Search - Killing Joke :: Industrial Suicide

Relax-- you are not slipping

Stephen C. Wohlleb | wading river, new york USA | 07/08/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"you did not miss this release. it never came out. for some unknown reason (at this time), Spinefarm decided not to go with the Industrial Suicide Tribe E.P. Instead, they went with the In Excelsis E.P., which contains all the tracks that would have been on IST except IST itself, and it adds Kali Yuga and a remix of the Ghost of Ladbroke Grove. but wait, there's a hitch-- the did not release it in the U.S.! even the download sites refuse to sell it to U.S. fans! I am hoping this is not a sign of things to come because it has already been too long waiting for the 13th studio album (Feast of Fools or Absolute Dissent or... it changes weekly). Spinefarm does NOTHING to help clarify the issue. They've released nothing regarding the deleted E.P. and nothing regarding the U.S. release (or lack thereof) and they don't respond to emails either.



Oh, and the iTunes version of In Excelsis was meant to come with a film by Youth with a soundtrack which was going to be an unreleased Killing Joke song (possibly a remix of IST), but there is no sign of this film/soundtrack anywhere. And, guess what? Spinefarm has not commented on that either!"

This release IS available; I have it now.

David K. Myers | 09/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, there have been delays with both this single and the album, but the single is out, and Killing Joke have announced no further delays with the album yet, so I'm banking that it will actually come out next month.



So how's the single? Great. It's wonderful to hear the original four meshing it up together again. The music sounds vital, fresh, and invigorating. And it's hard to say that it's a direct continuation of the first three albums; it really sounds like they wanted to take all of their heretofore accumulated musical references, idioms, etc. and just make music that they could all get into. It sounds like Killing Joke, but you can't say that it sounds just like the first three albums (because it doesn't, but will blend in well in live shows) and it doesn't sound completely like The Death And Resurrection Show or Democracy (and NOTHING like Hosannas). They're intent on making this it's own thing, which is a joy to hear.



There are five tracks on the disc:



1) In Excelsis

Their standard for living. Jaz doesn't believe in just hammering out the negatives he sees in life; he also rejoices in life itself. This is one of those tracks, in the same vein as This Tribal Antidote and This Savage Freedom. Always welcome. It's a mantra, and a good one at that.



2) End Game

Works much better in context of the material than just on its own (this was available as a free download). Nice bumping beat, cool arrangement. Big Paul Ferguson gets to work out here a bit.



3) Kali Yuga

Not to be confused with the instrumental track on Extremities by the same name. This is a completely different song all unto itself, and also very very cool. Possibly my favorite on the disc, but that's a matter of taste, not the quality of the song itself (the quality on ALL the songs is strong).



4) The Ghost Of Ladbrook Grove

Surprise! They decided to go back to some of their dub roots on this one! The first time I heard it, I wasn't prepared for it, but it's growing on me quite a bit. A lot of fun.



5) The Ghost Of Ladbrook Grove

And here's the only reason why I give the release four stars instead of five. This is just a light remix of the previous track. So if you're popping this into your stereo, you'll get half a disc of classic energy-driven songs, and then about 13 minutes of a dub drone of Ladbrook Grove. A serious mistep, but then I'm guessing that remixes aren't going to make on the official album, and they must have thought enough about this remix to stick on here. But it does tend to get old very quickly.



Recommendation: Leave out the fifth track. It belabors the point."