[kj] Positive 8/10 "Pylon" review in Classic Rock: FYI

[Rob Moss]

Who? ;-)

> On 2 Oct 2015, at 20:31, Alexander Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> PAUL RANGECROFT SPEAKS!!!
> 
> -Alex in nYC
> 
> 
> 
>> On Oct 2, 2015, at 3:26 PM, Paul Rangecroft <paul.rangecroft at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> "...bringing to mind The Teardrop Explodes" - eh?! That can't be right.
>> 
>>> On 10/2/15, Rheinhold Squeegee <kjlist at live.com> wrote:
>>> https://www.teamrock.com/reviews/2015-10-02/killing-joke-pylon
>>> 
>>> [http://files.teamrock.com/images/696d616765-560518690fc6b2.06476013/1280x720.jpg]<https://www.teamrock.com/reviews/2015-10-02/killing-joke-pylon>
>>> 
>>> Killing Joke: Pylon - TeamRock
>>> The original line-up release their 16th album, the third in a 'triptych'.
>>> Read
>>> more...<https://www.teamrock.com/reviews/2015-10-02/killing-joke-pylon>
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The original line-up release their 16th album, the third in a 'triptych'.
>>> 
>>> 'Our time has come!' declares Jaz Coleman on opener Autonomous Zone. Which
>>> is a somewhat strange declaration from a band whose time was generally
>>> considered to have been the late 70s/early 80s.
>>> 
>>> But then Killing Joke, Coleman in particular, were always of an apocalyptic
>>> predisposition; it has probably come as a surprise to them that Western
>>> civilisation had survived unscathed this far into the 21st century and
>>> humanity has not been reduced to a pack of survivors poking about in
>>> irradiated ashes.
>>> 
>>> Still, with the times presently turbulent geopolitically, as reflected upon
>>> in tracks like New Cold War, there is always the chance that Coleman and co
>>> will be vindicated in their heavy-duty pessimism this time round. 'Is this
>>> the winter of humankind?' asks Coleman on I Am The Virus, perhaps a touch
>>> hopefully.
>>> 
>>> In the meantime, there's much to enjoy about Pylon, not least on the
>>> punitive, jet-black musical side of things. Autonomous Zone is more than a
>>> return to the Joke at their gale-force finest - it reminds of what came in
>>> their wake, as if they have been strengthened by feasting on the fruit from
>>> their own black tree. Machine-like and remorseless, with an attendant mulch
>>> of electronics, it recalls groups like The Young Gods and Nine Inch Nails,
>>> the industry that grew up in Killing Joke's wake.
>>> 
>>> The album stretches to 15 full tracks - 16 including Snakedance, a
>>> Rattlesnake dub remix by Youth (who went on to work with former Killing Joke
>>> roadie Alex Paterson in The Orb), which is full of spectacular drops and
>>> vistas. It suggests the culmination of a head of steam that began with
>>> previous albums MMXII and Absolute Dissent.
>>> 
>>> The black-sky riffing of Dawn Of The Hive and Panopticon show that they
>>> gather up a fast-paced storm like no one else of their era, and, as so many
>>> to have emerged from the post-punk scene, they have utterly refused to
>>> mellow with age.
>>> 
>>> Yet as the title of Euphoria suggests, as well as the Gothic portentousness,
>>> there is a soaring, epic quality about much of Pylon that reminds of U2 and
>>> The Cure at their big, early best, even bringing to mind The Teardrop
>>> Explodes.
>>> 
>>> Had they been of a more conciliatory, upbeat temperament, maybe Killing Joke
>>> could have had an alternative career as air-punching stadium rockers. As it
>>> is, you can expect their upcoming gigs to be packed to the rafters. Their
>>> time has never really gone away.
>>> 
>>> FINAL VERDICT: 8/10
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