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[citation needed] 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 | ||||
| Released | July 1982 | |||
| Studio | Conny's Studio, Wolperath, Cologne, Germany | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:24 | |||
| Label | E.G., Polydor | |||
| Producer | Conny Plank | |||
| Killing Joke chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Revelations | ||||
| ||||
Release
editRevelations 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.[citation needed]
A remastered version was released in 2005, including an alternate recording of "We Have Joy".
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | 5/5[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
editAll tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Youth and Geordie Walker)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "We Have Joy" (Alternate Mix) | 4:21 |
Personnel
edit- Killing Joke
- Jaz Coleman – vocals, synthesizer
- Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitar
- Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar
- Paul Ferguson – drums, vocals
- Technical
- Conny Plank – recording engineer, mixing, production
- Rob O'Connor – sleeve design
Charts
edit| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 12[2] |
| New Zealand | 33[11] |
References
edit- ^ a b Sande, Kiran (2 November 2010). "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". Fact. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Killing Joke -UK Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 70. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
- ^ a b Ogg, Alex. "Revelations review". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ a b Gray, Christopher (16 December 2005). "Review: Killing Joke, What's THIS For ...?, Revelations, Ha! – Music – The Austin Chronicle". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select. p. 86.
- ^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Revelations "Discographie Killing Joke". lescharts.com. Retrieved on 5 July 2010.
External links
edit- Revelations at Discogs (list of releases)