Democracy (album)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Democracy" album – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1996 studio album by Killing Joke

Democracy

Studio album by

Killing Joke

Released| 1 April 1996 (1996-04-01)
Recorded|

* Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England[1]

Genre|

* Industrial rock
* post-punk
* alternative rock

Length| 54:14
Label| Butterfly/Big Life
Producer| Youth
Killing Joke chronology
| Pandemonium
(1994)  | Democracy
(1996)  | Killing Joke
(2003)

|
|

Singles from  Democracy

1. "Democracy"
Released: 11 March 1996

Democracy is the tenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 1 April 1996 by Butterfly Records and Big Life.

## Recording and production

[edit]

Following their successful 1994 Pandemonium album and tour, Killing Joke reconvened in Cornwall, U.K. to write new material before moving on to Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire to record a new album.[1] Production was overseen by bassist Martin "Youth" Glover, with session musician Geoff Dugmore returning once more on drums. Dugmore shared mutual friends with the band hence joining the group.[2] Stage keyboardist Nick Holywell-Walker was also brought in to add some additional synthesizer and programming.

Singer and keyboard player Jaz Coleman had spent some time decompressing at the end of the Pandemonium tour in Sedona, Arizona, where he had been inspired by a new interest in Native American culture,[citation needed] striking a chord with his previous involvement in Māori culture in New Zealand, where he had settled in 1991. This resulted in a more optimistic and New Age-tinged album lyrically and marked the beginning of a more settled period for Coleman, who had by now also made considerable progress with his orchestral career.[3]

The album sessions supposedly culminated in a full moon drumming fire ceremony on a small island on the river Thames at Henley, with Youth reportedly braving the murky waters for a naked swim.[citation needed]

Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker have both expressed their disappointment with the resulting album, blaming their decision to allow Youth to mix it without their involvement.[1]

After a short tour in the summer of 1996, the band entered their longest career hiatus to date, lasting until 2002, when they began work on what would become their second eponymously titled album.

## Release

[edit]

Democracy was released on 1 April 1996 by Youth's record label Butterfly Records in conjunction with Big Life, on CD and cassette. It reached number 71 in the UK Albums Chart.[4]

One single, the title track "Democracy", was released on 11 March 1996. It reached number 39 in the UK Singles Chart.[4]

The album was reissued in remastered form in 2005 by Cooking Vinyl featuring one bonus track, a 17-minute trance remix of "Democracy".

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [6]
Entertainment Weekly| C+[7]
MusicHound Rock| [8]
NME| 4/10[9]
PopMatters| mixed[10]
Rock Hard| 9.0/10.0[11]
Trouser Press| unfavourable[12]
Select| [13]

Critical response to Democracy has been generally mixed. Adrien Begrand of PopMatters commented that on the album "the band sounds watered down".[10] Trouser Press called the album "the wrong kind of joke – either Midnight Oil with a raspy singer or James Hetfield attempting to hijack U2 – complete with inane lyrics about 'Prozac People', 'Intellect' and 'Another Bloody Election'. Vote with your feet."[12] Jack Rabid of AllMusic, on the other hand, called it "Killing Joke's best album in [eleven] years".[5] In Germany, the album garnered “record of the month” status in at least two magazines (Metal Hammer and Rock Hard).

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Jaz Coleman, Youth and Geordie Walker.

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Savage Freedom"| 4:52
2.| "Democracy"| 3:39
3.| "Prozac People"| 6:54
4.| "Lanterns"| 4:53
5.| "Aeon"| 8:05
6.| "Pilgrimage"| 6:29
7.| "Intellect"| 4:00
8.| "Medicine Wheel"| 5:18
9.| "Absent Friends"| 5:40
10.| "Another Bloody Election"| 4:27

2005 CD reissue bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

11.| "Democracy" (The Russian Tundra Mix)| 17:52

## Personnel

[edit]

Killing Joke

* Jaz Coleman – vocals, synthesizer
* Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitar
* Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar, production, mixing

Additional personnel

* Geoff Dugmore – drums
* Nick Holywell-Walker – additional synthesizer & programming

Technical

* Andy Scarfe – recording engineer (tracks 2–10)
* Paul Wright – mixing (tracks 2–10)
* Ott – recording engineer (track 1)
* Killing Joke – mixing (track 1)
* Mike Coles – cover design

## Charts

[edit]

Year  | Chart  | Peak
position

|
|

1996  | UK Albums Chart | 71[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Coleman, Jaz (2013). Letters from Cythera, p. 381. Self-published.
2. ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 148. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
3. ^ Coleman, Jaz (2013). Letters from Cythera, p. 381-383. Self-published.
4. ^ a b c "Killing Joke | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
5. ^ a b Rabid, Jack. "Democracy – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
7. ^ Eddy, Chuck (19 April 1996). "Democracy | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
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. ^ Fadele, Dele (30 March 1996). "Killing Joke - Democracy". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
10. ^ a b Begrand, Adrien (29 September 2005). "Killing Joke: Pandemonium / Democracy | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
11. ^ Stratmann, Holger. "RockHard: Review anzeigen". Rock Hard. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
12. ^ a b Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
13. ^ Mitchell, Ben (May 1996). "Killing Joke: Democracy". Select.

## External links

[edit]

* Democracy at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Killing Joke

* Jaz Coleman
* Paul Ferguson
* Youth

* Paul Raven
* Geordie Walker
* Dave Kovacevic
* Martin Atkins
* Dave "Taif" Ball
* John Bechdel
* Nick Holywell-Walker
* Geoff Dugmore
* Troy Gregory
* Dave Grohl
* Ted Parsons
* Ben Calvert
* Reza Udhin

Studio albums|

* Killing Joke
* What's THIS For...!
* Revelations
* Fire Dances
* Night Time
* Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
* Outside the Gate
* Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions
* Pandemonium
* Democracy
* Killing Joke
* Hosannas from the Basements of Hell
* Absolute Dissent
* MMXII
* Pylon

EPs|

* Turn to Red
* Lord of Chaos

Live albums|

* Ha
* BBC in Concert
* The Courtauld Talks
* ...No Way Out but Forward Go (Love Like Blood)
* The Peel Sessions 1979–1981

Compilation albums|

* Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!

Singles|

* "Nervous System"
* "Wardance"
* "Change"
* "Requiem"
* "Follow the Leaders"
* "Empire Song"
* "Chop-Chop"
* "Birds of a Feather"
* "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)"
* "Me or You?"
* "Eighties"
* "A New Day"
* "Love Like Blood"
* "Kings and Queens"
* "Adorations"
* "Sanity"
* "America"
* "My Love of This Land"
* "Money Is Not Our God"
* "Change: Spiral Tribe Mix"
* "Exorcism"
* "Pandemonium"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Niceland
* Brilliant
* Pigface
* Murder, Inc.
* The Damage Manual
* Transmission

* Category:Killing Joke

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template