March 2021 Feature Release – The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Sphere has been nominated by myself. It's 2003's classic self-titled comeback album from legendary London industrial metal institution Killing Joke.

https://metal.academy/releases/1633

Ok so this record is fucking superb just quietly. "Killing Joke" has exceeded my expectations by a very wide margin. I've heard bits & pieces of Killing Joke over the years but nothing's ever grabbed me enough to draw me into spending extended periods of time with them. This album however is much more metal oriented than I remember from them & is also beautifully produced & executed. The performances are absolutely phenomenal, particularly the stellar efforts from front man Jaz Coleman & guest drummer Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age). It's certainly not the most industrial of industrial metal releases. In fact, I'd actually question the validity of that tag here as there's really not much electronics going on but it certainly sounds a lot like Ministry at times (it's worth noting that bassist Paul Raven would join Ministry a couple of years later & had played with Godflesh just prior to rejoining Killing Joke) so I think that's where the link comes from along with Killing Joke's history of dabbling with industrial sounds. In saying that though, a more suitable genre tag doesn't easily spring to mind for this release. Alternative metal perhaps?

Killing Joke incorporate a few of their signature post-punk elements here & there with mixed results (i.e. the one completely post-punk dominated track "You'll Never Get To Me" is the only weak moment on the album) but when they decide to be heavy they really go to town with a brilliant use of layering & texture. There's a case for the tracklisting being a little top heavy with all of the highlights coming in the first six tracks however that's not to say the last few are weak by any means. They just don't take me to the same peaks as songs like opener "The Death & Resurrection Show" (the album highlight for mine), the very Ministry-like "Asteroid", Implant", "Blood On Your Hands" (with its indie rock verse that sounds like The National) or "Loose Cannon" do, all of which are elite examples of their type. Only decades of experience can produce records of this class & you can easily hear that in the use of tension & release. This is a top ten industrial metal release for me. My only question is why anyone would put out a self-titled record in 2003 when their most well known album (i.e. their 1980 debut) was also self-titled. Were they making a conscious effort to confuse potential fans?

For fans of Ministry, Nine Inch Nails & KMFDM.

4.5/5

This isn’t my favorite Killing Joke LP (that would be Fire Dances) but it still hovers pretty close to the top of the list.  I downloaded this off Soulseek (remember that thing?) about a year after it came out. I dragged my feet a little because I remember thinking their previous LP “Democracy” wasn’t that great. I also missed my chance to see them live on the tour for this album because I had recently seen a few too many disappointing “vintage” acts. 

Both were big mistakes. 

I think the fact the band took such a long hiatus before recording their second S/T LP helped with the songwriting. None of the songs are monotonous, which is not something I can say for most of their records. There is also a fair variety of moods between the songs, from the melancholic “You’ll Never Get to Me” (which I can understand why Daniel isn’t too crazy about, but I like it a lot) to the just plain ugly “The House that Pain Built.” I feel like Jaz Coleman is really pushing himself on this record, like the machine-gun spieling on “Implant” or the quiet snarling on “Total Invasion.”  Switching gears, the main guitar riff on “Total Invasion” is something I’ve tried to rip-off on multiple occasions, but to no avail. I also have to hand it to Dave Grohl, he probably is the best drummer they ever had (which is saying something). I read that he recorded the drum tracks along to everything else, which was pre-recorded. This is  backwards from how recording usually works, and may have allowed for more room for expression. Overall, given it’s anthemic nature, I think this might be their most “fun” album.

It’s funny, while the later Killing Joke albums are more metal than the records they did in the late 1980’s (and I think when the moment was that they crossed the metal threshold is debatable), this is almost entirely due to production. Geordie’s guitar playing, Jaz’s vocals, and the songwriting styles haven’t really changed that much, in my opinion. I finally saw KJ live a couple of years ago, and the songs from this album mixed perfectly with their more post-punk material from the 80s.

To comment on what genre this fits in: I think this is close enough to classic-era Ministry to be considered I Industrial Metal. That being said, I also feel like Industrial Metal is a sub-genre of Alternative Metal to begin with. This was definitely the case in the early to mid 90s (although the advent of Neue Deutsche Harte, as well as bands like Napalm Death and Red Harvest incorporating industrial elements made the categorization more complicated). Just my opinion, anyway. Regardless, Killing Joke always sound like Killing Joke, no matter what phase they’re in.

4.5/5

Absolutely not my thing, I found this album to be more annoying than anything, enough for me to not really want to return for another listen. There are some killer riffs in here, and the overall sound obviously appeals to someone (see posts above), but this really grated on me in a rough way. 

2.5/5