[kj] [Leak] Pylon (2015)

Mon Oct 12 10:05:28 EDT 2015

My (abbreviated) take:

1. BPF gets to give his drums a right bashing. People will still complain that its not "tribal" enough, but KJ haven't been "tribal" since 1983. The drums stand out here; more so than on the previous two albums.

2. Geordie re-visits some of my favorite "Night Time / BTATS"-era guitar tones here; "Big Buzz" is a standout as a result, as is "Into the Unknown." I've always liked their gentler, more melodic offerings. There are still a few "Geordie plays a riff and Jaz shouts the chorus" tracks for those seeking such things.

3. This album will be polarizing because its not "(reason)" enough. You can generally tell when a KJ fan first became acquainted with the band by what they hate. Subsequent deviations can be aggravating for persons who want KJ to only be one thing, i.e. "I first heard them on 'Pandemonium' and so I just want them to sound like that."

4. Some will hate the production, and I've only heard it off a leak, but I like the noisy, shambolic vibe. I don't want KJ to sound "clean," like some metal album recorded on different continents. I like it when they're teetering on the edge. I suspect that some of the newer tracks will get initial workouts in the UK shows and then will subsequently fall off the setlist.

There's some good, accessible (not in a bad way) music here; I even played a few tracks for friends who didn't know KJ from a hole in the ground who liked what they heard. I bought extra tickets to the St Paul show just so I can give them away [😉]

I am well pleased and satisfied, and looking forward to hearing the remaining five tracks.

________________________________
From: Gathering <gathering-bounces at misera.net> on behalf of wessidetempest . <wessidetempest at hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2015 5:41 AM
To: The Gathering
Subject: Re: [kj] [Leak] Pylon (2015)

First glance - keep in mind I am listening to this on my 5 year old laptop at a lower volume to not wake up the kid and lady.

Autonomous Zone - Good.  Yo can tell it will be better at a proper volume and/or stereo system. Someone mentioned the 2003 opener. I didn't get that kind of excitement but I hear it.

Dawn of the Hive - I was nervous at first. I thought it was going to be a later paint by numbers Killing Joke with chuggy guitar and growling. But it went off in a nice direction with the chorus. BPF YES!

New Cold War - unfortunately it is not a Final Assault cover (my "band") but this seems to be inline with what they have been doing on the last 2 albums. And that's not a complaint. Again the chorus takes a nice turn and not atypical Killing Joke

Euphoria - I liked it from the first listen. As before it fits into their current style. And I can see this being their "radio" hit (however that is defined in this age). Some of the keyboarding harks back to BTATS, Night Time.

New Jerusalem - I am not sure. I get it. I could guess who led the charge with this song. Just not sure yet.  But again BPF. What a power. It could be one of the better ones.

War on Freedom - As of now the weakest one of the list. It's not bad. It's filler.

Big Buzz - This was one of the Geordie demos from long ago correct? Either way it is Geordie bliss. Again I get a a BTATS keyboarding (not a complaint).

Delete - BPF BPF BPF.

I Am the Virus - BPF AGAIN. The pvc, big platform boots and hair extension kids should love this song in the spooky clubs. It's a great song and Killing Joke can write these gems all day and night. It seems to hit all of the greatness of Killing Joke, drums, angular guitar. groovy bass with quirky keyboards. Jaz goes from singing to  growling.

Into the Unknown - I'd be curious to hear how this works live. It's good. Works for me.

Overall it is a good album. As of now I think I like it better then MMXII. But I have had no problems with the last two releases. The criticisms I have is if I had to pick something. Someone mentioned Hossannas. I thought that could have been a great album. It had some of the best Geordie-isms ever. But it lacked in production and editing. And they were all out of their minds. In general all Killing Joke songs from EDVRE onward could trim some of the fat and this is no exception. 34 seconds to minute off of each song. But again that's looking for fault. Hossannas was the worst offender of that. The production does seem better. Or maybe their is less layering. I have been fine with the production of the last 2 records. Killing Joke, today, seems to not be a simple band to record. I cannot imagine a lo-fi recording of them today could sound good (they never really did that anyway).

I am not sure if it will win any new fans (they probably got them with Absolute) but it will keep people happy and is a good record to tour on

A solid B for me

Chris
Detroit
4 am and already to much coffee

From: humanhybrid666 at gmail.com
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2015 20:23:27 +1300
To: gathering at misera.net
Subject: Re: [kj] [Leak] Pylon (2015)

FUCKING EPIC is putting it mildly . . . !

"due to a lack of trained trumpeters, the end of the world has been postponed indefinitely..."

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 10:53 AM, Rob Moss <rob.moss at gmx.com<mailto:rob.moss at gmx.com>> wrote:
Thanks for sharing Paul

It's an impressive record. Huge sound. Some really nice musical surprises and I'll concur that Paul is killing it

Songs still remind me of Hosannas era but with a more upbeat twist. Couple of them are too long though.

Really a good place to be in their career I think.

On 11 Oct 2015, at 05:46, Paul <dubecho at gmail.com<mailto:dubecho at gmail.com>> wrote:

I found this earlier online. I thought about sharing it or not, but figured it'll be out there anyway.

You can wait till the 23rd, if you wish or enjoy now, your call. I know I'll still buy a physical copy, as will most of us on the list, but no doubt this will end up shared off the list too, not much can be done about that I guess.

Format 320kbps MP3

Killing Joke - Pylon (2015).zip<http://www91.zippyshare.com/v/oMecbCO2/file.html>

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