To anyone under the age of thirty, Killing Joke is a name that probably means very little. Any spark recognition might come from the fact that they are one of those bands whose influence far outweighed their records sales. Killing Joke, though, looks set to tip the balance somewhat back in their favour.
The fact that Dave Grohl repays the debt that Nirvana owed them by contributing skull crushing drums is bound to help, but the album is too good to rely for its impact on celebrity guests. When Jaz cries “it’s a fucking crusade” you’d be a fool not to believe him. Corporations, governments and the general injustice of the world have fuelled their rage over the years and the result is an anger-driven, cacophony of noise that leaves many of the young pretenders firmly in the shade.
And unlike many of those pretenders, Killing Joke still know the power of a good tune, with ‘Implant’, ‘Loose Cannon’ and ‘You’ll Never Get Me’ standing out. Whether they want to make this a permanent arrangement still remains to be seen but if they do the likes of Ozzfest and the rest would be theirs for the taking.
seven/ten
phil udell