Killing Joke have long been one of rock’s most iconic and influential names, with a string of revered recordings to their name.
Their
story (and it’s an extraordinary one) dates back to 1978 and the
post-punk scene of West London, where classically-trained musician and
vocalist Jaz Coleman, drummer Big Paul Ferguson, bassist Youth and
guitarist Geordie set about establishing a new and idiosyncratic
manifesto for reinventing the rock ‘n’ roll wheel.
Since
2009, when this original line-up re-entered the studio, Spinefarm
Records has been the home for the band, releasing the ‘Absolute Dissent’
album in 2010, the ‘MMXII’ album in 2012 and the ‘Singles Collection’
in 2013; and now, with the world descending ever further into chaos,
comes the last remastered studio outing, ‘Pylon’.
As
with all KJ releases, ‘Pylon’ isn’t designed to accompany a quiet night
at home; these 10 remastered original tracks plus 8 extra bonus tracks
(produced by the band and Tom Dalgety, whose credits include the hugely
successful Royal Blood album) are very much music as ritual – raw,
uncompromising and precisely-targeted lyrically. While other bands of a
certain vintage may struggle to maintain their edge, Killing Joke are
delivering the best and most relevant material of their career.
Famously
described as “the sound of the earth vomiting”, Killing Joke continue
to be a punishing antidote to mainstream music and corporate life,