A friend gave me a cassette album back in 1988 when I was just 12, entitled ‘What’s this for…!’ It was one of the first albums I’d heard that really affected me to the core. It was Killing Joke’s second album which had been released several years previous in 1981. It had elements of dub, funk and even disco embroidered in its tapestry, ear marked with a post-punk label that they would soon overshadow. Killing Joke would help foster the industrial music scene, with many bands like Metallica (who have covered Killing Joke) and Nirvana (Dave Grohl joined Killing Joke on their second self-titled album behind the drums in 2003) citing them as a big influence.
2012 saw the release of MMXII, which has been one of Killing Joke’s most critically acclaimed albums, gaining many new fans or ‘gatherers’ as they are known. That was the second album in a triptych of albums, including 2010’s Absolute Descent and the new album, Pylon.
Pylon continues with the same line up, of Jaz Coleman, ‘Big’ Paul Ferguson, Martin ‘Youth’ Glover and Geordie Walker, the original line up from the early eighties. The band has continually evolved the sound from their beginnings in ‘79, continually shifting the post punk sound from dub, disco, even new romantic, into industrial and metal but somehow never losing their trademark sound, of which Geordie Walker’s unique style of guitar playing makes such a big part. Their music has become darker, heavier and more uncompromising in the last several years, Pylon is delving deeper into that dark abyss, no mellowing with age to be found here.
The album begins with Autonomous Zone, it harks back to the track, The Death and Resurrection Show, heavy drumming driven by a dub laden bass line. There’s good use of synth to give the track a sinister feeling and Walker’s guitar is on point with heavy riffs. The lyrics are politically charged (no surprise there) ‘No more phones, no drones, autonomous zone’. There’s a tribal feel within this song that revisits early tracks like The Wait or Unspeakable.
Dawn of the Hive takes a head first dive into the darkness, a more industrial feel drawing from the past tracks on the album Pandemonium, paranoia and uncertainty live in its confines, while it has that classic Killing Joke feeling of invocation and release.
New Cold War begins like the later eighties catalogue, it reminds me of Love Like Blood, but it’s more brooding and layered. There are seething works of propaganda, the closing in on the eastern border, capitulation and an orchestrated end of nations within the lyrics on this song. Jaz Coleman still has a lot to say, and echoes discontent and disbelief in the state of the world ( he is a resident of New Zealand, having lost all faith in the political system in the UK and frankly who can blame him?)
There is some fine production on this album with Tom Dalgety behind the desk, he was recently voted the breakthrough producer of the year, at the Music Producers Guild, for work on the likes of Royal Blood’s album. He’s brought a clearer definition to the sound, it is crisper and guitar tracks are more up front, something I’d liked to have heard more of on Absolute Dissent and MMXII.
Euphoria has a different sound, dreamier and more uplifting, with lead guitar lines accompanying Coleman’s chant. Coleman’s vocals are strong on this album, clearer but really well projected.
New Jerusalem takes a complete turn in style from the previous tracks, it’s really dub orientated with peppering’s of techno, there’s a really infectious synth line that sounds like something between an insect and a machine, driving the percussion along. This is one of the strongest tracks on the album, with superb orchestration and penetrating lyrics about the state of the nation. Coleman cries ‘Nature is alone’ and you really feel that sentiment. Lines like ‘Another twat in the number ten flat, dancing to the tune of Goldman Sachs’ and ‘Culture, advanced entertainment calibrated to dumb down’ speak of that Orwellian dystopia that we are all too willing to blindly trudge along within.
War Of Freedom has a disco beat discreetly pumping away behind Walker’s heavy guitar, it’s something that could go unnoticed, but that’s one of those Killing Joke qualities that have made them stand out from the crowd, especially in the post-punk scene.
Big Buzz has that same vibe as Euphoria, there’s a more positive feel here again, ‘Smiling faces of those who always cared, All the good people, they’re always there, Follow your dream, and you’ll go far, every man and woman is a star’, such a great sentiment and a nice reference to Aleister Crowley too.
Delete, the fastest track on the album, is very similar to Lightbringer from the Hossanas From the Basements Of Hell album, similar driving speeds and drumming which is no bad thing.
There’s a feeling on social media these days that if you like a cause on facebook or share a tweet it’s enough, you’ve done your part, while you can sit back and watch it all fall down around you, just in time to move onto the next in vogue plight. I Am The Virus encapsulates that sentiment perfectly. The track was pre released from the album, it’s got the spirit of this entire album within it. Those tribal drums are very apparent here as Coleman preaches that the people are the problem, ‘I AM THE VIRUS I AM THE VIRUS’.
The album ends with Into The Unknown, a fast and furious closure on a frantic album. ‘What has become of us, what made us blind?’ Just where is society taking us, the corporations gaining more control and political parties becoming homogenised. Can man move beyond these limitations, reach the stars and move into the unknown? A fitting end to a thoroughly engrossing album. Killing Joke are definitely on a peak of creativity here. This album will appeal to both old and new fans, it’s a great introduction to the band, and if you are new to them, it’s worth going back to their earlier work to see how they arrived here; their career is full of twists and turns and stylistic changes. Pylon is a thoroughly worthy addition to the Killing Joke legacy. Get lost in this wonderfully heavy, abrasive, dark and potent installment…
Released today (23rd October) you can download the album here or listen on spoptify below. Follow the band on Facebook and Twitter or their website for more great music.
You must be logged in to post a comment.