this is a more polished record with less hard-core grit and more heavy-metal precision. Randy LaBoeuf, expertly straddling both genres, is the producer.

The entire recording process was funded by the band; the Century Media deal came only after the album was complete.

The slick production, Heard said, is in part meant to differentiate the studio recording from the group’s live sound. The new album, however, still has the intensive energy of their live shows, which is a big part of Jesus Piece’s appeal, said drummer Luis Aponte.

The band has already released two singles from the album, “Gates of Horn” and “An Offering to the Night,” along with music videos directed by Eric Richter.

“They’re the type of videos where you’ve got to watch it when you listen to the song,” said Peter Rono, the front man of the Philly band Kaonashi. “I stream it more on YouTube than Spotify.”

Jesus Piece started in 2015, releasing a self-titled EP later that year.

But Rono, who’s known members of the group since 2010, said their DIY shows were an important part of the scene long before that.

The group was initially intended to be a death-metal project in the vein of Suffocation or Devourment, but the members’ varied musical tastes brought them to the metalcore sound they’re known for, Distefano said.

They quickly became a local favorite.

Metalcore hit its commercial peak in the 2000s and early 2010s with acts like All That Remains and August Burns Red. But by the time Jesus Piece started, Heard said the genre had faded away to a large degree.

The band was part of a wave that helped revitalize metalcore, which has since seen a major comeback in the underground with groups like Varials, Code Orange, and Knocked Loose.

» READ MORE: Philly metalcore outfit Varials to play hometown headliner ahead of ‘Scars for You to Remember’ album launch

But the musicians in Jesus Piece haven’t limited themselves to this niche subgenre.

Until last year, Heard played bass for the shoegaze act Nothing, which also has roots in the Philly hard-core scene. He recently contributed vocals to a new track by the death-metal band Sanguisugabogg. This tour will be the longest he has spent away from his nearly 3-year-old son.

Aponte is a DJ who performs under the name LU2K when he’s not playing with Jesus Piece. Last year, he played drums for Charlie XCX when she performed on Saturday Night Live. He’s also worked extensively with Travis Scott.

Aponte described Jesus Piece as his “passion project.”

“We can do whatever we want,” he said. “We’re really authentic. Nothing here is performed.”

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Tickets, at $25, are available on https://utphilly.com/

An earlier version of the article misstated the name of Jesus Piece’s new album. It is “...So Unknown”