Revelations (Killing Joke album)

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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: March 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] "Chop-Chop" suffered the same fate as "Empire Song". At the band's performance on Top of the Pops, the "Fake Coleman" keyboardist was used again with drummer Paul Ferguson as singer. At this time, frontman Jaz Coleman was the only member of Killing Joke to have moved to Iceland. However, by the end of the year, the other three members also moved to Iceland to avoid the Apocalypse, as predicted by Coleman.[4]

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

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [5]
The Austin Chronicle| [6]
Drowned in Sound| 5/5[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [8]
MusicHound Rock| [9]
Select| [10]

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."[7] Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle called it "faster" and "sleeker" than previous albums.[6] 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",[5] while Trouser Press wrote that it "suffers from an uninvolving lethargy".[11]

## 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[12]

## 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. ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 64-83. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
5. ^ a b Ogg, Alex. "Revelations review". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ 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.
8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ Perry, Neil (July 1991). "Killing Joke". Select. p. 86.
11. ^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
12. ^ 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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