Killing Joke - Pylon album flac

Yes, it is a pity that this fine record is so compressed as it makes the sound rather dull and flat, with quite big bass but very little dynamics. Blanketed is the way I would describe the sound on my double lp black. But this is KJ - what other band around in the 80s could make such an angry, urgent and interesting record today?

Update from 2019 — I generally agree with comments here related to vinyl pressing — I just got the blue — in my words I describe the sound as being on the hollow side. It’s like there’s a distance between me and the music like it’s coming from outside my house. Still I’ll stick with it — it’s KJ after all. On a side note my clear vinyl copy of Absolute Dissent is quite good.Addendum: as I’m listening to all the sides I’m enjoying this more and more. maybe my ears have gotten used to the production but I feel more of an immediacy to things as it progresses.

I hate the idea of saying anything critical of KJ but..the vinyl sound is awful.I thought maybe my phono cartridge was faulty or maybe a sudden case of tinnitus? My 2LP's production sounds shit...way bright. Bass is deep but 'splashy' & what I really can't get my head around is Youth is back with the band ! A top producer in his own right & has produced Pink Floyd etc so why does his own bands album sound so awful ?If I play this album & then play 'Extremities' ( my favourite KJ album ) the difference in sound quality is astonishing. Have they paid more attention to the CD sound & neglected the analogue sound of the vinyl? Sooo disappointed : ( I love KJ & have done for 35 years & I can hear it's a very good album but I'm considering selling the vinyl & buying the CD.

Having been pretty much been a life long fan of KJ I had pre-ordered the deluxe edition (only to find it for sale at the local HMV for about half the price I paid for about two weeks later!) but left it scealed/unopened for months until I could share it properly with my half brother of about the same age as I, both of us long time fans of the band since the early-mid 80s.Although I had followed KJ in just about every turn they took, my 1/2 brother was not fully versed in the post-"Pandemonium" DBG (drum-bass-guitar) the band had been focusing on proper since the 90s. And yet his first comment when we popped on the album and began to listen to it was "this sounds like Killing Joke", pure and simple. "Autonomouos Zone" gets the roaring and bass-heavy riffs started with some fine simple/minimal synthesizer sequencing and droning effects acting as the canvas. If this is an example of the rest of this record's sound, this may end up being pure post Y2K KJ at its finest. "Dawn Of The Hive" and "New Cold War" may not have what some may call the hit single vibe but for their own stand-alone status, both pack enough punch and anthemic energy for any true KJ fan. "Euphoria" is obviously a hit from the album and for good reason as it seems to encompass pretty much all the long-time elements of KJ's numerous incarnations throughout the ages, complete with a haunting chord/melody progression which stays long after the song has finished disrupting everyone else's FM pop flavor of the moment cheese. The closest to dark electro metal funk award should go to "New Jerusalem" 's surprisingly foot stomping groove which gives into that louder-than-the-rest (thanks 90s grunge for establishing a now unavoidable formulae in commercial music) chrorus proggression which then returns to a quieter groove enhanced by the closest to tribal drumming from "Big" Paul we've heard since the band's return to their original line-up.On the first listen, one would seem to suspect "War On Freedom" to be but a filler track, seemingly too similar in sound and design as "New Cold War" mixed with a bit of that "European Superstate" flavor. And yet, Geordie's little extra riff makes this one just too pleasing to pass up.Quite similarly comes "Big Buzz" which to this listener's ears sounds like a less uplifting take on their "In Excelsis" type of songwriting. This can either be KJ fans' favorite example of purest KJ from "Pylon" or the exact opposite; the often heard anomaly from any given album. Thankfully, "Delete" comes in in true "Loose Canon" and "Walking With Gods" fervor, save for the less-than-uplifting chorus. Again, it is quite uncanny how these gents make everything sound exactly like it is uniquely their own. "Delete" comes complete with some dark brooding synthetic atmosphere synth beacons added here and there for greater effect.Of course by now everyone is fully versed in the "I Am The Virus" which was their first official release off of this album, a piece which feels quite not unlike "Corporate Elect" and yet has an urgency to its madness and organized fury (coining a portion of the actual lyrics) which makes this an obvious stand-out track.Closing off an album was never an easy task. Some of the more memorable moments included (but were not limited to) "Mathematics Of Chaos" (from "Pandemonium), "Rubicon" (from "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns"), and "Struggle" (from "Extremeties, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions"), so "Into The Unknown" has a big role to play at this point. Part melancholic, part angrier and energetic, and part prophetic, it still remains true to the "Pylon" sound, leaving the final seconds to Geordie who proves once again you don't need to out-solo or give into cheap theatrics to put an end to the proceedings.Bonus cuts (from the deluxe edition):"Apotheosis" is the closest to sped-up insanity we've heard so far from "Pylon" and has at once a dark and yet irresistable intensity to its crunchy nature to resist.Unsure of how the song would evolve after its "could go either way" beginning, "Plague" is, much like "Apotheosis" turning out to being a highly enjoyable piece, also a wonder why it did not make the cut for the "official" album track list. It's a tough act to follow but "Star Spangled" showcases more of that KJ energy and ingenuity they've been giving us thus far with the rest of the album. The song is thick/dense and yet feels as though every single sound is made readily and easily available to the intuitive ear.A wonderful commentary on social media and the tablet/cell phone generation is the subject matter for "Panopticon", a slower paced but by no means less intense morcel. Bringing back a certain "This World Hell" vibe with a bit more "soul" (if you will), which elevates this song above what it could have been, even though it does feel like it drags a wee bit towards the latter part. "Snakedance" is presented here as the Youth Rattlesnake Dub" Remix, although the original version is obviously not found on this release. This is an electronic thumper of a number, filled with all the elements followers of Youth's 90s days as remixer/engineer/producer can recall and conjure up. If anything, this is exactly the type of remix of a KJ song which sounds anything like a KJ song at all. In the end, a very strong offering, one which proves once again that the jokers are in top form and dish it out with the best of them and then some, all the while doing it as only they can. It is also the natural continuation and evolution since the band's "original line-up" reformation (after the death of Paul Raven), and quite possibly their best record in a long time. Yet I keep wondering if it will attract new followers or simply re-affirm the rest of us as gatherers.

imo not quite as outstanding as hosannas or mmxii, but good work at all!

Holy s**t, this is the best Killing Joke album in many years. It's brutal, yet melodic, and the grandeur they're capable of is on full display.