So the last ever Killing Joke tour before the end of the world? Well Jaz has spoken in depth about end times and if he actually believes himself and we also buy into the Mayan prophecies and the fact that the great singularity has the world spiralling out of control this could well be it! The group certainly have not hung around getting new album MMXII (that’s 2012 peeps) ready and on the eve of its April release this is the fourth date of a tour that is going to see the band playing extensively through the UK and Europe.

As a friend mentioned it would indeed be great if the group took someone really relevant on the road with them such as a reformed Amebix or Antisect perhaps but support bands have hardly ever been the way of the Joke or whoever actually picks them for the tours. Tonight’s two were actually a lot better than anticipated, both of them coming from the USA. First up were The Crying Spell from Washington, not that I would have guessed that from listening to them as their sound was highly reminiscent of many an 80’s UK act right down to the singers peroxide Billy Idol hairstyle. One song started with a knock on wood type drum intro that had me convinced they were going to do a very famous Bauhaus cover but no chance of that. As it developed into a more upbeat sort of song that would have no doubt gone down quite well in a small club but here saw the group in such a large venue with just a smattering of audience so far through the doors, somewhat swamped. There was a bit too clean cut and wholesome feel to some of the crooning sing along numbers that were anthemic but not full of the down and dirty jagged demeanour that we hungered for. That said, ‘The Dead War’ was catchy and although full of angst had a post punk bounce around it which finally saw the band getting a bit of a late reaction from the crowd.

The Icarus Line approach their set with the gobby flamboyance one may expect from a group hailing from L.A. Singer Joe Cardamone drawls out that they call him the Cocaine Kid and yep he swaggers around like he has just had his face immersed in a pile of finest white. There is a definite garage grunge feel about their music and The Stooges were instantly brought to mind. The band themselves noisy and at times abrasive kept to the sidelines leaving the singer jacket open, chest bare, to pose around throwing his body into angular skinny shapes, foot draped over the monitor. Guitars formed sinuous and skeletal fluttering sounds around his cries and things veered from gothic grunge shades to heroin blues reminiscent of The Doors. Although they had a clearly identifiable sound of their own it was also a case of playing name the influences as we watched them as every few minutes another one sprang to mind; Janes Addiction, The Jesus Lizard etc. Luckily for this lot though the influences were all good and so were The Icarus Line and although Joke fans have little time for them (many indeed staying in the pub until the last minute) this lot should entertain a few on the tour.

We have been here before, the build up to a Killing Joke show and an ever filling venue. There is an air of excitement as the projector screens are illuminated with artwork from the new album and the intro music, a meld of soundtracks from Blade Runner to Eyes Wide Shut heralds the four horsemen of the apocalypse onto the stage. The ever bouncing riff of ‘European Super State’ sees it all uncoil and everything springs into action, we are off and so is the jester at the front, Jaz is in his element. The venue with its massive domed ceiling had resembled a centrepiece set from an Alien film now it had taken flight and we were in orbit. The four main geezers on the stage joined by Reza Udhin on keyboards may well look a lot older than they did back when the band were first playing some of the old classics included in tonight’s set-list but that should not lull you into any false sense of security as the likes of ‘Unspeakable’ and ‘Bloodsport’ are as potent as ever. However before we get to these there is that no small matter of new material and we get a couple from MMXII early in the set in the form of ‘Fema Camp’ and ‘Rapture.’ It’s always a tricky proposition taking in new tracks when you hear them first time around especially when you are in the photo pit and being herded by the venues over the top security to put our cameras in the cloakroom so these failed to make the impression they no doubt deserved. ‘Fema Camp’ did however impress with a catchy chorus and Geordie’s arcane guitar spirals which sounded like they had crawled from the primeval swamps of the group’s earliest material.

Luckily it was all settled down by the time they played the albums opening cut ‘Pole Shift’ and I could really concentrate on it and watch the F-14’s soaring into the sky on the projectors. There is an eerie and mournful synth line running through this one and Jaz veers between clean (you’re all fucked and nothing can save you now) vocals and indignant and enraged yells. Bursting into a frenzied and manic seething section the brooding is over for the moment as the track delivers its maximum payload. This is going to be a song I hear plenty of when the album arrives and this was a nice taster. I have to admit that it reminded a little of Brighter Than A Thousand Suns era Joke a bit but put that down to the prominent keyboard sound. The set is comprised of either new, as in last two album material or really old stuff and it was great hearing the old ones like ‘Chop Chop.’ The only problem was lacking of mid era stuff but then again you cannot have it all and there were a few crowd pleasers although they were limited on the ground. One of these is definitely ‘Asteroid.’ Although I still look on it as a new song it is by now an integral part of the set and has everyone yelling along to the humungous and calamitous chorus.

There is little in the way of between song banter, Killing Joke just get on with things and play as much material as they can, a rant from Jaz would have been interesting but tonight is all about the music and we get ‘The Great Cull’ and the always excellent ‘The Wait’ bridging the years. There are four songs on the set list for the encore and I had heard (due to the fact that like a kid I had to check out the setlist from other dates on the tour) that they had only played two of them on other nights. Unfortunately and I guess it was down to curfew the same was the case here and ‘Love Like Blood’* (sob) and ‘This World Hell’ were left on the cutting room floor. Bad news sure but it was not the end of the world (sorry for keep coming back to that) and we partied at the side of the stage along with everyone else dancing messily along to ‘Requiem’ and ‘Wardance’ before falling out the venue and onto the bus which was conveniently just outside the door!

So it was a bit of an odd gig due to the new material but the band seemed like they had got everything together and played it all like they had already been doing so for years. I sincerely hope Jaz is wrong and there will be plenty more shows from them before we or they shuffle off this mortal coil as a life without Killing Joke is hardly worth living.

* Doh, after the gig we found out they came back and played Love Like Blood when trying to get camera back from cloakroom. .

Pete Woods