Absolute Dissent is Killing Joke's first studio album in twenty-eight years to feature the band's original line-up, Jaz Coleman (vocals), Kevin "Geordie" Walker (guitar), Martin "Youth" Glover (bass guitar) and Paul Ferguson (drums), and also their first album following the death of their long-time bassist Paul Raven in 2007. Absolute Dissent was engineered and mixed by Clive Goddard, and produced by the band.
After meeting again in October 2007 at Paul Raven's funeral and sharing the feelings of mortality that Raven's passing gave to them, the original line-up of Killing Joke - Jaz Coleman, Geordie Walker, Youth and Paul Ferguson - decided to work together again as a unit and to record for the first time since 1982.[1][2]
While rehearsing for gigs during the Summer of 2009, the band worked on new songs for the album. Coleman and Walker got a few more ideas together in Prague. Upon starting the album they had nine songs ready for the album, followed by another nine.[1] The band wrote over twenty songs for the album.[3] The record label was really impressed by their new material.[4]
We have survived equipment being hi-jacked, tapes being withheld, nervous breakdowns, family bereavements, blood lettings, and a host of other challenges of Biblical proportions, But we are now at the final ascent, and I have to say it's one of the greatest albums I have ever had the privilege to be involved with… EVER! I have been living and breathing it for over four months now, and I'm still jaw-droppingly amazed at its power & beauty.
All members of Killing Joke participated in writing the lyrics and composing the music.[1] The album was conceived and then recorded in London, Spain and Prague. It was engineered and mixed by Clive Goddard, and produced by the band themselves.[5][6]
The album was originally going to be titled Feast of Fools.[3]
Music
Absolute Dissent features the sludgy sonic quality of their 2006 release Hosannas from the Basements of Hell, along with much of the same metal influence as their 2003 album Killing Joke and the melodic quality of earlier records such as of 1986's Brighter Than a Thousand Suns. Apocalypse, geopolitics, population, societal control are among the main themes in the album.[3]
The album's second track, "The Great Cull", is another heavy metal song. Its lyrical content concerns Malthusianism, the Codex Alimentarius, water fluoridation and dopamine increased in the brain, chemtrails, malleable population, and mass control to maintain the population, preferably at around 500 million.[3]
The third track, "Fresh Fever from the Skies", tells of an experience that happened to Coleman and about a hundred other people who saw seven luminous glowing objects in the sky when they were outside pubs in Ladbroke Grove, London.[3]
"In Excelsis" was first released on 23 June 2010 on the extended play of the same name. It is an anthemic song, with simple drums and also featuring keyboards for the first time on the album.[3][7]
The fifth track, "European Super State", was released as a single prior to the release of the album on 20 September 2010.[5][6] The song, the most commercial track on the album,[3] is stylistically a mixture of dance-punk, UK hard house and electronic body music.[1] It is a continuation of their convictions about the "European dream".[3]
The sixth track, "This World Hell (Die, Long Pig!)", is an industrial metal piece.[1] The song is played without a click track, in one take. Lyrically it was inspired by Coleman's eldest daughter who turned him on to the work of Jean Ziegler, former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris, and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008.[8] Among its lyrical concerns are food supply.[3]
"Endgame" was first released on the In Excelsis EP. The lyrics are about several different themes, such as a pharmaceutical company (Baxter) that was caught sending the H1N1 virus to their sister company, as well as the Iraq War.[3]
"The Raven King" started during a jam session. "It's not a song about Paul Raven", Coleman said in an interview with Rob Haynes for The Quietus, "it's about Raven's anger and things he felt passionately about. It's a song for Englishmen." "Carpe nocturno" is the last line of the song and also the last thing Raven said to Coleman in Prague when they met for the last time.[3]
"Honour the Fire" was intended to be autobiographical and concerns the band's relationship with money.[3]
"Depthcharge" is an industrial dance track. The lyrics are about impending environmental catastrophe.[3]
The closing track, "Ghosts of Ladbroke Grove", first released on the In Excelsis EP, is a moody piece, echoing the dub roots of their first EP, Turn to Red. Ladbroke Grove, a road in west London, is where generations of Coleman's family have lived. The music was composed first; Coleman went into the studio the day after and wrote the vocals. The whispering vocal is sung by Glover.[3]
Well it's our tribal area, apart from we hate the way it's been developed. We miss all our old friends. That's where we started this, where generations of my family have lived, it was the first cosmopolitan experiment in this country. It's sacred land. It's where the second wave of punk started, from the punky reggae party where Don Letts brought punk together with Bob Marley, and the whole spring in punk's rhythm section changed from that point in that area. We used to rehearse there, The Clash would be upstairs rehearsing – we didn't used to speak to each other at that stage, but later I became great friends with Joe. We used to live in squats then. It was the only way you could afford to do your music. It was an area of dissenters and thinkers, and now it's just full of bankers and wankers.
Other songs such as "I Am War", "A Sick Sun", "Time Wave", "Suicide Tribe" and "Feast of Fools" were not featured on the album, but the band still plan to work on them and publish them in different editions of the album.[3]
Reception for Absolute Dissent was largely positive. Review aggregator Metacritic, which collates reviews from various publications, indicates a score of 79 ("Generally favorable") for the album.[17]
John Doran of BBC Music wrote: "They easily manage to step out from the long shadow cast by their own first two albums on this close-to-genius release. [...] this is KJ at their distressingly original best."[7] Dom Gourlay of the Drowned in Sound music webzine awarded the album eight stars out of ten, writing that "they've defied all expectations and created arguably their most definitive, and overtly complex body of work in decades. ... Absolute Dissent is a remarkable achievement for a band whose creative zenith appeared to have been locked in the annals many moons ago. [...] if this is the last time Killing Joke embark on a recording project together, they couldn't have concocted a more fitting finale."[2]
Neil Gardner of British magazine Rock Sound wrote of the album: "Still angry, still vital", giving it seven stars out of ten.[26] Darryl Sterdan of Canoe.ca gave the album a rating of 4/5.[27] Phil Freeman of AllMusic gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, ending his review with: "it's damn nice to hear a band still operating at this level over 30 years into their career."[18] Laura Wiebe of Exclaim! praised the album, writing: "The (post-)punk ethos is there, but this is heavy, intelligent rock, aggressive and insistent sometimes, but tempered by several laidback, reflective moments. And, in a way, it sounds like these four guys were never apart."[28] Mike Schiller of PopMatters gave the album a rating of eight out of ten, writing: "the sound of Absolute Dissent is remarkably consistent—mostly straightforward rockers with some combination of tuneful singing and gravel-tinged bellowing over the top, well produced and tightly performed. There are a couple of low points, [...] but even those tracks pass fairly unassumingly."[23]Q magazine gave the album a rating of four stars out of five, pointing out that "The post-punk provocateurs 13th album finds them straddling post-millennial metal and ritualistic pounding, Jaz Coleman still roaring like he's the only sane person in a world of fools".[24]Mojo stated that "from the title track's monolithic defiance down, this one's an out-of-the-blue, anti-establishment classic", giving the album a rating of four stars out of five.[21] Tim Klingbiel of leading Australian music website FasterLouder wrote: "Approaching controversial subjects such as population control, chemtrails, microchipping of the world's population and bioterrorism, Coleman's lyrics are fascinating as always, and he remains one of the few truly enigmatic and captivating frontmen in the world of modern music", summing up the record's impact by stating that "More than anything else, Absolute Dissent highlights exactly why Killing Joke remain so culturally relevant after over 30 years – far from being content to rest on their laurels, they continue to explore territory far beyond almost any other band today."[29]
Less enthusiastic (though still positive) reviews were written by Kerrang!, Now and Alternative Press.[19][20][22]Alternative Press pointed out that "instead of building on their strengths, frontman Jaz Coleman & Co. have backslid into the subdued sogginess of the band's mid-period".[19]
In November 2010, Killing Joke were honoured with the trophy for Innovator at the Classic RockRoll of Honour.[30] The magazine ranked Absolute Dissent at number ten on its "album of the year" list. The album was listed at number ten in Terrorizer magazine's "Top 40 Albums of 2010" list.[31] It reached number four in Metal Hammer's "Top 50 Albums of 2010" list.[32] It came eighth in Revolver magazine's end-of-year list.[33]
Killing Joke are an English rock band formed in Cheltenham, England in 1979 by Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).
Killing Joke is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in October 1980 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It debuted at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart on 25 October 1980 and later peaked at number 39.
Night Time is the fifth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in February 1985 by E.G. through Polydor Records and produced by Chris Kimsey.
What's THIS For...! is the second studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in June 1981 by E.G. via Polydor Records.
Killing Joke is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Killing Joke, released on 28 July 2003 through Zuma Recordings. It was their first album in seven years, following Democracy in 1996, and their second self-titled album, following their debut in 1980. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill and features Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, a long-time Killing Joke fan, on drums. It peaked at number 43 in the UK Albums Chart.
Pandemonium is the ninth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 2 August 1994 by Butterfly Records. The album marked Killing Joke's return after a four-year hiatus, the longest the band had taken since it was founded. It also featured the return of founding member Youth, who replaced Paul Raven on bass.
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke.
Revelations is the third studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in July 1982 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It was recorded in Cologne, Germany and produced by Conny Plank, making it their first album not to be self-produced. Since bassist Youth departed from the band after the album's release, Revelations was the band's last album to feature the original line-up.
Fire Dances is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in July 1983 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It was the band's first album to feature new bass player Paul Raven, recorded at Basing Street Studios in London between February and March 1983. According to Paul Ferguson the band's drug use contributed to the original mix of the album being "tinny".
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is the sixth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in November 1986 by E.G. Records. It was their first album to be distributed through Virgin Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 54 on 22 November 1986, staying for one week. It was produced by Chris Kimsey, who had produced the band's 1985 album, Night Time.
Outside the Gate is the seventh studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in June 1988 by E.G. via Virgin Records worldwide. It was a significant stylistic departure for the band, with complex synthesised arrangements and less prominent guitar. Tensions within the band surfaced during pre-production. Drummer Paul Ferguson was dismissed at the beginning of the sessions and replaced by a studio musician while bassist Paul Raven took part to the recording but ultimately asked his name to be withdrawn from the credits for major disagreement over artistic content. The lead single was "America".
The Courtauld Talks is a live album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in 1989 by Invisible Records. It is different from the group's other releases in that it is essentially a spoken-word album.
Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions is the eighth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in November 1990 by Noise Records. After the commercial failure of their previous album Outside the Gate in 1988, singer Jaz Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker were the last remaining members of the group. In December 1988, they recruited new musicians to perform a one-off concert in Porchester and premiered new songs, including early versions of "Extremities" and "The Beautiful Dead". The band didn't have any support of a record company anymore: Virgin had fired them and their label E.G. sued them. Coleman stated that it was a very stressful period of time for him and Walker. The new material was more intense, the band performed it live during a US tour in 1989. Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions was recorded in 1990 for a German independent label: bassist Paul Raven was called back before entering into the studio. Drummer Martin Atkins, formerly of Public Image Ltd and Ministry, had joined the band in 1988 and co-composed the songs with Coleman and Walker.
Democracy is the tenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 1 April 1996 by Butterfly Records and Big Life.
Hosannas from the Basements of Hell is the twelfth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 3 April 2006 by Cooking Vinyl.
"Ha" or "Ha": Killing Joke Live is the first commercially distributed live recording by English post-punk band Killing Joke. It was recorded at Larry's Hideaway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 9 and 10 August 1982 by producer Conny Plank, and released on 4 November by E.G. Records. Rob O'Connor did the artwork for the album.
"Requiem" is a song by the English post-punk band Killing Joke. It was released in September 1980 by E.G. Records as the second single from their first studio album, Killing Joke.
The discography of Killing Joke, a British rock band, consists of 15 studio albums, seven live albums, 14 compilation albums, five extended plays (EPs), 31 singles and four video albums. The band formed in late 1978–early 1979 in Notting Hill, London, England.
MMXII is the fourteenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 2 April 2012 by Spinefarm Records, distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group.
Pylon is the fifteenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 23 October 2015 by Spinefarm Records, distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group. The album was recorded in the UK and the Czech Republic and co-produced by the band and Tom Dalgety. It was preceded by the release of "I Am the Virus" and "Euphoria" was subsequently released as the album's second single. Jaz told biographer Jyrki "Spider" Hämäläinen that it was their Cold War album.
↑ Sterdan, Darryl; QMI Agency (22 October 2010). "This week's CD reviews". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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