As the swirling pale grey gunsmoke gradually lifts up from the blood-soaked battlefield to reveal so many young men dead, so a distant drum picks up the beat... A military drum beat. A brutal, primitive, primeval noise... haunted... twisted...
This is the sound of Killing Joke...
And last night, they played at the Forum in Kentish Town, original line-up: Jaz (The Joker incarnate), Geordie (in a trance, guitar swaying effortlessly), Youth (with that dread bass) and Big Paul (a powerhouse)...
Reunited to play their first album (Killing Joke) and their second (Whats This For?), plus the added bonus of "Eighties", "Psyche" and "Love Like Blood"...
The gig was awesome, the music was incredbly sharp and somehow undated. The minute silence was very moving...
The audience: a mixed bag; young and old, some stuck in the Eighties themselves, ironically. But, without exception, The Gathering united in a love of that Industrial Metal Post-Punk/Funk Noise that is Killing Joke...
I first saw them 26+ years ago, same line-up, similar set list, close proximity geographically speakng...
But now they are so much tighter and more worldly-wise, perhaps they may even know TOO MUCH...
The visuals were hypnotic, the banter between songs, frighteningly apocalyptic and paranoiac...
They see the world for what it is, what it will be, and what it might have been...
Killing Joke Confirm Your Worst Fears...