Pandemonium (Killing Joke album)

Pandemonium is the ninth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 2 August 1994 by Butterfly Records. The album marked Killing Joke's return after a four-year hiatus, the longest the band had taken since it was founded. It also featured the return of founding member Youth, who replaced Paul Raven on bass.

Pandemonium
Studio album by
Killing Joke
Released2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
Studio
Genre
Length62:37
LabelButterfly/Zoo
Producer
Killing Joke chronology
Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions
(1990)		 Pandemonium
(1994)		 Democracy
(1996)
Singles from Pandemonium
  1. "Exorcism"
    Released: March 1994
  2. "Millennium"
    Released: April 1994
  3. "Pandemonium"
    Released: July 1994
  4. "Jana"
    Released: October 1994

Content

The vocal tracks for "Pandemonium", "Exorcism" and "Millennium" were recorded in the King's Chamber of The Great Pyramid of Giza. The session was filmed by director Shaun Pettigrew and features in the Killing Joke documentary The Death And Resurrection Show (2013) which also details alleged paranormal experiences during the recording.[1][2]

Frontman Jaz Coleman considered Pandemonium to be a conceptual album on the external influence of Arabic music, which was spread throughout the album. It also incorporated his perspective on life, which is apparent in songs such as "Labyrinth" and "Pleasures of the Flesh".

A track called "Hallucinations of a Cynic" was also recorded, but left off the album.[3]

The title track, as well as "Communion" and "Whiteout", would become live staples of the band.

Release

Pandemonium was released on 2 August 1994 by Youth's record label Butterfly Records.

The singles "Millennium" and "Pandemonium" both reached the UK top 40 and the album is the band's best selling work.[2]

It was reissued in remastered form in 2005, featuring two additional tracks: a remix of "Another Cult Goes Down" and an experimental dub remix of "Pandemonium".

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Kerrang!4/5[6]
PopMatters7/10[7]
MusicHound Rock[8]
Select[9]

Pandemonium has been generally moderately-well received by critics.

Kerrang! magazine wrote, "Gargantuanly heavy, catchy and hilarious at turns, Pandemonium yokes pounding slabs of techno-metal to Coleman's cosmic visions, to exhilarating, trance-inducing effect".[6] Trouser Press described it as "a significant upgrade from Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions".[10]

The Guardian described the album as a return to form for the band.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Youth and Geordie Walker)

No.TitleLength
1."Pandemonium"6:42
2."Exorcism"7:26
3."Millennium"5:34
4."Communion"6:56
5."Black Moon"5:19
6."Labyrinth"5:55
7."Jana"4:06
8."Whiteout"5:43
9."Pleasures of the Flesh"5:42
10."Mathematics of Chaos"7:24
2005 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Pandemonium" (A Thread of Steel in the Suspension Bridge of Time and Space Mix)9:18
12."Another Cult Goes Down" (Portobello Mix)6:19

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 16
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers 39

References
  1. "What happened when Killing Joke recorded inside the Great Pyramid at Giza". 25 February 2020.
  2. Coleman, Jaz (2013). Letters from Cythera, p. 378. self-published.
  3. Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 143. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
  4. Raggett, Ned. "Pandemonium – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  6. "Killing Joke – Where to Start With – Kerrang". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. Begrand, Adrien (29 September 2005). "Killing Joke: Pandemonium / Democracy | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  8. Holtje, Steve (1999). "Killing Joke". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 629–630. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  9. Collis, Clark (June 1994). "Killing Joke: Pandemonium". Select. p. 86.
  10. Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. "Pandemonium Was Killing Joke's Brilliant Return To Form". Kerrang!. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
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