Revelations (Killing Joke album)

Revelations is the third studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released in July 1982 by E.G. via Polydor Records. It was recorded in Cologne, Germany and produced by Conny Plank, making it their first album not to be self-produced. Since bassist Youth departed from the band after the album's release, Revelations was the band's last album to feature the original line-up (until their 2010 album Absolute Dissent).

Revelations
Studio album by
Killing Joke
ReleasedJuly 1982
StudioConny's Studio, Wolperath, Cologne, Germany
Genre
Length37:24
LabelE.G., Polydor
ProducerConny Plank
Killing Joke chronology
What's THIS For...!
(1981)		 Revelations
(1982)		 Fire Dances
(1983)
Singles from Revelations
  1. "Empire Song"
    Released: April 1982
  2. "Chop-Chop"
    Released: June 1982

Release

Revelations was released in July 1982 by E.G. Records. It reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] Youth was disappointed the way the album turned out, as it later contributed to him leaving the band, saying "It came out a bit dirgy".[3]

Two singles were released from the album: "Empire Song" and "Chop-Chop". "Empire Song" was performed on Top of the Pops, but without singer Jaz Coleman, who had departed for Iceland fearing nuclear holocaust at the time.

A remastered version was released in 2005, including an alternate recording of "We Have Joy".

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Austin Chronicle[5]
Drowned in Sound5/5[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
MusicHound Rock[8]
Select[9]

Revelations has generally received mixed-to-favourable reception by critics. Nick Lancaster of Drowned in Sound praised the album, calling it "a less individual work – record company pressures and an outside producer necessarily toning down the band's nihilistic excesses – but it's all the better for it."[6] Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle called it "faster" and "sleeker" than previous albums.[5] Fact put the album at no. 11 on their list titled "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made".[1] In negative retrospective reviews, AllMusic believed the album had a "lack of cohesion and direction",[4] while Trouser Press wrote that it "suffers from an uninvolving lethargy".[10]

Track listing

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

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."The Hum"4:58
2."Empire Song"3:19
3."We Have Joy"2:56
4."Chop-Chop"4:19
5."The Pandys Are Coming"4:27
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Chapter III"3:13
2."Have a Nice Day"3:13
3."Land of Milk and Honey"2:38
4."Good Samaritan"3:28
5."Dregs"4:57
2005 CD reissue bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."We Have Joy" (Alternate Mix)4:21

Personnel
Killing Joke
Technical

Charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 12[2]
New Zealand 33[11]

References
  1. Sande, Kiran (2 November 2010). "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". Fact. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  2. "Killing Joke -UK Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  3. Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 70. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
  4. Ogg, Alex. "Revelations review". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. Gray, Christopher (16 December 2005). "Review: Killing Joke, What's THIS For ...?, Revelations, Ha! – Music – The Austin Chronicle". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. Lancaster, Nick (11 July 2005). "Album Review: Killing Joke – Reissues / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  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. Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select. p. 86.
  10. Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. Revelations "Discographie Killing Joke". lescharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
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