Killing Joke

Really solid rock. Strong.

Origin of the band‘s name funnier than the music

2.5

It's not bad, but not sure I would qualify this album as being one that one should listen to before they die. Decent post-punk, but a little monotone. 3/5

Had never heard of this before. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure why. I found myself bouncing to the beat. Feels very tribal and lizard brain in a weird way. I don't think I'll listen again, but it's good for what it is.

Klonk in begin heel "faded" als in de stemmen klonken heel wazig en ver weg/niet pakkend, dacht 2 * maar toen later werd t opeens veel nicerr

Kind of forgot about Killing Joke. I was really into their album ‘Democracy’ as a teen in the 90s but have not listened to any of their other albums. This one is a more industrial / post-punk sound which are not usually my favourite genres but I found it to be pretty enjoyable. Raw and sparse arrangements, the sounds are clean and punchy with lots of space in the mix. The drummer is pretty solid and the kick drum sounds great. Good bass tone though the bass player is rushing constantly. Simple vocals and guitar riffs but suitable for the style. Best song by far is ‘Requiem’, could listen to that on repeat. A solid album overall, glad to have heard it.

Decent album, a little grungy for me.

Loved some tracks (Requiem, Crash), but others just didn't pull me in much (especially Bloodsport)

Punk with some pop. I like it.

Mehhh. Generic post punk that got repetitive quick

So much better than I’d anticipated. Dark and moody, nice and noisy too. Good 80s vibes.

Repeat guitar riff 500 times

If I had ever heard the Joke I don’t remember. I won’t forget it this time.

gott iðnaðarskotið síðpönk. gef þessu aðra spilun með gleði. 3,5.

they did something

Heard the name and can see why. This must have been pretty innovative stuff when it was released. Very cool coming together of rock and early electronics, pretty hypnotic and driving in a progressive house kind of way, but with guitars. Unfortunately never rose to the occasion, didn’t hold my attention and ultimately was a bit boring - not enough energy.

Cool and punky. Not fantastic but pretty fun for a once-through.

Didn’t mind this. Generous 3.

It's been 12 years since I heard any Killing Joke. They were playing in town and I wondered if they were any good, found some cool music history, but I did not go to see them play. I think I'm at about the same place now. This is neat! It's a little too goth or something for me to really dig the whole album. The songs built around unsettling guitar lines (vs. power chord riffs) are the best of it, and if they sounded like that most of the time I would have gone to see them play.

This one wasn't as good as I hoped it would be and a lot of the songs blended together.

3/4

I'm beginning to think I can make an album and it will get put on this list.

Some are good, sounds very The Clash

Not as bad as we expect. That is all

Pretty good

Kinda maybe has something going for it, but it is very repetitive. You could half the track length and take the best bits out to make something stronger. Rounded up from a 2.

Tracks 6-10 are bangers, first half is boring af. Tracks 1-5 is a 2, second half is 3.5 so I guess we'll call it a 3.

# Playlist track - Change # Notes - It's one of these albums that takes some time to digest and enjoy. - First run, I pretty much hated it. The mixing is weird, with muffled vocals and muddy bass sometimes. Just didn't seem to make any sense. - This is especially noticeable in "Wardance". - As I listened to it a couple more times, it grew on me, though. There are cool riffs, a lot of raw energy. - Not a great album for me, but one worth getting to know at least once.

朋克小鬼

Thanks for the introduction. Incredibly I had never heard of this influential band, and they were from my time. :)

Had never heard of these guys before, but this was a pretty solid album.

A good rock album with some industrial sounds thrown into the mix. Best - Requiem, The Wait, S.O.36, and Change Worst - no bad songs but just a few on here that were mid 3.00-3.25/5

Couple solid songs here...1980 - wow...let's give them credit for producing on their own. Raw sound works well.

Many people reference this band. Not me.

Not a bad listen, nothing really jumped out as something I'd want to add and listen to again. 3/5

Some clear originality to this one but also just not that interesting.

Hard driving, growly, fast paced rock 'n roll - not sure why this is termed post punk rock. Sounds like straight, stripped down punk rock to me. Pretty good, too.

Post punk pain

This was an interesting album and a sound I had never really heard before. Electronic and metal mixed...So it somewhat mellowed the metal vibe and it was metal enough that it avoided the repetition that electronic music can have. It was not heavy vocals, but I was okay with that. It was something I wouldn't listen to again but I can appreciate this as something different and musically unique, that did not make my ears hurt.

I appreciate the message in their lyrics, and this album grew on me as it went on. It rocked pretty hard. Post punk has been one of my lowest rated genres to date, but this might actually be my favorite album so far in that category. That’s not really saying much, but it wasn’t bad!

6/10

Good rock music, was a lil generic but i liked the songs.

While there were some definite highs throughout this album, a lot of the lyrics left more to be desired. Maybe I’m hating, but I didn’t feel as impactful a statement as the wiki article stated was there.

This was not my favorite, but it was ok.

Not my kind of music. But for what it is, it's pretty good.

Nothing bad about it it’s just not really my thing.

Unremarkable

I kept hearing things that reminded me of Siouxsie and the Banshees as this played, which is fine by me. It got noisier than I typically am inclined to enjoy, but I was never put off by it. But, as you may be able to discern, I don't know that I ever really warmed up to this. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could, but not at a 4 after this one spin. There was a lot I liked, but something was keeping me at arm's length. Dug the immediacy of the production and the energy of the band.

I appreciate the approach and execution of this album. By the time I got to S.O.36 the album was really growing on me.

Not for me I think, pretty repetitive and a bit grating. However I can see how influential this is! 3/3.5

What a great album. Who knew?

Probably not that good or particularly up my street. But I listened to it on the bike in the sun and enjoyed it a lot.

Not too shabby

Not familiar with Killing Joke or any of their songs. Liked the punk with futuristic background effect. The lyrics were simple and repetitive. Bloodsport (instrumental) was the best song but there are other good ones. Album cover photo and the fact that the album was self produced the way the band wanted it might be why this one made the 1001 list. Liked it enough to give it (2.7*s) Keep the Change, change, change, echo…

I accidentally listened to the 2003 album of the same name and was not to into that one. This was much better. Really liked some of guitar/drum work. Lead singer gets a little too dark/goth and there is some useless noise that could be cut from a few tracks. Still though, I think it is not too bad for post-punk 80s debut from a bamd i have never heard of...2.7.

Saw these guys at the Royal Albert Hall last year as a neighbour is a massive fan, enjoyed this… not only for what it is itself but the amount of other bands/sounds were inspired/evolved from this… NIN etc….

Some really excellent early post-punk. Made it to the second song in their second Self-Titled before realizing I was on the wrong one.

Easy to listen to, but nothing really stood out.

I thought this was fine to slightly below fine, overall not for me

Lots of good memories

The main standout, as is often the case for post-punk music, is the bass playing. Very energetic and flamboyant, keeping the songs moving even in the 5-6 minute tracks when the music is otherwise pretty static. Many tracks here feature a full-on punk-rock wall of sound. which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some could use more of a sense of "progression". The drumming and guitarwork is theoretically strong, but it doesn't shine as much as it could due to textural monotonicity and there not being many solos. Requiem and Change are, in my opinion, the two tracks that avoid that constancy, and are hence the two best tracks. I will say, though: none of the tracks are necessarily bad. Sure, the vocals are nearly objectively bad – but that's essentially a staple of the punk genre. And when I'm in a revolution-esque mood (or maybe going through an unprecedented emo-punk era), this could make for an excellent soundtrack. 3/5 Key tracks: Requiem, The Wait, Primitive, Change

Too much of the same song. I enjoyed the electronic/techno influence that was present in a few of the songs, but otherwise, this album isn’t really that original or unique in any way. 3/5

This album had some good moments. Favourite song: Requim and complications. Least favourite: Bloodsport Album artwork: cool cover.

This one is interesting because of the sounds they have created are paving the way for the future. Electronica/Punk/Metal. Vocals are at times off putting but the music is good enough to keep me in touch. Nice to see featured insturmentals

This was pretty good

I have a feeling I'm underrating this album. I'm guessing that if I listened to it five times I would get it more. I did listen to Requiem more than once. I know Killing Joke from the one song Love Like Blood, which I like a lot, but it's not here. It was interesting hearing the early work of Flood on bass. I know many albums that he's produced. Liked songs added: - Requiem

I enjoyed it, it's good. Not one of the best punk albums but, good.

Quite heavy guitar but really enjoyable.

Really enjoyed it at times; really didn't at other times.

I liked “Requiem” a lot

Post punk from 1980 with a punk dance vibe. 3.5

Never heard of Killing Joke. Enjoyed the album, old school rock. Nothing really kept my attention, but enjoyed it more than the 1960s/1970s stuff thats been coming through a lot lately.

ordentlich häftig... da merkt man den Punk

Requiem 3.3 Wardance 3.1 Tomorrow's World 3 Bloodsport 2.8 The Wait 3.2 Complications 3.3 S.O.36 3.4 Primitive 3.5 Score: 3.2

I was expecting a bit more angry punk from this, but I think that's on my bad ears. Can't say I'll do it right away but it definitely deserves another listen.

Some really good songs as you progress.

56/100

Track 1. Accessible, quite modern sounding. Track 2. Silly voice. Track 3. Oh no the voice is still here. Track 4. Got funky. And no singing 👍🏻 Track 5. Intro! Oh no the singing is back. Track 6. More melodic singing? Track 7. Long, repetitive. Track 8. Can't remember. Enjoyed most of the music, just not into the singing all the time.

Very cool sound, great experimentation with the electric guitar as well as electronic sound. Likely well ahead of their time. The music tends to feel like a background accoutrement, perhaps that of a movie score. You get hints of a punk band, but it focuses on the wall of sound rather than the yelling anger. It has that attraction, but lacks the revisit-ability.

oh look at that, another UK punk band. Just what we needed. I had almost forgotten the last one. What about this justifies its place here? Maybe because it moved from 41st to 39th place on Billboard during it's run. I did like Bloodsport, but probably because it had no vocals. I want to provide more disses to this album, but it isn't the album I'm upset with. As it went on I actually started enjoying the songs.

Not bad. This one's billed as "post-punk," and I think I'm starting to understand it. It's like a nuclear war fallout version of punk rock, the aftermath in a sense. It's got a lot of the grit but a very different energy. Couple songs I'm saving, but overall this album didn't do too much for me. Favorite tracks: Bloodsport, Requiem. Album art: Black and white shot of what appears to some guys on and below a wall. Maybe some rebels trying to blow it up? Not sure. I think part of my "nuclear war" aftermath analogy is attributable to this cover, I'm getting that vibe for sure. The grafitti-style title is pretty cool. 3/5

Take some punk songs, add some synthesisers, and what do you know you’ve got yourself a post-punk album. In all seriousness, I feel like I must have sustained some sort of recent head injury that I don’t remember, because not only is this the best post-punk album I ever heard (low bar) but I actually enjoyed it.

It’s not a 2 and it’s not a 4. Simpsons: No

Post punk I didn’t hate. That’s pretty impressive in my books

I've discovered a love of 80's post punk and this sit well in there, all be it at the harder end of the spectrum.

ta ok

2.8/5 Best Track: Requiem

A decent beginning for a band that’s underappreciated here in the US. The genre bending generally works.

A decent listen. Not quite sure how to categorise it, maybe angrier version of Television? Decent album!

Good post-punk debut album by Killing Joke. I like the bass and production on this album quite much. I can't say that much about it, but it's a solid 3 from me.

It's ok

Literally just more rock music except this time some of the songs have no lyrics. Is the author of this 1001 list allergic to listening to anything that's not British rock made before the year 2000 or something? No hate but it's kind of stretching my patience thin. There is so much more unique music out there (that is more deserving of a place on this list than SOME albums we've heard) and yet we keep getting fed British rock band after British rock band. I'm sure there's some contextual significance or explanation that I'm missing, but I've decided to stop looking into the albums so deeply since good music shouldn't have to rely on the listener's prior knowledge to be enjoyable or to convey a message. Anyways I don't even hate this album at all I just think there should be some diversity on this list. Favourites are The Wait and Complications, though Requiem and Bloodsport are good too. Another 3 - was okay, somewhat repetitive, but nice beats to have on in the background while you dissociate

Not sure what to say. Where is my impression. It's supposed to be nauxious. And it is unsettling aggravating stuff. Cold and metallic like DK. An angry and dejected reaction to injustice and the horrid society beating and gassing its own people. Its excellent and - for once in pink - clear clean uncluttered as careful restrained art- very good at what it does - so 4-5 stars for being very good at being bleak, pared back punk. But for my enjoyment it's a 3.

Musically, I really enjoy this album, which I’d never bothered listening to before. From the opening of Requiem to the final track, Primitive, I’m totally engaged by the music - I just find Jaz Coleman’s vocals a bit boring. He may have influenced a whole host of British post-punk vocalists, but I’m afraid that’s no gold medal as far as I’m concerned. Still, there’s some great stuff here - none better than the first single taken from the album - Wardance, or Bloodsport - these are both absolute winners. If I played this a few more times, it might score more, but it’s 3 stars from me.

Although the album is really much better that I expected (I thought this might be some horrible hardcore record), there is still something cold and unsatisfying about this approach to art.

Not that interesting, but not bad. Doubt I'll ever get the urge to voluntarily listen again but if it's on somewhere I am, that's fine I s'pose.

Very good.

Este disco inauguró un estilo que, nacido del punk y la new wave, se caracterizaba por un frío latido metálico sombrío y furioso que pronto fue imitado hasta la saciedad por cientos de bandas posteriores. Su vigoroso primer tema, "Requiem", ya anuncia lo que va ir después: riffs de guitarra precisos y ritmos sincopados en canciones como "Wardance" que iban a influir también en generaciones posteriores de músicos hardcore. Incluso el tema "Te Wait" sería incluido años después en un álbum de Metallica. "Killing Joke" es todo un clásico de la música alternativa y underground.

i respect each song individually but the album wasn’t amazing. it was decent, i don’t think i’d go back to any songs but some songs were pretty good.

Sounded okay, but at times a bit repetitive, and reminding me of other bands I would prefer to listen to.

Kasarisoundit ja tiukka postpunk drive. Tätä oon koittanut kuunnella aikaisemminkin, mutten oo oikeen päättänyt onks tää lintu vai kala. Sama edelleen. 3/5

ennen kaikkea jotenkin hauska levy raskauden ja syntetissaattorien yhdistelmineen. 3/5

Eh. I got through it but it was hard. Maybe not in the right head space. The sound was full to the point of echo at times.

it was alright not anything special really 3/5

Hadn’t heard of this band before, loved learning about the punk scene, not exactly my taste though

Soft 3

Early post punk. Synth additions are fun. Whole thing is a tab bit repetitive

Interesting record, though not really for me. I find some enjoyable tracks, but half of the album flew by and didn't capture me. Standout tracks: Requiem, Tomorrow’s World, The Wait, Primitive 6,5 out of 10

fine goth rock.

Requim was pretty good, rest of the album just passed me by,

This was pretty good.

Hard to quantify but I quite enjoyed this. Reminded me a bit of some of the gloomier work by The Jam. 3.5 stars.

Me ha gustado el sonido. Pienso que le falta presencia a la voz. La progresión musical es lenta en momentos. Hay riffs muy buenos, muy creativos, pero muy uniforme en toda la canción. Falta algo de dinámica.

A bit to post post-punk for me, but overall enjoyable

More interesting than I expected. The repetitive lyrics got old by the end of the album.

Interesting - another band I've heard of since the 80's but for some reason never listened to. I thought they were pretty good.

Hard-edged punk influenced precursors to the industrial scene in the 90s.

Hasn’t got much to it

So raw, noisy and brutal. Love the industrial vibes, it’s a powerful debut. [0129/1001]

Killing Joke's eponymous debut album, released in 1980, is a sonic assault that captures the essence of post-punk and industrial music. The opening track, "Wardance," kicks off with an intensity that can only be described as a musical onslaught, featuring vocals that sound like they're delivered by the Daleks. This unmistakable element adds a futuristic, otherworldly quality to the album, aligning with Killing Joke's ability to transcend conventional punk boundaries. The relentless energy, driven by tribal rhythms and guitar riffs, sets a tone that permeates the entire record. Throughout the album, Killing Joke navigates a dark and dystopian sonic landscape, incorporating elements of punk, industrial, and even hints of gothic rock. Songs like "The Wait" and "Complications" showcase the band's knack for creating a sense of urgency, while tracks like "Requiem" delve into a more atmospheric and haunting realm. The sonic experimentation on this album laid the groundwork for Killing Joke's influential career and left an indelible mark on the post-punk and industrial genres. The self-titled debut stands as a testament to the band's ability to push musical boundaries and create a sound that remains both iconic and challenging.

not as good as the comic

80's tastic. Pretty good but not exceptional. And a bit formulaic.

Little light in this industrial powerhouse. Somewhat cludgey in places although there are some subtler moments.

feels like it was just a step away from greatness.

3*

liked it more as it went more German

Meh

Interesting album for sure. Good early punk for sure.

on a scale of pere ube to good it's 3/4 of the way to good wardance bloodsport the wait primitive

3.5/5

first listen interesting textures and sound but kinda same-y

This got really irritating after the first couple tracks. I can see what they were trying to do but it just didn’t work for me.

Een 2-tal nummers vind ik heel goed. De rest maar zo-zo

Pretty good ok

Decent odd rock

This is weird but I mostly like it. It's very 1980, for sure. The problem I'm having is a few tracks drag, and a few tracks Really drag with repetitive instrumentals that really just feel like they're there for padding. 4 for content here, minus 1 for padding.

Punk and electronics was revolutionary at the time, but this felt a bit pedestrian now. Gets points for being ahead of its time, but I didn't love it.

Had high expectations for this one & I’ve been meaning to listen to it for years, but I’m a bit disappointed honestly, most of it is pretty standard.

Got a little slow tbh but it had a fun front half

Isn’t my favorite but liked it more as it went on. Rating: 2.7

Have to say I really enjoyed this album for what it is, certainly some weaker songs than others, but I’d say I liked a good chunk of them 3/5 Favourite Song: Bloodsport

Lost three teeth just listening to this. A good sound, very clash-esque. Feels a bit one note after while. One of those albums that reminds you that you are living in a society. I wish albums would stop doing that to me. Just let me eat my yogurt in peace please.

The band's name is definitely familiar to me but I'm not sure if I had heard any of their music before this. This album to me is yet another example of how sounds, styles, and trends that we (or at least I) think of in music culture have been around a lot longer than meets the eye and how all these genres and categories (which I get away from more and more) overlap, influence each other, and don't ever really fit neatly into one description. It's hard-driving, heavy-attack stuff yet still has some interesting compositional and performance aspects to it. I like it.

Fine album of Killing Joke. I always thought their same was from the Monty Python sketch about the joke in German that killed all the Krauts. Well I has something to do with Monty Python, so 5 points out of 10 for me and 3 stars for the album.

Ok

Oh look, more post-punk… This one is distinguished by a sludgier, more electrified and more industrial sound, which I generally approve of. I’m not a huge fan of the vocals or the lack of variation in some tracks but its driving rhythms did get the blood flowing during a chilly evening walk.

Don't like British punk

Pleasantly surprised, enjoyed the sound and some of the beats, I would imagine NIN was influenced by this sound. Seems ahead of its time for being released in 1980, some innovative music. Not sure about the lyrics couldn’t really understand most of them.

Appreciated the listen. Enjoyed the riffs in the songs, and got the feeling that a lot of stoner rock like Queens of the Stone Age took concepts from this album to apply to their own music.

I have listened to this a few times over the years, but it's not an album I go back to often. I respect Killing Joke though for pushing the genre on a little bit in a new direction, songs like Changes are Requiem are great, the others a little bit filler'y.

I liked this more than I thought I would on first impression. Very well-defined vibe, punk-ish, grim, industrial (not even the genre, just feels like run-down urban factory music). Not really my style but neat enough.

Would have just brushed this off had I not looked again at the year, this was way ahead of its time. Some how they managed to make a doom and gloom sound that is casually accessible. The opener is an electro industrial jam. Other songs evoke Public Image Ltd and Big Black. This is largely the bridge between punk and post punk, I’d call it proto post punk. Not memorable enough to be classic, but definitely one to bookmark for dark days ahead.

-Didn’t write a BL- AL: killing joke was a band I was aware of only due to their controversy with Nirvana copying their eighties’ lick. And while I liked this more than nirvana I must admit I didn’t think this was anything special. While I didn’t think it was bad, and the use of layered guitars must’ve been pretty cool for the time in a pre-loveless by MBV world, I think this hasn’t aged amazingly, and while there are some tracks still worth the listen I’m not sure if this stood the test of time like many of the other post punk albums, despite it being very influential. So this made me decisive about how I rate my albums, whether I think they deserve to be on this list or whether I enjoy them. I have decided I will rank all efforts based purely on my enjoyment - if this was based off of influence this album would get a 4 or a 5 but due to my enjoyment being a high ok at best it’ll get a 3/5. Though some really dislike the abrasive flanger on the vocal in track 2 I honestly didn’t find it too bad and thought it was quite interesting if not very obviously a gimmick. FT: “requiem”, “S.O.36” 3/5

Punky and cool

Occasionally good stuff in here, but nothing special and the fact I've forgotten about most of it when I've come to write my reviews says it all

It's okay, but I would rather read the graphic novel.

First the cover is really dark and cool, very punk. Then the album look like the droids in star war if they have a band, with some "robotic" effects, and very dark musicality and dismal atmospher. But with all that you have also punk style riffs, lyrics and visuals. Requiem and bloodsport are the best songs i think. The other songs are not my kind You could really feel how this album inspired grunge or trash metal bands, its personally one of the darkest punk/new wave album i ever listen.

A bit punky, a bit metal-y, a bit dance-y and industrial-y, too, with some vaguely new wavey vibes as well. Certainly not great, but well above terrible. The closing cut, the nearly danceable "Change," is best one. None of this deep, dark scary stuff seems very much so in the decades hence.

Pretty good post-punk.

This really rocked harder than I was anticipating, and I didn't mind that. 3 stars.

Never got this band, then or now. To me they were just another middle of the road protest rock band. Nothing special although maybe it's not about the music but the stance?

Better than expected. Interesting music.

Slightly too much noise for me

Some really good melodies. But the singing can be improved.

I wasn't that into it I have to say. Perhaps it was a grower as by the end I did feel more open to it. I found the repetitiveness jarring, but sometimes I love that in a song. Maybe I wasn't in a good place to appreciate this...

Good!

Pretty raw, but still better post punk than a few of the efforts I've heard in this project.

Totally fine, but not really wowing me. Would listen again in the right environment.

Enjoyed this one.

de matr memo

Decent punk

There's a great groove going off throughout this album. I wasn't expecting that. 1980 was a bit of a No Man's Land for post-punk. Killing Joke's debut makes a decent stab for what was possible. Faith No More managed to stretch out a whole career based around this album. I usually despise the extra packaged songs bolted on to a CD. But the Dub mix of Change is a killer.

Wow. The generator DID give me something to purify myself from the torturous mellow pop of the recent days. Album sounds like punky Black Sabbath and it's kinda nice. Like Sabbath, much of the weight of the songs are centered in their great riffs. Decent punk right here.

2.5

Helt Swag lite koola trummor här å där

Strong 3! Definitely a solid release alm the way through but it’s not my favourite Killing Joke album. There a select few moments of poorly aged effects but overall the album leaves me wanting more.

Killing Joke is the debut album by English post-punk band Killing Joke. Recorded and produced on their own, this album is an underground classic that was critically acclaimed, but missed the mainstream market. Killing Joke was one of the earliest bands with a sound like this and many others followed in their footsteps - some citing this album as inspiration. I loved the industrial sound on this album and enjoyed its tracks. Fans of heavier sounding music will like this album.

These guys sound like they are living that Beyond Thunderdome life and gigging it up hard. The more I listen, the more I like.

The definition of when you order a steak at a restaurant and you say you want it medium rare, but it comes out medium. You know the steak would've been better medium rare and you're disappointed it isn't, but you still enjoy it.

This was fine. A bit post punk (boo) a bit industrial (yay) a bit fine.

Quote groundbreaking I assume. Good stuff

Never heard of this band but it's an interesting mix of punkish elements with industrial (?). I wasn't expecting it after the first song. It's a great addition to this list since it's something I'd never heard of and it was fun to listen to. Not something I'd regularly listen to , but it doesn't really sound like anything else from that time period. One interesting thing is the song S.O.36 which I was surprised to learn is the same SO36 which is a club here in Berlin that I've been to a handful of times. Fun little connection.

As always with me and them, some of it I really liked and others I didn’t care for at all.

Debuutalbum van de Britse post-punkband Killing Joke. Thema is politieke onvrede, wat is terug te horen in de enigszins heftige tracklist. Ok album. leukste nummer: Primitive Album is een favoriet van Dave Grohl. Foo Fighters hebben het nummer "Requirem" als B-side van "Everlong" opgenomen.

I would have loooved this; back when I was an angsty teen.

This album is the musical equivalent of getting your head smashed into a concrete wall. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you. I had no idea that Killing Joke's debut was this raw, as I mostly know them from their goth hits like "Love Like Blood" and "Eighties" (both amazing songs, by the way). The mixing is hard to get used to. Some songs sound like they were made by speaking into a fan and the vocal effect is kind of annoying. I'm sure it was really cool in 1980 though.

Detta gillade jag

Sure it's dark and grim but feels sort of quaintly so today, by which time we've seen scarier posers willing to push the schlock to much more extreme ends. Some bits (e.g., the Satanic-sounding vocals on "Wardance") sound like the band was undecided on whether to be metal or new wave. "Requiem" and "Tomorrow's World" sound like vintage new wave, the former with a hard, relentless undertone that points toward industrial. "Complications" is cool enough and "Primitive" also decent. Another situation where one thinks, they were probably great live. A little tired in effect overall with lots of '80s production cliches being applied (if slightly before their time) but fully representative of the early days of the darker, edgier end of new wave).

Not bad. Very unfamiliar

Not my style. But good sound

Märklig industriell post punk.

Definitely not quite what I expected. Much softer and experimental than most post-punk I’ve heard from this list. Overall it wasn’t my favorite sound but an interesting listen nonetheless. 5/10

I’m worried that I’m only 5% through this list and I feel so strongly that I would have been ok dying without ever hearing this album. It’s fine, but I think there probably are better options.

One of the better 80s punk albums I listened to, although repetitive at times

It's good. Not great. Maybe it was a big deal in the punk world; I'm not sure. I like a lot of punk rock, but this wasn't anything special.

3.5/5

Rock un poco de bajo nivel. Mezclado con unos toques psicodélicos y electrónicos. Diferente de lo que suele ser.

I enjoyed the second half more. High 3.

This was all right for aort of proto-industrial, not really my thing. The vocals got stale for me pretty quickly.

This album is very impressive considering the time it came out in but I don't think that it has aged very well especially considering the amount of superior music alike that has came out since this album's release. Still though, this album has some great riffs and energy but does suffer from repetitiveness and I did find myself getting bored at times while listening. 7/10

Primera canción bien. Segunda, miedo. Post-punkindustrial rockhard rock. Se desgañita. Le he puesto un 3 porque hay varias canciones que me gustan. Pero casi le doy un 2.

Raw post-punk stripped to its bare essence. The drums hit with a direct, unembellished punch, while the guitars slice through with a sharp, angular edge. There are flashes of glam rock swagger—echoes of Alice Cooper’s theatrical grit—blending seamlessly with the detached, experimental spirit of John Lydon’s PiL. “Complications” stands out, evoking the moody textures and urgency of early The Cure records.

not my everyday cup of tea, but i appreciate it

Nothing special, expected to like this more - I guess there's historical significance here but their formula was massively improved by bands such as Big Black a few years later. Let's go a generous 3.

clash but grundgyer

It's oj. Main protagonist theme.

Another album I just didn't get enough time with. I have a sense of dread with any band I'm not familiar with that has post-punk as a description. What a hit and miss genre. This was pleasantly surprising. Loved the heaviness. Appreciated the defined sound and song structure. I suspect this would get a 4 rating if I had more time with it...but, gotta move on. 1 = bad 2 = average 3 = good 4 = great 5 = outstanding

Hadn't heard this before. Mixed feelings, there were parts I enjoyed, other parts less so. What was with the vocals on Wardance? Sounded like a Dalek!

Até surpreendeu pelo instrumental mais pesado, carregado do tom industrial. Só o vocal ainda me incomoda com o tom marcante dos anos 80 pós punk.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Change

very solid punk sound. I enjoyed it more than I thought. almost a 4.

C'est correct, j'ai aimé l'écoute et ca m'a permit de me concentrer pour mes tâches moins passionnantes. 3.25

I like it.

Was expecting to really not like it but turned out to be decent!

2.8

This is like a dark, distorted Talking Heads and I dig it. Very moody, very spiky. I especially liked the track Bloodsport.

Like it! It's quite straightforward and took a couple of listens to land. Nice punk vibes. Definetly mad about stuff now, not sure what yet.

Pretty interesting noise rock or early industrial rock. for the 80s this sounds pretty modern but not my favorite style of music

favourite song: tomorrow’s world least favourite song: requiem very solid album, no major complaints but didnt quite grab my interest

Not the best album

Classic industrial post-punk also with a bit groove and a sprinkle of shoegaze, I thought. The opening track ‘Requiem’ is the standout but the rest of the album chuggs along reassuringly in the background.

Great opening track and the rest is also really listenable.

A strange listen and way better than expected. No love for the vocals but really liked the raw and repetitive music. Swear I can hear shades of this in certain 90s albums. Prime cut: Requiem

Got better each time I listened to it. By the end of the day….i was a fan. Still need more time to give it a higher rating. 3/5

Another album ahead of it’s time and underdeveloped but had some cool stuff

Прослушано. Альбом яркий, но не мое.

I didn’t mind this. I didn’t feel like it dragged at all but I preferred the instrumental songs. I doubt I would listen to this again but it was alright.

Good for heavy lifting at the gym. Wouldn’t listen to it during other activities. Like the guitar and drum but not really the voice/singing part.

This album made me overlook my dislike of both post-punk and overtly British things on this list. I'd heard The Wait before (yeah lol), I know I've listened to one of their later albums and it left me cold, but this was kinda fresh. I like the industrial vibe. A bit minimalist and repetitive - really sets the stage for something like Ministry a few years later. 3/5.

I need to always stop and think about genre definitions when there's a UK "punk" band on the list. Another ok album though I'm sure influential.

Love the music. Hate the vocals.

Never heard of this band, couldn't understand a lot of the lyrics but the music was fun. I could see picking this up if I saw it at a shop to slot in alongside The Clash and Sex Pistols on the shelf

I hadn't heard of this band, though it looks like I should have. This is the third or fourth punk band it's picked lately. It was fine but didn't stand out to me.

Ikkje så inspirerande

Cool, thought it was going to be scary because the name is scary but it wasn’t scary

not my cup

Pretty good. I liked the songs where he sang. Some songs were just the same riff on repeat for 4 minutes

Album de post-punk intéressant. Un peu gloomy comme son, parfois les chansons sonnait toute pareil. La chanson Change est un bon single pour l'album

Mira, no tenía idea que esto existía, pero la primera canción me cautivó y se fue directo a mis listas.

Another ok album

Only listened to half of the album. It's not that it was so bad. In fact, I guess I found it more enjoyable than unenjoyable. But it was just too distracting during work.

Meh

Nice gritty light industrial feel. Not bad but unlikely to be on my replay list

Complications tem um vocal interessante

It had it's moments, I just didn't love it. Feeling too lazy to go into detail.

Ok

fine, but had my fill of this in the Phono in Leeds Merion Centre in 1994

Después de varias vueltas este 3.5 es de los más difíciles qué he tenido para subir o bajar. Me sorprendió la fuerza de la banda y que no suenan a algo que tiene 40 años. Por otro lado, se quedaron en la línea de volarme los sesos. Es buena música, sonido crudo y fuera de lo cotidiano pero que le falta un pelo para asombrar completamente.

Rock agradable a ratos pero al final se vuelve cansado porque todo el tiempo está al máximo de saturación la voz y las guitarras. Me gustó más cuando se acabó. Una de las rolas me sonó a Héroes del Silencio pero en inglés.

Punk is not my favorite genre. That Said, Some of the songs were good! Particularly the beginning of the album. Later in the album gets to be a little harsh for my taste, but overall is was good

Highlights: Bloodsport. I love an album that is specific and pointed in what it's angry about. Also I love a funky guitar groove.

Post-punk which I listened to more or less happily. I understand the band evolved after their debut, leaving me with rather higher hopes for other albums. This one is a touch too produced up front, starts to stretch its legs and then ends.

Nice sound but bit samey through the album

A good joke

Solid Debut, but I wasn't too invested into it. Favorites: "Requiem", "Wardance", "The Wait"

Nah, wasn't all that great.

An okay listen. It was an interesting combo of 70s rock and 80s punk. I probably won't relisten, though.

6.3

Mitt första intryck var kanon. Vid andra genomlyssningen känner jag inte riktigt att det har staying power för mig. En stark 3:a!

Detta var mycket bättre än jag trodde att det skulle vara. Jag förväntade mig inte så mycket alls. Baserat på namnet hade jag gissat att det skulle ha nåt med cool hard rawk att göra, men det var ju gothrock? mm

Man, those are some wacky sounds in this one! I'm elated to finally have an album I've never heard before for this one. It seems like the real kicker for this album is the lyricism and it's importance in the 1980s UK. Most people brushed it off when it dropped and only picked it up as a faux warsong album. As a 70s diehard, it feels very nostalgic of the post-Vietnam era songwriting, but with an early metal vibe. As I'm listening, I'm most drawn to the weird instrumentation during the intros of most of their songs and then by the vocals. I don't know the name Jaz Coleman, but, after hearing his voice, I want to know more. All in all, a very interesting piece. I'm sure it would mean even more to those that lived through the protest era in the UK. I wonder if the lyrics might be an interesting study given the current climate of protests and civil unrest. Might be more to it than we think.

Good proto-industrial music mixed a bit with new wave. I hadn't heard them before and thought it was a nice little discovery. My industrial days are mostly over but this was good enough to convince me to listen again sometime soon. Giving it 3 but feels more like 3.5.

This was alright, I'm not the biggest fan of it. The thing with most Punk bands is that you can tell that they have a lot of musical talent. However, most of the punk I've listened to is not very enjoyable. Maybe that's the point.

had a couple jams but overall it was just angsty and british in a way that i don't really care for. 5/10

"Bass, lead, to tell the killing joke, we mean it man ! Total exploitation, no information, anonymity" I’ve read this a bunch of times and I still don’t get it. But that doesn’t matter because Geordie Walker and Youth soon both joined and the band made an interesting album. I dig the post-punk sound, especially the bass player. The guitars shred. I wish the instrumentals Bloodsport had words. While this isn’t going in my library, I would like to listen again.

Já já, ágætt en ekki gott fyrir prófaundirbúning.

79. Killing Joke - Killing Joke 13 tracks. Lazy naming aside, this surprised me in a good way. It has aged REALLY well. While certainly not something I would choose to listen to, it kept me engaged and interested in what the next track would be like. Decent. 👍 3/5

It was fine. Probably better than fine. I just didn't really have any strong feelings. Didn't really like it, but it wasn't bad or anything. It was fine.

Rock punk

An interesting mix of heavy/dark rhythms with synth. Requiem stands out and the others blend in a bit with each other, but overall good energy and attitude.

Et bien moi j'ai beaucoup aimé cet album n'en déplaise à robpelletiere. L'occasion d'encourager tout le monde à lire ses dernières reviews, qui sont toutes plus décevantes les unes que les autres. C'est donc ça le niveau requis pour être le deuxieme revieweur le plus populaire du générateur? Laissez-moi rire...

Good tunes, let down by the vocals.

I wasn't sold on the first song, which is apparently the most popular, but the album won me over with its grit. No masterpiece, but enjoyable.

litesmåmys

I LOVE the first track (Love Like Blood) but am bored with the rest of it. A true one hit wonder. The hit IS deliriously good, though.

I have to keep reminding myself that this was made 4 decades ago. If you forget everything that has happened in music since 1980, this LP sounds very original and interesting. While songs like Requiem are quite good, a number of songs sound like work in progress. It's punchy and can be effective to make each line in a stanza a separate sentence but an entire album consisting of sentences limited to no more than three or four words can be tiring

I guess they were more known (in the early days) for the throbbing industrial numbers like Requiem, but I prefer the more "up-tempo" tracks. The scratchy guitar and rhythm section are a bit Gang of 4-ish, especially in “Complications”. It sounds like Simple Minds had heard “BloodSport” when they wrote “Love Song”. Quite a leap from this to “Love Like Blood”.

Rad.

Not bad

enjoyed it more than i thought i would - post punk, post industrial album with a few songs that really hit the mark. altogether, could have had shortened some of the interludes and the angsty vocals

Alright. Nothing extraordinary. Some of the songs were monotonous which detracted from the experience.

Need to listen again!

Decent. Reminds me of the Black Angels.

Sowing the seeds of industrial music. Not bad, but somewhat forgettable. Will need another listen

This definitely just reminds me of Metallica, motorhead and such. The more I listened the more I enjoyed it for that.

harter rock mit metal einflüssen

La parte punk del post-punk, la otra cara de la moneda de Joy Division. Credito donde corresponde, son buenos. No me gustan, pero son buenos. Digo lo mismo que siempre digo de Joy Division. El objetivo no era sonar perfecto, era decir lo que tenian que decir.

enjoyed - reminded me of The Clash

Best Tracks:

As a youngster this was great but now... 3 stars.

As expected. OK, but dated

The Wait and Changes are the best songs on this album

Не сильно пропёрся. The Wait интересный, крепкий трек. Не него, к слову, Метла в своё время кавер запилила для альбома. Wardance скучная муть. К слову, изначально был уверен, что поётся Wardrobe, мол кто-то сильно гардеробы любит. Но оказалось скушнее. Change просто кал, благо, была добавлена при переиздании, можно попробовать воспринимать альбом без неё. Primitive намного менее примитивный трек и лучше справляется с ролью закрывашки. В целом альбом часто душит репетативностью. Если сократить до EP - мб и норм было бы, а так - проходняк с парой интересных моментов.

Appreciate them for beign fast paced. not an every day album but a fun one.

First track is a bop, decent sound overall. Could get into this if I'm in the right mood

cringed at the album artwork, but it wasnt what i expected. first 2 tracks were pretty good. is this metal? doesnt feel like it in places

I enjoyed this, good heavy production

Primera canción bien. Segunda, miedo. Post-punkindustrial rockhard rock. Se desgañita. Le he puesto un 3 porque hay varias canciones que me gustan. Pero casi le doy un 2.

Actually liked this more than I thought I would. Not exactly my type of music but it was actually kind of good to write goals down too? It wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be.