Killing Joke- what's THIS for...!

What can I say about Killing Joke that hasn't already been said much more eloquently than I can manage?  Probably nothing, but shit I love this band.  The style they cultivated was so original, both danceable and foreboding, sounding something like Gang of Four's bigger, much meaner brother. To this day I'm unaware of any band that has made music combining tight grooves and aggression the way these guys did.  Nine Inch Nails you say?  I don't think so.   

This record, their second full length, sees the band moving into less harsh territory than their debut, though just barely.  The guitars are still very tinny and the beats are still pounded out in odd patterns so monotonous they become hypnotic. The overall effect is a sound that often manages to somehow seem heavily layered and stripped down simultaneously and is so repetitive it's almost nauseating.

Pre-dating the genre of industrial music as it's thought of today by almost a decade, I wouldn't think it at all a stretch to claim that the industrial genre likely owes much more to KJ than Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire combined.  While that may not seem  like something to brag about, it's important to keep in mind that what was adapted from KJ by the artists that would begin to receive the 'industrial' tag in the early 90s really isn't any particular part of their sound, but instead the idea that mechanical sounds previously considered non-musical can be altered to produce unique rhythms.  As we now know, many artists have used this idea for evil rather than good (Rammstein anyone?); but the fact that such bands can't hold a candle to this record, which is now thirty years old, is a testament to how great this music really is.

Think about it like this: while latter day industrial bands almost always attempt to feign toughness in order to come across as intimidating, Killing Joke never did because they never had to; their sound was tough enough to intimidate on it's own.
Check it out here, then buy the re-mastered special edition import DBL LP with bonus tracks here.