| MMXII | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 April 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
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| Genre | Industrial metal, post-punk | |||
| Length | 50:47 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Killing Joke | |||
| Killing Joke chronology | ||||
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| Singles from MMXII | ||||
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MMXII ("2012" in Roman numerals) 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.
We don't know if we're all gonna be here next year, we really don't. So let's celebrate!
—Jaz Coleman [1]
Following up the 2010 release of Absolute Dissent , Killing Joke's original lineup of Jaz Coleman, Geordie Walker, Martin "Youth" Glover and Paul Ferguson worked on the new album in 2011, writing and recording about twenty-six tracks, mainly at The Doghouse Studio, Oxfordshire, England. The album, produced by the band, was programmed, engineered, mixed by Clive Goddard, Tom Dalgety, Michael Rendall, with additional work by Reza Udhin at Studio Faust Records in Prague, Czech Republic. Making guitar overdubs were avoided. [2]
This year is about getting our collective dreams in order, restoring the biosphere, the idea of well-being as opposed to economic growth, the idea of partnership and co-creation with fellow human beings, moving away from national boundaries and more towards what Schiller and Beethoven were saying in some of their work.
MMXII is a dense and dark end-of-time album that explores the 2012 phenomenon with political, anti-capitalist and forward-looking themes, which is also able to find moments of optimism and hope, and positive light in the fields of environmentalism, reforestation, permaculture [5] and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. [3] [4] The industrial rock album's compositions are characterized by Walker's guitar riffs, Youth's warm and vibrant bass guitar, Fergusson's impeccable timing and by Coleman's sweet harmonies mixed with rants. [6]
The opening track of the album, "Pole Shift", is about environmental concerns and the possibility and the need of a potentially rapid shifts in the relative positions of the geographic locations of the poles and the axis of rotation of the Earth. [3] [7] This nine-minute track, which starts with a cascading symphony made up by electric bass guitar and synthesizers, is marked by Walker's guitar scaling and Coleman's mix of introspectively delivered verses and dark chorus. [8] The second track, "Fema Camp", is a five-minute song with tribal rhythms and incendiary vocals that was inspired by the prison-like facilities built around the United States by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that could be used during martial law for the internment of citizens who are deemed a threat to U.S. national security. [3] [4] [8]
'Rapture' is the way I perceive a Killing Joke concert – it's a spiritual experience for myself to get into that state of grace... music is the theme of mantra. I'm not into organized religion at all, but I've always liked what Fela Kuti did in Nigeria, playing music like it was a temple. Maybe we will evolve into a time where we will be performing for ritualistic and spiritual reasons alone and not for monetary reasons?
—Jaz Coleman [7]
"Rapture", the third track on the album and the first song that was made available for free listening, is Coleman's vision of Killing Joke's concerts, comparing them to a spiritual experience. The song, arranged in the industrial metal music style of their 2006's album Hosannas from the Basements of Hell , was inspired by Fela Kuti and his Kalakuta Republic commune in Nigeria. [3] [7] [4] The fourth track, "Colony Collapse", deals with the current global situation and its prospects in the near future. [3] [4] "Corporate Elect", the fifth track on the album, is about the greed in the business world whose rules are defined by the top corporations. [3] [7] [5] [4] The seventh track, "Primobile", is a self-referential piece about the band's members internal interactions. Both "Primobile" and "Corporate Elect" are in the industrial endeavor of reuniting a more direct punk and metal crossover. [8]
The lead single and sixth track of the album, "In Cythera" is an optimistic synthpop-influenced song reminiscent of "Adorations" and the band's sound in the mid-1980s. [8] Cythera, to which the lyrics of the song probably refer, is an island in Greece located at the south-western exit from the Aegean Sea, opposite to the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula behind Cape Maleas. [9] This island was also the inspiration for many artists such as Italian early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli for his painting The Birth of Venus , as well as for other similarly themed paintings that show the goddess Venus arriving at the shore of Cythera, for French Rococo painter Antoine Watteau's painting Embarkation for Cythera and French Modernist poet Charles Baudelaire's poem "A Voyage to Cythera", in which the poet called the island a "banal El Dorado". The penultimate track, "Trance", has a rumbling bass line mirroring that of early song "Psyche" and an abrasive guitar. [8] The closing track, "On All Hallow's Eve", is about Coleman's belief in ancestor worship supported by quantum theories that there is no death, bringing the album to a natural close. [3] [4] [6]
The album cover was designed by graphic artist and Killing Joke's long-time collaborator Mike Coles. [3] It depicts the profile of a skull and a machine both suspended in the air, and a devastated landscape in the background.
A track from the album, "Rapture", was made available for listening in February 2012. [3] The music video for "In Cythera", the first single from the album, was uploaded to the Killing Joke Vevo YouTube channel on 6 March. [10] The single itself was made available to purchase on 19 March as a limited and numbered 12″ coloured vinyl, and as a CD featuring "Penny Drops" as an exclusive and unreleased track. [11] "Corporate Elect" was released as the second single from the album, available on iTunes on 01/12/2012 with an extended version of "On All Hallow's Eve" as the b-side.
MMXII was released as a CD, a double coloured vinyl and as a downloadable Internet album via iTunes with "New Uprising" as an exclusive track on 2 April through the UK subsidiary of Spinefarm Records, and was distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group. It reached number 44 in the UK Albums Chart. [12] It was preceded by a UK tour and followed by a European tour.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 [13] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock |   [14] |
| Drowned in Sound | [8] |
| Kerrang! |   [15] |
| Mojo | [16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| Sputnikmusic |  [18] |
| Terrorizer | [19] |
MMXII was very well received by critics. Tom Bryant in the March issue of the UK-based music magazine Kerrang! rated MMXII described it as an "[a]pocalyptic death disco from seminal post-punks". [15] British magazine Classic Rock in its March issue gave the album a rating of 9 out of 10, stating that "[i]t's the end of the world as we know it. But what a way to go." [14]
The music website Sputnikmusic described it as "an end-of-times album full of carnage, disarray, paranoia... and just a little bit of hope", depicting MMXII as an album that "marks one of Killing Joke's greatest achievements, dating all the way back to their inception in 1978." [18] Dom Gourlay of the UK-based music webzine Drowned in Sound wrote: "[t]he sound of a band still in their creative prime, MMXII is everything Killing Joke have proclaimed themselves to be these past three-and-a-half decades, and fifteen albums on is just as incisive and coarse as their debut." [8]
All tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Youth, and Geordie Walker).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pole Shift" | 8:56 |
| 2. | "Fema Camp" | 5:02 |
| 3. | "Rapture" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Colony Collapse" | 5:04 |
| 5. | "Corporate Elect" | 4:00 |
| 6. | "In Cythera" | 4:29 |
| 7. | "Primobile" | 4:44 |
| 8. | "Glitch" | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Trance" | 6:09 |
| 10. | "On All Hallow's Eve" | 3:21 |
| Total length: | 50:52 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "New Uprising" | 6:09 |
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Album Chart | 9 [20] |
| French Albums Chart | 134 [21] |
| UK Albums Chart | 44 [12] |
Killing Joke are an English rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1978 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 on 5 October 1980 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It debuted at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart on 26 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 on drums, a long-time Killing Joke fan. 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.
"Eighties" is the lead single from English post-punk band Killing Joke's fifth studio album, Night Time (1985), produced by Chris Kimsey. The song had been premiered during a three track live performance for UK TV show the Tube in December 1983. Upon its release, the single reached No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart.
Absolute Dissent is the thirteenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 27 September 2010 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.
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