Killing Joke – Absolute Dissent

First of all I must state that it is hell of an honour for me to be able to write about a band that changed a lot for music industry in general. One of the most important bands the last three decades, having fans to different genres, from punk to heavy metal and being nothing less than respected by all fans and influential for later to become gigantic bands. From Nirvana to Godflesh, from Faith No More to Rammstein and from Tool to Fear Factory, the quartet from Notting Hill of England went a lonely road through the years, as many tried, but none achieved their greatness in the end. I was fortunate enough to discover them by luck when Metallica covered ”The Wait” for ”Garage Days” EP in 1987, and this happened in 1990, alongside the release of long out of print album ”Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions” back then, with the track ”Money Is Not Our God” being my first great hing of them.

Since then, 20 more years passed and here comes the 14th album of the English. ”Absolute Dissent” comes four years after the release of the great ”Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell” and it is the third album since their reformation with the same titled album of 2003 (there is also their first same titled album in 1980), seven years being absent since ”Pandemonium” in 1996. Once again, there is not rather much to say about this band, as the title track gets you right into the climate with its heavy groove and smashing rhythms, the production is great and the original line up is back again and it seems not even a single day passed from their glory days. Unfortunately there was the loss of gigantic bass player Paul Raven in October of 2007, for which they have dedicated ”The Raven King” as a tribute to their long gone friend. This tragic fact lead to the old friends gathering once again.

The album which was supposed to be called ”Feast Of Fools”, consists of twelve bombastic tracks of all styles, there is a lot of heaviness, a lot of ambience and a lot of personal identity here. Jaz Coleman once again delivers heart, mind, body and soul to his performance, proving why he is one of the most characteristic vocalists of all time. Always expressing himself with personal style, he is accompanied by the riffs of his long time fellow partner (and only remaining member since the very beginning) Kevin ”Geordie” Walker on guitars, while the return of Martin ”Youth” Glover on bass, makes the rhythm section smash buildings, alongside drummer ”Big” Paul Ferguson. Tracks like ”The Great Cull”, ”Fresh Fever From The Skies”, ”Depthcharge” or ”Here Comes The Singularity” are great examples of catchy non annoying stuff that makes you go back and front with ease.

On the other hand, the dynamic duo of ”In Excelsis” (which is also to be released as an EP) and ”European Super State”, remind us of their mid eighties days, especially when the album ”Night Time” was released in 1985, where lies maybe the trademark Killing Joke song, ”Love Like Blood”. This gothic feeling surrounded by a grey but also romantic atmosphere brings smiles to the ones looking for memories or things that made them connected to the band a lot of years ago. In an album close to 63 minutes of duration, the last thing you must search for is various expressions in individual songs, something that in many terms should be taken for granted. Killing Joke just do what every experienced group that first respects itself and then the fans does: They dare and they win!

The sum of these twelve new songs makes us see that the band despite an important loss, didn’t stand waiting and they decided to go further. This step forward was first for themselves and then all of us who declare ourselves as fans. Once again they created an album that will not only stand the test of time and fashion changes in music, but it will be acknowledged as a new beginning for them, in a very specific time of their career. This year Killing Joke celebrate 30 years of constant presence. Fourteen albums in 30 years with a seven year break is something that others can only dream and think of. The goods are delivered and this joke is still killing people, as they cannot take it seriously. Put the blame on them, after all some bands don’t need praises. They know who they are better than all reviewers and fans. Thumbs up!