1978 Notting Hill a cosmopolitan seething underbelly of life, which I remember being walked down around that time by my parents at the age of nine and seeing my first real punks. Whilst most people wanted to be a footballer or an astronaut I wanted to be one of them, staggering around, drunk, pierced and with crusty clothes and multi-coloured spiked hair. I found my vocation there and then and also finding theirs was the band who were later going to become one of my firm favourites Killing Joke. Who would have guessed we would all still be around all that time later?
The bands legacy and history is a chapter written over and over but the importance of their songs to me is a more personal thing. Nope I don’t profess to being there from the start, too young but I do have most of these singles in either their original 7” form, the middle period on 12” and the latter ones on extended CD singles. Still it is lovely to get them all together in one place. The band went through many changes but it is interesting to mix the parallels from start to end. The first here ‘Nervous System’ mixed the flavours and spirit of the age well. Calling the band Post Punk was necessary (in the future when the term was coined) as it does not fit quite anywhere else. In fact this takes in a heady collision of thick spiky guitar and bass lines that were in a way similar to alt rock bands like Magazine and Television, dub heavy beats and political agit-prop vocals, in a way listening to the chorus it’s remarkably like hearing Ian Dury and The Blockheads. Fast forward over 30 years and compare to ‘Ghosts Of Ladbroke Grove’ and we are in the same place musically even if all personality has been dredged along with the spirit of the place as reflected by the songs maudlin funereal tone.
The band are recognised for what came after the first single very much so today with the tribal stomp and anthemic call to arms that is ‘Wardance’ and the chant of ‘Requiem’ still being firm favourites live. The first few albums are classics and are set aside from the emerging punk and gothic sides having the air of rebellion about them but more of a dark and mystical vibe, almost arcane and dangerous when you get to the almost pagan call to arms which is ‘Let’s All Go (To The Fire Dances).’ Another similar bridge between old and new is comparing ‘Empire Song’ to ‘European Super State’, I am not going to do the math for you but they really do make close bedfellows.
I think it is a good point to bridge off as we head into ‘Night Time’ era when the band found some surprise commercial success with ‘Love Like Blood’ being a constant companion through the long hot summer of 1985. Still the rabble raising ‘Eighties’ had that unmistakable in the face immediacy despite the more gothic sound the band were going onto explore with the likes of ‘Adorations’ and ‘Sanity’ on ‘Brighter Than A Thousand Suns.’ Misguided work to many but I particularly grasped it as it was around this time I was starting to be a able to see the likes of this live and I never looked back. Sanity was a concept that the band was really dabbling with at the time though as eccentric constant lead vocalist of the band Jaz Coleman’s behaviour was getting ever more erratic strange ‘Outside The Gate’ and single America leading to this isn’t proper Killing Joke accusations and the band falling apart. Still whatever you think even a single like ‘America’ which many consider not one of their worst still has a potency and I challenge anyone to give it a fresh set of ears and not sing along to it.
After this we went into a more metal and industrial era of the band they hit the Extremities running and the most politically in the face song ‘Money Is Not Our God’ was a message that simply could not be ignored and is a song as relevant today as when it was written. I have a real soft spot for the Pandemonium era, seeing the band play at the Virgin Megastore songs like the mystical Egyptologist whackness of Exorcism, the is the world going to end ‘Millennium’ and if it does are we all going to run around like headless chickens in complete ‘Pandemonium’ being a favourite memory.
After that to me the band lost their way a bit. ‘Democracy’ had some good songs, the title one being one of the better but the reflective and personal Jana has to be my least favourite of this collection along with the comeback era’s ‘Loose Cannon’ which I never really got on with; ‘Asteroid’ would have been the smash hit that they should have released with this back to life Self-Titled album in my opinion. Another break and ‘Hossanas From The Basements Of Hell’ saw the band getting enthused in the madness of Prague and delivering more unsettling craft than before and it is perhaps a little bit underappreciated in their grand scheme of things and I admit a time I need to reacquaint myself with.
Since then of course we have had the four original members (no room to mention all that have come and gone during this history really but RIP Paul Raven) and delivered two great albums worth of “wake up and look what’s going on around you” music that is way beyond the scope of conspiracy theory.
If money really is not your god and you have lots this is available on 34 discs complete with B sides and accompanying CD single mixes. There is also a three disc edition with some rarities. I have ten of these on my promo although it seems like there are 15 on the above mentioned die hard box. ‘Drug’ and ‘Hollywood Babylon’ are from soundtracks of Mortal Combat and Showgirls respectively and yes I wonder how the greatest band in the world ended up on such crap films. The former starts in a swirl of space rock Hawkwind induced psychedelica before going onto a thudding anthemic chant out number. The latter is a techno driven throbbing beast. Both of these are interesting if like me you had not heard them before. ‘Our last Goodbye’ from the ‘Free West Memphis Three’ album is quite dramatic with spoken samples addressing the subject matter and a real feel of hopelessness behind the melody rising into an indignant soaring chorus. Following are some bits and bobs unreleased from the Absolute Dissent and Democracy sessions as well as a bonus track from the Loose Cannon DVD single, a pointless Money INOG radio edit and a bonus Pandemonium mix. It’s a good accompanying hours worth of stuff and some of the new songs to me will no doubt grow over time. ‘Timewave’ did however straight away with its jagged guitar bursts and chugging beat, how the hell did this not make the album?
I have to ask if you have not discovered Killing Joke by now are you ever likely to if you are over a certain age? Most fanatical fans will already have most of this certainly everything on the first two discs, if not it is an excellent introduction and more of a cross representation of all material than the likes of the ‘For Beginners’ album. Looking around the price that this is going for and the relevance and brilliance of the tracks it’s utterly essential if you are new and want more. As for me I’m already looking to the future and wonder what is in store on the next chapter?
(Pete Woods)
13/04/2013 at 5:42 pm
A true hits free greatest hits collection. Killing Joke were excellent at Hammerfest; it was just a shame that they probably didn’t have the right audience. Mr Coleman was on form though, jerking around the stage like a madman being tasered. Excellent review sir.