Killing Joke

[iguana]

happy new year to all PE’ers! the search function reveals no thread about them yet (if i am not mistaken) so here goes…

i am really enjoying their latest album “pylon” a lot – it does not really chart any new ground for KiLLiNG JOKE as a band but then they have already done their fair share of that in the past. as a preservation of heritage, an encompassment of their extremes and outer limits as well as a portrayal of their sheer primal force this is a much recommended listen.

feel free to utilise this thread to voice your adorations or absolute dissent for one of the finest, inimitable, ubiquitous and intellectually stimulating of the post-punk / dark wave bands with more than a minimum of progressive street cred.

[at least 100 dead]

Great band, love'em!

[Rarebird]

I only know their hit Love like blood, which I like.

[Finch Platte]

I think the new one is great, they've still got the fire.

[at least 100 dead]

I only know their hit Love like blood, which I like.

Love Like Blood (1985) was my introduction to the band; the 12’’ was played frequently at the discos I went to in the mid/late 80s. Like New Order’s Blue Monday, it was one of those rare tracks everyone seemed to dig: gothics, punks, metalheads and Mrs. and Mr. Perfect Hair would unite on the dancefloor for 6:40 minutes. You don’t get too many songs like that.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

a friend of mine had their first 2 albums back when they only had 2 albums and I liked their sound back in the day

cant believe theyre still going!

[at least 100 dead]

Although I only have 2/3 of their discography, the most recent one being 2010’s Absolute Dissent, IMO their catalog is of remarkably consistent quality. Not a crap album in the lot, although I haven’t heard Outside the Gate, which appears to be the only KJ record with a bad reputation…

[iguana]

Although I only have 2/3 of their discography, the most recent one being 2010’s Absolute Dissent, IMO their catalog is of remarkably consistent quality. Not a crap album in the lot, although I haven’t heard Outside the Gate, which appears to be the only KJ record with a bad reputation…

that opinion varies between OtG and its successor “extremities, dirt and various repressions”. at that point the band was already fragmented, mainly due to jaz coleman’s chronic loopiness which had him oscillating between hiding in an icelandic cave due to impending doom as well as becoming a student of classical composition in prague and a sheep farmer in new zealand (with conducting the NZ symphonic besides the day job) – and recording vocals in the main chamber of the cheops pyramid. throw in his penchant for painting his face in intimidating court jester style and you cannot get any more prog than that. gotta love that man … “love like blood” (XtdRmx) receives frequent workouts in the car!

warm recommendation for all of their ensuing 1990s/beyond work when they became acknowledged as the godfathers of the then popular industrial genre (trent reznor is a kindred spirit to jaz coleman). NiRVANA’s “come as you are” is famous for cloning the main riff to KJ’s “eighties” and METALLiCA have notoriously covered “the wait” on their early “garage days revisited” EP (1987). both “pandemonium” and “millenium” (1994) actually got them back onto “top of the pops” in the UK and there is not a single weak track on “democracy” (1996) which may well be my favourite album by them; alongside “killing joke” (2003) with self-professed fan dave grohl on drums which absolutely slays. that one also has (imho) the best production which, at times, tends to be a bit murky. i also consider geordie as one of the greatest chordally-oriented guitar players who deserves a mention alongside summers, lifeson, fripp, howe and other multitaskers of the ilk. minimalistic, deceiptively simple and always effective.

can you tell that i am on a KJ binge at the moment?

[Oreb]

with conducting the NZ symphonic besides the day job

He certainly said that, but it was bullshit.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I only know their hit Love like blood, which I like.

It was and still is a masterwork of "alternative" mid-80s UK rock, not least considering how it charted and, as stated above, seemed to appeal across each and every thinkable stylistic barrier with listeners. Harmonically it's a most unconventional song, and the instrumental arrangement - featuring piano as bass enhancement and synth layers to solely add surface chords very sparingly - testified to the overall refinement of their approach. However, it's that persistently throbbing drive between the rhythm section and those economically transfixed guitar licks that basically execute the song. Although KJ came from the other side of the table (they were initially a bonafide punk group, although as with Ian Curtis or Mark E. Smith leader/vocalist/keysman Jaz Coleman was a longtime fan of more "edgy" progressive rock), I find a lot to liken to Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It".

[JKL2000]

happy new year to all PE’ers! the search function reveals no thread about them yet (if i am not mistaken) so here goes…

i am really enjoying their latest album “pylon” a lot – it does not really chart any new ground for KiLLiNG JOKE as a band but then they have already done their fair share of that in the past. as a preservation of heritage, an encompassment of their extremes and outer limits as well as a portrayal of their sheer primal force this is a much recommended listen.

feel free to utilise this thread to voice your adorations or absolute dissent for one of the finest, inimitable, ubiquitous and intellectually stimulating of the post-punk / dark wave bands with more than a minimum of progressive street cred.

Are they actually prog? I think I bought one album of theirs back in the 80s but promptly ditched it - I didn't really no what to expect.

[at least 100 dead]

Are they actually prog?

Yes, the Board of Prog Elders deems them to be certifiably progressive. From the memo:

Both their albums Night Time (1985) and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (1986) were recorded in Berlin at Hansa and produced by Chris Kimsey, so they MUST be at least as prog as that band erstwhile fronted by a certain booze annihilation machine from Scotland.

[at least 100 dead]

that opinion varies between OtG and its successor “extremities, dirt and various repressions”.

IMO, Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions is an excellent work. They (almost) went slightly shoe-gaze before it was even a genre and the lyrics are as incisive as they're prescient. “Inside the Termite Mound” remains an all-time favorite.

[at least 100 dead]

It was and still is a masterwork of "alternative" mid-80s UK rock, not least considering how it charted and, as stated above, seemed to appeal across each and every thinkable stylistic barrier with listeners. Harmonically it's a most unconventional song, and the instrumental arrangement - featuring piano as bass enhancement and synth layers to solely add surface chords very sparingly - testified to the overall refinement of their approach. However, it's that persistently throbbing drive between the rhythm section and those economically transfixed guitar licks that basically execute the song. Although KJ came from the other side of the table (they were initially a bonafide punk group, although as with Ian Curtis or Mark E. Smith leader/vocalist/keysman Jaz Coleman was a longtime fan of more "edgy" progressive rock), I find a lot to liken to Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It".

Right said, Scrot!

BTW: According to Mr. Hollis, "Life's What You Make It" was heavily influenced by Can, although he never disclosed which “Cantata” exactly served as the inspiration (maybe Halleluwah, twice removed).

The Fall Gruppe might be a worthy object of our PE nanotech scrutiny one day. Thanks to da zombywoofer’s interview with Cutler, we do know that Mark E. Smith did, in fact, NOT audition for Henry Cow. (But he liked them enough to spread the rumor? Sound like something the old pub refusenik might do.) But is it prog?

[hedgehogweed]

feel free to utilise this thread to voice your adorations or absolute dissent for one of the finest, inimitable, ubiquitous and intellectually stimulating of the post-punk / dark wave bands with more than a minimum of progressive street cred.

I see what you did there! Still love Brighter Than One Thousand Suns

[JKL2000]

Yes, the Board of Prog Elders deems them to be certifiably progressive. From the memo:

Oh, didn't know about the Chris Kimsey connection.

[iguana]

finally got a proper review up and running:

Killing Joke | “Pylon” | Spinefarm Records

After twenty years of solidly listening to Killing Joke I think that I have finally sussed them out: these raging post-Punk survivors and latter-day godfathers of Industrial are, essentially, a folk band with overtly distorted amplification. Behind their onslaught of shamanic chants, tribal rhythms and the general sonic annihilation lies the innocence of true people's songs busked in suburban subways and/or before factory gates. Their own version of dystopia becomes a benign vision of utopia as they dissect the shortcomings of present-day society with venom and torment while always keeping an eye on greener pastures that neither seem impossible nor unattainable.

They also achieve this with the folky ethos of simplicity. That may be an unlikely statement when listening to their toxic brew of aural mayhem, with Geordie’s towering guitar stacked against Jaz Coleman’s diatribes which oscillate from his infamous “Love Like Blood” choirboy clarity to something so savage it would have made the late Lemmy sound like Jon Anderson. In seriousness, there are few bands that can achieve so much with so little at hand. What may read as overwrought and overbearing amounts, in fact, to the most concise and sharp intensification of musical elements imaginable. Kevin “Geordie” Walker especially deserves a mention for his clinically precise deadpan guitar barrage; it is about time that he was elevated into the pantheon of effective minimalism alongside Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Andy Summers and the like. That comparison is more than appropriate – he is a monster at what he does and it is entirely his own: the perfect foil and anchor for Jaz’s frenzied extemporations. Youth’s bass growls like an impending storm and Paul Ferguson’s bodacious drumming grooves relentlessly. This is the very essence of Killing Joke, an album that could well sum up their long career and their highly influential trajectory. Ask anyone ranging from Dave Grohl via James Hetfield to Al Jourgensen and Trent Reznor.

“Pylon” is an amalgamation of the last twenty years of the band’s life. You’ll find industrially-tinged maelstroms such as “Autonomous Zone” and the highly angst-inducing “I Am The Virus” sitting alongside tracks such as “Big Buzz” and “Euphoria” which would wipe the dancefloor in every self-respecting modern rock club. Exemplary is the pummelling vitriol of “New Cold War” which, to me, sums up the entire album well enough and represents where Killing Joke stand now and, hopefully, move forward from for as long as they choose.

My only negative criticism might be that some songs could have done without the odd verse/chorus repeat which, at times, drags things below their staying power. Another one is the evolving sameness of sound and structure and – with a sound wizard like stalwart producer Youth within the band's ranks – that the sonic quality of the recording could be a bit brighter and more diverse. Both points are invalid: there are only few bands that are as instantly recognizable as Killing Joke. Plus: this is not what folk bands are best known for – and I shall now deliberately call Killing Joke just that. Post-punk-industrial-noise-metal-shoegaze-harcore-folk. People might get hurt.

While 1996’s “Democracy” will forever remain as my personal favourite it has to be said that “Pylon” is a perfect summary and display of what Killing Joke is all about while leaving enough blank spaces to hint at further development. It also has to be said that Killing Joke, in their umptieth year of existence remain as relevant as ever. And, looking at the bleak pictures that they themselves paint with honesty and determination, their existence is sheer necessity. Let me up the ante: his fucked up world of ours and Killing Joke truly deserve each other – and as long as both parties function the way they do, a healthy balance is imaginable.

[Orcopian]

Not had a chance to hear pylon yet but I have been a fan since the very early 80's when I traded something long since forgotten for 12" single of requiem with a guy in school. I can understand everyone talking about a love like blood as it is an absolute post punk classic but for me requiem is a seminal track, that synth pulse running right through and Geordie's guitar sound, it's an awsome track. another side to the band is the various dub remixes that Youth has produced right through their career. I was lucky enough to find a copy of the limited edition tripple cd compilation killing joke in dub which the band released and which seems to enough of print. It really tests the bass in your hi fi.

[miamiscot]

Killing Joke rules!!!

[FrippWire]

Count me as a big fan.

I had friends in radio when Killing Joke's records first got distribution in the U.S. One of them brought home promos of the first two albums. Their combination of heavy guitars, synth noise and vaguely disco/danceable beats with angst filled vocals was fresh and hit me like a tone of bricks. I loved them then, I love them now.

Geordie used to live in Detroit and I would occasionally run into him at shows. He knew I was a big fan, was always very nice to me and would share KJ news if there was any to share.

[interbellum]

I liked the song Love Like Blood, but would never have considered buying something from Killing Joke.
Then I found the wonderful compilation-album "The 20th Anniversary Album - A Unique Collection Of The Best Of EG Artists 1969-1989" and between King Crimson, Emerson Lake And Palmer, Roxy Music Brian Eno, U.K. and many more this track was included!

R-709629-1334203779.jpeg.jpg

[PeterG]

Along with only a small handful of artists, that for example includes Neil Young, Opeth, David Bowie, KJ's discography has one of the widest ranges of styles, new wave,synth. post-punk, post-rock,dance,techno, indie, metal and back again.

Great band, luv 'em!

[Onomatopoeic]

I liked their first 5 albums a lot, but, I lost interest in them after that.

cant believe theyre still going!

There were a couple of long-ish gaps of inactivity in the '90s and 2000s, but, yes, they are back (again).

Yes, the Board of Prog Elders deems them to be certifiably progressive. From the memo:

Both their albums Night Time (1985) and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (1986) were recorded in Berlin at Hansa and produced by Chris Kimsey, so they MUST be at least as prog as that band erstwhile fronted by a certain booze annihilation machine from Scotland.

...and, they were on E'G Records, home -- at the time -- to King Crimson, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Bob Fripp, Fripp & Eno, Quiet Sun, etc. :woohoo:

[gpeccary]

Hossanas from the basement of hell, is fantastic. The new one is effing great too! I love their intensity.

[interbellum]

New Killing Joke project in the pipe-line: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/...c-killing-joke

Symphonic Killing Joke
Pre-order Jaz Coleman's reinterpretations of classic Killing Joke songs with the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra.
Album
The new album from Jaz Coleman sees the Killing Joke frontman collaborate with the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra on new versions of classic Killing Joke songs from throughout the band’s career.

‘Symphonic Killing Joke’ will be available on download and signed CD or LP, alongside a host of exclusives – from attending the recording of the album in Russia to signed music scores and artwork. There will also be a very exclusive one-off London ‘PledgeMusic Presents’ show, featuring Jaz and accompanying orchestra – to be added at a later date.