I don't know how the hell I went so long without listening to this band...now I know these guys were one of the forerunners of gothic/industrial music, though in a more airy, spacey vein than Nine Inch Nails and other bands. In fact the variety in their music is immense, and thoroughly original to boot!

"Killing Joke"

1. "Requiem" (3:44)
2. "Wardance" (3:47)
3. "Tomorrow's World" (5:29)
4. "Bloodsport"--instrumental (4:46)
5. "The Wait" (3:42)
6. "Complications" (3:08)
7. "Change" (4:00)
8. "$0.36" (6:52)
9. "Primitive" (3:36)

Very unique-sounding debut: raw production, choppy guitars, with minimalist keyboard noises throughout. Definitely the sound of proto-industrial style music. "The Wait", of course, was covered by Metallica, and for a long time that was the only Killing Joke music I had heard. (The original song also appears on The Metallic Era.) "Primitive" has been covered by Helmet.

"Revelations"

1. "The Hum" (4:58)
2. "Empire Song" (3:19)
3. "We Have Joy" (2:56)
4. "Chop-Chop" (4:19)
5. "The Pandys Are Coming" (4:27)
6. "Chapter III" (3:13)
7. "Have a Nice Day" (3:14)
8. "Land of Milk and Honey" (2:38)
9. "Good Samaritan" (3:28)
10. "Dregs" (4:52)

One of the first early KJ albums I bought. Sounds a lot like Bauhaus. Nothing special.

"Fire Dances"

1. "The Gathering" (3:11)
2. "Fun and Games" (4:05)
3. "Rejuvenation" (4:00)
4. "Frenzy" (3:46)
5. "Harlequin" (3:57)
6. "Feast of Blaze" (3:35)
7. "Song and Dance" (5:13)
8. "Dominator" (4:28)
9. "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)" (3:19)
10. "Lust Almighty" (3:50)

Hmm, not sure how to rate this one. Definitely a step above Revelations, and in the same proto-industrial/new wave vein that trademarked their early career; "Let's All Go" is a funky dance tune, and my favorite on the album, but I can't quite discern the other tracks from one another. Still worth a listen, though....

...oh, and I don't suppose I mentioned that several years ago, I found this CD plus Brighter...Suns at a used CD store in Ventura, and passed them both up because I was over-budget -- well, my friend Zonker went to the same store THE VERY NEXT DAY and showed up at my house, saying, "Check out these cool CDs I just got!" DAMMIT!! It took me over five years to find my own used copies.

"Night Time"

1. "Night Time" (4:55)
2. "Darkness Before Dawn" (5:18)
3. "Love Like Blood" (6:48)
4. "Kings and Queens" (4:38)
5. "Tabazan" (4:34)
6. "Multitudes" (4:56)
7. "Europe" (4:35)
8. "Eighties" (3:50)

Is it just me, or are mid-80's Killing Joke CD's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find used? Oh well...this is a good one, with a heavy-rhythm new wave sound (especially on the title track.) Bass player Paul Raven, who plays on most of the band's mid-80's albums, would later join Prong.

"Brighter Than a Thousand Suns"

1. "Adorations" (4:43)
2. "Sanity" (4:44)
3. "Chessboards" (5:51)
4. "Twilight of the Mortal" (4:15)
5. "Love of the Masses" (4:40)
6. "A Southern Sky" (4:39)
7. "Victory" (7:11)
8. "Wintergardens" (5:24)
9. "Rubicon" (7:03)
10. "Goodbye to the Village" (5:27)
11. "Exile" (6:38)

The most beautiful music KJ has ever created. Each song is filled with soaring melodies and lush instrumentation, with the highlights being "Adorations", "Crossroads", "Victory" and "Goodbye to the Village". (Oddly, I've read some review pages citing this and Night Time as their WORST albums...what are these people thinking???)

"Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions"

1. "Money is Not Our God" (5:16)
2. "Age of Greed" (7:23)
3. "The Beautiful Dead" (5:57)
4. "Extremities" (5:19)
5. "Intravenous" (7:02)
6. "Inside the Termite Mound" (7:49)
7. "Solitude" (4:56)
8. "North of the Border" (5:52)
9. "Slipstream" (7:07)
10. "Kaliyuga"--instrumental (2:08)
11. "Struggle" (6:13)

Hmm...industrial hardcore? Not sure how else to describe this. Certainly, it's far more stripped down than anything else they've done, with minimal keyboards and a "live-in-the-studio" feel. Their distinctive, cavernous guitar riffs punctuate each song, however.

"Pandemonium"

1. "Pandemonium" (8:27)
2. "Exorcism" (7:26)
3. "Millenium" (5:34)
4. "Communion" (6:56)
5. "Black Moon" (5:19)
6. "Labyrinth" (5:55)
7. "Jana" (4:06)
8. "Whiteout" (5:43)
9. "Pleasures of the Flesh" (5:42)
10. "Mathematics of Chaos" (7:24)

This was the first full KJ album I heard, and to say I was blown away is an understatement, my hearing of this album was more akin to a religious experience. Each song sounds so completely different from each other, I could swear they were performed by different bands! "Millenium", for example, sounds like it could easily be a Motorhead song, and "Mathematics of Chaos" even bears shades of Duran Duran.

"Democracy"

1. "Savage Freedom" (4:50)
2. "Democracy" (3:40)
3. "Prozac People" (6:55)
4. "Lanterns" (4:53)
5. "Aeon" (8:04)
6. "Pilgrimage" (6:30)
7. "Intellect" (4:01)
8. "Medicine Wheel" (5:18)
9. "Absent Friends" (5:40)
10. "Another Bloody Election" (4:26)

Not as fantabulous as Pandemonium, of course, but a very fine album nonetheless. "Aeon" is the standout track here; "Another Bloody Election" and "Savage Freedom" are also quite awesome.

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