Search - Killing Joke :: Extremities Dirt & Various

The Ultimate Killing Joke Album

Dr. Bonkers | New York, NJ | 12/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Probably the best iteration of Killing Joke of all the different line-ups. Martin Atkins plays with a fire unseen since his Public Image Limited days. Jaz Coleman sings tunefully yet savagely some of the most brilliant lyrics & keyboard arrangements, a man frustrated with the Reagan & GHWB era world political scene and the record industry of the late 80's/early 90's that almost crushed a great band. Geordie Walker plays slabs of dissonant chords and aggressive almost metal surf guitar riffs. Paul Raven lays down the bass groove with the authority of a punk James Jamerson or Bootsy Collins and a deep aggressive bass tone. The remastered version of this album (which was recorded on their own on a shoe string budget) finally eliminates the tape hiss and allows the bass & drums to thunder along in their proper glory.



The Disc Two of this expanded edition gives great demos of the very rare "The Fanatic", which was performed on tour but never available before, as well as "Solitude" & "The Beautiful Dead". "The Party (Demo)" is easily the weakest track on the 2-disc set as it suffers from compositional flaws in terms of weak song writing in that hte verses & choruses seem to be from 2 different songs. The live version of "Age of Greed" seems eitehr really slow or that it was a digital transfer error. The bonus video is great.



All in all, a great album that is 95% killer, 5% filler like the best Killing Joke albums. Buy this and you won't be disappointed if you like heavy music.



One warning though, do not listen to this album before going to work or you may end up quitting your job!"