Revelations (Killing Joke album)

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Revelations
Killing Joke - Revelations-cover.jpg
Studio album by
Killing Joke
ReleasedJuly 1982
StudioConny's Studio, Wolperath, Cologne, Germany
Genre
Length37:24
Label E.G., Polydor
Producer Conny Plank
Killing Joke chronology
What's THIS For...!
(1981)		Revelations
(1982)		 Fire Dances
(1983)
Singles from Revelations
  1. "Empire Song"
    Released: April 1982
  2. "Chop-Chop"
    Released: June 1982

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[ citation needed ] 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 (until their 2010 album Absolute Dissent ).

Contents

Release

Revelations was released in July 1982 by E.G. Records. It reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart. [2] Youth was disappointed the way the album turned out, as it later contributed to him leaving the band, saying "It came out a bit dirgy". [3]

Two singles were released from the album: "Empire Song" and "Chop-Chop". "Empire Song" was performed on Top of the Pops , but without singer Jaz Coleman, who had departed for Iceland fearing nuclear holocaust at the time.[ citation needed ]

A remastered version was released in 2005, including an alternate recording of "We Have Joy".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Austin Chronicle Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Drowned in Sound 5/5 [6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
MusicHound RockStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Select Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]

Revelations has generally received mixed-to-favourable reception by critics. Nick Lancaster of Drowned in Sound praised the album, calling it "a less individual work – record company pressures and an outside producer necessarily toning down the band's nihilistic excesses – but it's all the better for it." [6] Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle called it "faster" and "sleeker" than previous albums. [5] Fact put the album at no. 11 on their list titled "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". [1] In negative retrospective reviews, AllMusic believed the album had a "lack of cohesion and direction", [4] while Trouser Press wrote that it "suffers from an uninvolving lethargy". [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Youth and Geordie Walker)

Side A
No.TitleLength
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
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Chapter III"3:13
2."Have a Nice Day"3:13
3."Land of Milk and Honey"2:38
4."Good Samaritan"3:28
5."Dregs"4:57
2005 CD reissue bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."We Have Joy" (Alternate Mix)4:21

Personnel

Killing Joke
Technical

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 12 [2]
New Zealand33 [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 Sande, Kiran (2 November 2010). "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". Fact . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Killing Joke -UK Charts". Official Charts . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 70. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN   978-1912587407.
  4. 1 2 Ogg, Alex. "Revelations review". AllMusic . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 Gray, Christopher (16 December 2005). "Review: Killing Joke, What's THIS For ...?, Revelations, Ha! – Music – The Austin Chronicle". Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 Lancaster, Nick (11 July 2005). "Album Review: Killing Joke – Reissues / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  8. ↑ Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp.  629–630. ISBN   978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  9. ↑ Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select . p. 86.
  10. ↑ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press . Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Revelations "Discographie Killing Joke". lescharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
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