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Killing Joke On Track: Every Album, Every Song
£11.70£15.20 (-23%)
Forged in a West London fire ritual in 1979 and reborn with their original line-up in 2008, Killing Joke have been creating uncompromising music for 44 years. In addition to their incandescent self-titled debut in 1980, they have released essential albums in each of the past four decades: Night Time (1985), Pandemonium (1994), Killing Joke (2003) and Pylon (2015). But Killing Joke are more than a band; they are a primal force that exerts an intangible gravity on both its members and its fans. They have influenced countless groups across multiple genres – including Metallica, Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails – while their own style ranges across post-punk, dub, industrial, world music, electronica and alt-metal. Their equally eclectic lyrics traverse social alienation, dystopian futures, the folly of hubris, Cold War dread, paganism and the occult. Above all, their work embodies a process of self-discovery whose aim is nothing less than the revelation and integration of our darkest urges. Killing Joke On Track covers the 15 studio albums and almost 200 songs of Killing Joke’s vocation to date. It’s a celebration of a band who are often challenging, always provocative, but ultimately life-affirming.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Sonicbond Publishing (30 Jun. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 144 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1789522730 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1789522730 |
| Dimensions | 14.94 x 1.4 x 20.5 cm |
by Anna
Sonicbond Publishing’s “On Track” series takes a close look at the output of some of the most influential bands in the history of rock and pop. The latest offering, from writer, scholar and sometime musician Nic Ransome, is an intelligent, passionate and knowledgeable analysis of the seminal British band Killing Joke: their origins, albums and songs. Well-written and richly illustrated with colour images of posters, album covers, the band, and more, “Killing Joke On Track” will be a rare treat for Killing Joke fans, and a valued addition to the book collections of music fans and scholars alike.
by J. Friedmann
If you like KILLING JOKE you will love this book. Nic Ransome illuminates every song so that your experience becomes so much richer.
by Dominator
Positives first :
The author is obviously a massive KJ fan, and is extremely perceptive in spotting the differences between different versions of the same track, with an eye for detail that few people have.
As a fan of 43 years (and counting), the level of detail SHOULD really appeal to me.
The way he highlights the differences in playing style (eg between Youth and Raven) really made me more aware of them too.
Negatives :
His musical analysis is littered with terms such as Phrygian, Lydian Dominant and Mixolydian without bothering to explain to us mortals what any of those terms might mean. Ok, it’s my fault that I don’t know what a bridge or semitone is, but give us some help eh ?
He seems to see no wrong in anything the band ever released; there are some very poor tracks in the back catalogue but he (unrealistically) sees no weaknesses. Even the appalling Outside The Gate is talked about reverentially. He needs to get real !
His political attitude is foisted on us relentlessly, and like most left-wingers he has the intellectual arrogance that he MUST be correct. Whilst I am interested in the band’s views, I am definitely not interested in his.
Overall I was disappointed, as the book is written as though the author is lecturing us mortals from his position of greater intelligence.
One for the unquestioning diehards only I’m afraid.
by Brother Grim
This book wasn’t exactly written with me in mind, since I’m no diehard Killing Joke fan. Back in the 80s, I loved their music, but my interest started to fade in the mid-90s. Still, I stumbled upon this book in my local bookstore and being a fan of well-written music journalism, I decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did.
The writing in this book is simply beautiful. It brings each track to life and I found myself repeatedly going to YouTube, reevaluating songs I had dismissed before and discovering new ones that are now on heavy rotation.
There were some things I didn’t agree with in the book, but that’s what I appreciate about it. It takes a strong stance on each song, never settling for blandness. Thanks to this book, Killing Joke is back on my radar and I have a newfound appreciation for this truly unique band. Five stars.