Killing Joke – Absolute Dissent (2010)

As one of the most anticipated releases of 2010, today we have Killing Joke’s “Absolute Dissent”. This release marks the return of the original line-up of the band after almost 30 years, making this release even more special since we have Jaz, Geordie, Youth and Paul Ferguson back together pushing boundaries once more with KJ.

“Absolute Dissent” features 12 tracks that vary from vintage 80’s KJ, to the more ‘artsy’ Metal touches KJ had in their latest album. We also get a share of Auto-Tune and other ‘modern’ day elements mixed in between the band’s rich and diverse sound. We can also say that this album is actually one the most cohesive and less pretentious releases of the band.

Since the first track (“Absolute Dissent”), you can immediately notice that Jaz’s vocals are as good as ever. Relying on his unique singing style, Jaz soars through this album as a young kid and never disappoints (even when using Auto-Tune), fans of Fear Factory (and that have never heard KJ) might find this Jaz vocal harmonies comparable to Burton’s clean vocals in some Fear Factory songs. The first track also features very chuggy guitar riffs, a trademark of Geordie.

Things start to get wacky with the very interesting “European Super State” song that has some Eurovision synth-like sections that will surely make people scratch their heads. But this song ends up working magically once you factor in the guitar work and Jaz’s vocals, giving you a very melodic and catchy piece that nicely changes the pace of things in this album being the most ‘techo’ piece in this release.

All tracks in this release have their little magical elements that makes them very unique from each other and each shows a little of the KJ magic we have been treated to over the years. It’s hard to pin-point a particular general theme and core sound in such a rich release (other than Jaz’s vocals), but is very refreshing to have such a diverse and interesting album as well.

Our favorite song of the album comes with the name of “The Raven King”, a very solid piece featuring a very catchy chorus section and nice guitar rhythms. This track is also a good balance of heavy guitars with epic vocal harmonies. As for our least favorite song, we have “Depthcharge”, a track that feels very chaotic and convoluted. It might be the harsh vocals, or the weird drum patterns, but something didn’t click quite right when we listened to this track.

“Absolute Dissent” feels like a compilation album of sorts, in the sense that we get bits and pieces of everything that band has tried (and sometimes failed at) over their existence. Aided with more experience and a very solid production, this release is actually very solid since the band is more aware of what works and how to make things click together. We sure hope that the current line-up stays together for a few more albums and decide to shake things up a bit in the future. However, for now “Absolute Dissent” is a very solid release from a legendary band that should be appreciated by fans of hard rock, ‘light’ metal, post-punk, industrial and everything in the middle.

Release: November 22nd, 2010

Country: UK