Category: Killing Joke

Killing Joke – Killing Joke [2003]

posted by record facts

Killing Joke (also known as Killing Joke 2003) is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Killing Joke, released on 28 July 2003 through Zuma Recordings.
It was their first album in seven years, following Democracy in 1996, and their second self-titled album, following their debut in 1980.
The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill and features Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums, a long-time Killing Joke fan. It peaked at number 43 in the UK Albums Chart.

Vocalist Jaz Coleman and Dave Grohl originally intended to title the album Axis of Evil, in reference to the political lyrical themes: “It’s the beginning of the American Empire. They’re taking over the world. That’s what’s happening, and here we are at the heart of the fucking enemy. I never thought I’d see the day.” The Death & Resurrection Show, the title of the opening song on the album, was also a working title.

Bassist Paul Raven had recently met Grohl, who expressed an interest in working with the band. According to Coleman, “The original idea was to have three of our favourite drummers play on the album, Dave [Grohl] being one of them. We also wanted John [Dolmayan] from System of a Down and Danny [Carey] from Tool. But when Dave heard the songs, he said, ‘I want the whole thing'”. Dolmayan worked with the band during early recording sessions, but the drumming on the final album is entirely by Grohl. Grohl declined to be paid for his work. The drum recording sessions took 5 days in March 2003.

During the recording of the song “Asteroid”, Dave Grohl commented on the album:

It’s the first record I’ve ever done where the drums come last. Usually drums are first. It’s nice, though, because once you put the drums down and all the percussion is done and everything, it’s done. You have a finished song. And also, all the programming and stuff that Andy is doing, the rhythms that they came up with are great. It’s not conventional “rock drumming”, it’s not like conventional rock rhythms. It’s challenging. Everything is a challenge.

The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill and recorded at his Beauchamp Building studio in London, except for the drums, which were recorded at Grand Master Studios in Los Angeles.

Bass guitar is played by original member Youth and other long-time bassist Paul Raven. Youth said “The reason we brought Raven back in to do one track was because I didn’t want to tour it. He was prepared to tour it but wanted to be part of the album if he was gonna tour it”. Guitarist Geordie Walker originally claimed to have played “half the bass on the record.” but later said “Not much at all. I think I just added a lower bass-line to ‘Loose Cannon’. Grohl did not play live with the band; the drummer on the supporting tour was Ted Parsons, formerly of Swans, Prong and Godflesh.

 

Track listing

  1. The Death & Resurrection Show – 6:56
  2. Total Invasion – 5:28
  3. Asteroid – 3:24
  4. Implant – 5:18
  5. Blood on Your Hands – 6:00
  6. Loose Cannon – 4:12
  7. You’ll Never Get to Me – 6:19
  8. Seeing Red – 5:27
  9. Dark rces – 6:26
  10. The House That Pain Built – 6:13

US CD bonus track

  1. Wardance” (re-recording) (Coleman, Walker, Glover, Paul Ferguson) – 3:49

All lyrics are written by Jaz Coleman; all music is composed by Geordie Walker, Youth and Andy Gill

 

Killing Joke

Additional personnel

  • Andy Gill – additional guitar feedback
  • Katie Summers – voice (track 2)

Technical

  • Andy Gill – recording engineer, producer
  • Jerry Kandiah – recording engineer
  • Nick Raskulinecz – recording engineer (L.A. drum sessions)
  • Alex Alekel – assistant engineer (L.A. drum sessions)
  • Clive Goddard – mixing
  • Milk – cover design

Notes
Released: 28 July 2003
Recorded: 2002–2003 Studio The Beauchamp Building (London), Grand Master (Los Angeles)
Genre: Industrial, metalpost-punk
Length: 59:28
Producer: Andy Gill

Label – Zuma/Epic/Columbia

Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (1986)

posted by albums-update

Killing Joke are an English rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is the sixth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in November 1986 by E.G. Records. It was their first album to be distributed through Virgin Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 54 on 22 November 1986, staying for one week.[2][3] It was produced by Chris Kimsey, who had produced the band’s 1985 album, Night Time.

The end of the ’80s wreaked havoc on all too many bands that started off strongly and, while Killing Joke hadn’t quite reached its nadir (that would happen with the appalling Outside the Gate), Brighter Than a Thousand Suns was a definite transformation from the days of “The Wait” and “Complications.” The unexpected success of Night Time and new commercial pressures clearly came to bear — Chris Kimsey‘s production, effective on that earlier album, here combined with Julian Mendelsohn‘s mixing to result in too often blanded-out album rock throwaways, perfect for blasting on highways and little else.

Still, the band hadn’t changed any from Night Time, and even that lineup was three-quarters of the original incarnation of the group. The emphasis still focused clearly on volume and strong, full-bodied playing — Geordie Walker, Paul Ferguson, and Paul Raven don’t sound like they’re holding back at all even if their individual performances are less on the edge. Jaz Coleman‘s newfound way around inspiring singing, meanwhile, pays off in dividends; though it’s impossible to square the results here with his earlier hectoring and cutting rage, the warm, sweet passion that he brings to bear often transforms an OK track into a great one.

“Adorations,” the killer opening track and easily the album standout, is a perfect example of how this era of the group could make it all connect, Coleman‘s beautiful performance on the chorus and the overall ensemble effort making it the best anthem neither U2 nor Simple Minds ever wrote. But the stiff, mechanical beats on the immediately following “Sanity” — a ridiculous substitution of Ferguson‘s undisputed abilities — sets the tone for the remainder of Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, an effort ultimately dialed in rather than performed. The sound-alike quality of nearly all the songs — especially ironic considering the accomplished genre-hopping on the earliest records — renders Killing Joke its own unfortunate parody in the end.

Track listing

  1. Adorations – 4:42
  2. Sanity – 4:45
  3. Chessboards – 5:51
  4. Twilight of the Mortal – 4:15
  5. Love of the Masses – 4:40
  6. A Southern Sky – 4:39
  7. Victory – 7:11
  8. Wintergardens – 5:24
  9. Rubicon – 7:03
  10. Goodbye to the Village – 5:26
  11. Exile – 6:38

2008 reissue bonus tracks

  1. Ecstasy – 4:10
  2. Adorations (Supernatural Mix) – 6:39
  3. Sanity (Insane Mix) – 6:15

Killing Joke

Technical

Notes
Released: November 1986
Recorded: October 1985; spring 1986 (“Victory”), August 1986 (“A Southern Sky”) Studio Hansa Tonstudio, West Berlin, West Germany
Genre: Post-punk, new wave
Length: 1:14:28

Label – E.G. / Virgin Records