KiLlIng JoKe Developments.....

Hooray!

I want to say yes, but -- typically -- there's lots of conflicting info on the Joke front.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00008VFEK.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

There are bonus tracks on all the re-masters, though not as many as I'd have preferred.

Damnit! I'm in shock. I thought I was getting the real thing. I'm glad you caught that.

Alex in NYC or not, there is some delightfully wonderful sonic bombast to be had, here. The bonus track of Requeiem for starters. "Primitive" is rather interesting, too.

i have always held the joke at arms length as they have always been top of my list as the worst live gig i ever went to.

now, i realise this is a sin to certain folks, but they were dreadful. they had got lost enroute and it was obvious that they were in a seriously pissed off mood and didn't want to do the show (1987 - Leeds Uni - with the awesome Lorries on support) - so they just rushed through the stuff at distortion levels due their overly late stage time.

not enjoyable.

however, as the last album ripped a big hole in my playlist i feel its time to do the research and go back in time.

also it means i may begin to understand the ever fresh passion of Alex, something that amazes even me with my ongoing well known infatuations.

I have the Incomplete Collection box set and never bothered to research any variance in track listing on the albums from the original studio releases, nor have I ever checked for any b-sides I might have missed from '80 to '85. The albums in the box are the only KJ I know (to '85 that is), and they're all of course fantastic.

So, is there something big I missed out on?

Dear Gatherers and friends of the fire,
Greetings and I trust you are all in good spirits.
So much has happened since my last yard entry, I must just mention Dimebags death, which was a tragedy both personal and for music, I never met anyone that had the lust for life that that man had, he lived and died for his love of the music. Rest in Peace Dime & much love to Rita, Riggs, Philip, Rex & Kat along with all the Pantera family worldwide. 
 
Well…we have fought many battles to get through this last period since KILLING JOKE 2003 came out it’s hard to know where to start so I wont, I’ll just go on to say that we have banished a few of the demons from our midst and are far better off for it.
 
Prague has been the base for much merry making as well as hard work, we would like to thank all the long suffering bartenders in Prague city, they have seen KILLING JOKE at our absolute best/worst this year and tolerated it with grace, thanks to Nora, Tomas, Marika, and all the staff at ‘Through the Looking Glass’ & The New Rangers Crew in Karlova 25.
 
We are all pssyched about the new album, which will be called HOSSANAS FROM THE BASEMENTS OF HELL. We recorded the album in Prague 6 at Faust Studios and it sounds amazing, Jerry Kandiah engineered the record and we are producing ourselves these days...(no change there then)
I must say that I am proud of Jaz and Geordie, Benny and Reza as everyone has stepped to the plate and delivered beyond expectation, we feel it is some of the best work we have ever done under the banner KILLING JOKE… but hey!  we’ll let you decide.
 
You will all get a chance to meet Jerry & check out his other talents, along with drummer Lord Hedgewick & bass maestro Blaise, when they join us out on the UK/EU tour w/ his band TRIBAZIK.
 
While we’re talking tours…
 
The Motley Crue tour was a fucking joke & we hated it. There was problem after problem and a whole bunch of bullshit from the business end to get through that made the whole experience pretty draining all round. We overcame adversity and ‘…kicked ass’ as those morons would say. Always got time for Sixx, he’s a true geezer with low end to spare, but the rest can go hang. Our crew excelled & Crues stage crew were accommodating, but the headaches out weighed the fun & as usual that usually means destruction and chaos in return from our end culminating in Motleys manager getting knocked out in London. Well done that man! We drank a lot and went fucking mental non stop ending up in London with debts and a hangover like you wouldn’t believe.
 Any way fuck that.
 
We need to thank all the Gatherers & the hardcore that showed up to see us at BARFLY in Camden on the 21st for the Kerrang Jester Benefit, we had a great time & it was excellent to finally meet Jester Joe & see him in such good spirits in the face of adversity. Butcher, I owe you an apology for behaving like a hooligan.
 
We will be auctioning the original lyrics to ‘Turn to Red’, ‘Are you Receiving?’ & ‘Nervous system’ on www.killingjoke.com very soon as well as some other choice items including a bass guitar from Warwick & something ‘special’ from Jaz to raise more funds so keep your eyes peeled.
 
We are planning a playback party of the soon to be released KILLING JOKE DVD from the XXV Gathering in Feb called THE BAND THAT PREYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER, along with previews of the HOSSANAS FROM THE BASEMENTS OF HELL CD which will not be available till Feb 2006. It will be held at The Cochran Theatre, which is Southampton Row, London WC1. On Sunday 16th October, that’s the Sunday after we play the Astoria. We are waiting on confirmation at this point re the date but I will keep you all informed.
There will be only 300 seats for this event so tickets are being made available to Gatherers first…of course.
 Email me at killingjoke1@gmail.com to reserve. The tickets for this event will be £20 and all the proceeds will go to Jesters fund.
We are planning on making the fund a permanent fixture at the site so that Gatherers that are in need will have a chance of getting treatment should they fall ill & need help.
 
We all know what happened in summer, we did a few festivals but cancelled shows as we were under pressure to complete the new album, sometimes it’s really hard to swap heads in mid stream. Sorry to everyone in Germany who was disappointed by our cancellations. However, KILLING JOKE will be back in Germany in December to make up for it so look out for us and please come, we will show up THIS TIME! Really looking fwd to a Berlin show at the now legendary SO36.
 
We are gearing up for our European tour starting in Gent Belgium on Thursday 29th September. We expect loyal Gatherers & mad Belgians to show in force! That means you Marnick! Come witness the first sober (except Benny) Killing Joke shows in years! Ha ha ha. See you down the front motherfuckers.
 
Finally, Gems of Power, the spoken word box set that I did w/ Jaz in Prague is being made available, thank you to the many of you who have already shown interest. Those Gatherers who have reserved signed numbered copies of the first edition need to email me again at  killingjoke1@gmail.com
And those orders will of course be filled first.
 
Respect & regards, 
 
Your grinning bass hound.
 
 r a v e n

http://i51.tinypic.com/b7cubo.jpg

kiliing joke developments

Recent NZ TV interview (17 Aug) with Jaz on the new album here

Terrible cover. Incredible record.

is this out yet?

What exactly is that image? A cross being used as a cell tower or a speaker pole or some reference to cameras in London?

It's a cell tower I think

This cover is so awful:
http://p.playserver1.com/ProductImages/0/0/0/6/7/8/8/2/28876000_500x500_1.jpg

But this track is so good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCsRwRYXFkg

heard that track earlier today, my nerves have yet to recover. immense.
but yes, truly awful awful artwork ..
if they removed the skull and the engine part (??) then that would be an improvement.

This song is a monster. As monstrous as that cover art.

Terrible cover. Incredible record.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 8:07 PM (1 year ago)

lol seems to be a recurring theme.

Cannot wait to FINALLY see Killing Joke in person for the first time at Roadburn in April.

Great tune, too.

Paul Ferguson really needs to dump the hi-hat/cymbals from his kit. The first 4 albums had such a unique sound in large part due to the tribal tom patterns and high frequency space opened up to Geordie's flanged jazz chords.

Don't mind Youth bringing in psy-trance production touches, but I haven't cared much for the past 22 years of KJ being the respectable Ministry alternative.

Really, nobody else has sounded quite like prime era KJ. Certainly not later KJ.

That may be, but as far as I'm concerned, EVERY ALBUM aside from "Outside The Gate" has been immensely enjoyable when it came out and has a place in their catalog - the metalic "Pandemonium", the acoustic "Democracy", the violently angry "KJ 2003" and the long sludgy grooves of "Hosannas" are all really different from one another and all fantastic.

absolute dissent is a pretty great album, the first in a long time from them that I thught really sounded like old school KJ.

I heard from a friend they were 'awful' in LA last year and had a tech stand in for Youth...true?

I like this new song.

New album is balls...

...of fire raining from the sky and scorching my eardrums with awesomeness!

Nice! New KJ take a few listens to reveal the nuances but, yeah, more greatness. Frankly I find every single album aside from Outside The Gate to be worthy, no idea how I'd rank them as they seem to change with each one.

Any thoughts on "MMXII"? Lyrically, Jaz is completely nuts - FEMA camps, really? At times it sounds like a cross between Brighter and Repressed Emotions. It's not bad but it's not grabbing me like the last one.