Killing Joke – Fire Dances (1983)

October 10, 2021

I’ve done a good run through the early Killing Joke records recently, and Fire Dances cements everything that I didn’t like about them into one tangible listening experience. Fire Dances was the first album with bassist Paul Raven, who is, from what I can tell, just as proficient as the legendary Youth, but the band pull a Metallica and mix the poor fucker incredibly low in the mix. It isn’t until later in the album on tracks like “Lust Almighty” (what a name lol) that he has chance to shine.

All in all, the production is drab and flat and monotonous, even in the remaster, which is a surprise as the band took production back into their own hands again after Revelations. The only consistent element here is once again Geordie’s insane riffs, which should absolutely not sound great but they are fantastic.