Revelations (Killing Joke album)

1982 studio album by Killing Joke

Revelations

Studio album by

Killing Joke

Released| July 1982
Studio| Conny's Studio, Wolperath, Cologne, Germany
Genre|

* Post-punk
* industrial rock
* gothic rock[1]

Length| 37:24
Label| E.G., Polydor
Producer| Conny 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

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).

## Release

[edit]

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.[citation needed]

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

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview 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

[edit]

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

Side ANo.| 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

Side BNo.| 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

2005 CD reissue bonus trackNo.| 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]

1. ^ a b Sande, Kiran (2 November 2010). "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". Fact. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b Ogg, Alex. "Revelations review". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ 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.
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.

## External links

[edit]

* Revelations 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

|

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