not new music

Killing Joke - Killing Joke (1980, Editions EG/Malicious Damage)


Here we go, the 800th attempt to make this a weekly thing again....

I've been meaning to post this album since I started writing this column, but I guess other things have gotten in the way. I suppose that the stars are all aligned to do it now; not only has this record been played about a million times at my house over the last month or so, but Metallica is in town tonight and I can't listen to this album without thinking of them, as their 1987 cover version of 'The Wait' was my introduction to Killing Joke's music.

Aside from Metallica, the list of artists that have cited Killing Joke as an influence is loaded with some pretty big names: Steve Albini, Nirvana, Ministry, Godflesh, Faith No More, Tool, and many others. I think that there is something to be said about a group that can have an effect on so many people in so many different ways; some of these groups sound nothing like them while others have made careers out of mimicking Killing Joke's style.

KJ's appeal to the relative masses is apparent from the first synth notes on this record. The opening track, 'Requiem,' is just fucking infectious, and it keeps going from there. The only real drawback for me is the fact that the track 'Bloodsport' sounds as though it could be the soundtrack for the movie of the same name that came out 8 years after this album. No matter how hard I try, I just can't dig slap bass and goofy synth hits. A small complaint though, as I still never skip this song, I just grin and bear it.

By the way, I switched compression formats to winRAR. Let me know if there are problems, I really don't know much about computers and I can switch back.