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Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions
Killing Joke
Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1


     
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CD Details

All Artists: Killing Joke
Title: Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Noise
Release Date: 10/20/1998
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Styles: Hardcore & Punk, New Wave & Post-Punk
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 823107403327, 644591505423
 

CD Reviews

Killing Joke At Their Raging Best!!!
Mike | North Bergen, NJ | 05/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best Killing Joke cd in all their years as a vital presence in underground music. Extremities has everything that makes Killing Joke one of the best bands out there, especially the rage and frustration towards the world. It is perhaps their masterpiece, filled with all the right touches from beginning to end. Once the music kicks in, you know that Killing Joke mean serious business.



Jaz Coleman's voice has never been more solid than in this hourlong cd excursion into varied aggression. Many harsh emotions pour out from track to track about such issues as power and greed (Money Is Not Our God)as well as destruction and poverty (Age Of Greed). Coleman's lyrics have never been more passionate and sincere, reacting to the world's problems,"I fill hate...don't be afraid to show your hate".



There is a deep-seeded anger that can't be ignored, listening to Extremities. Raven's bass continues to line in sync with the rest of the band. Geordie's guitars are as fierce as ever, perfect timing. Martin Atkins, formerly of PIL, fills in the drums and pounds amazingly despite the reality that this is the only KJ album he is featured in. "Intravenous" and "Struggle" instantly come to mind.



Deep down, my favorites in this cd are the ones that blend the rage with Coleman's mellower vocals previously heard in 1000 Suns and Outside The Gate. "Solitude" is haunting, esoteric,and filled with desperation. "Slipstream" seems to be a lighter song about time and age, sung to the backdrop of fierce

instrumentation. "North Of The Border" has these great riffs, lyrics, everything, including a nails-on-a-chalkboard effect.



Extremities is a tough-as-nails, poignant, violent response to many things that were wrong with society, and could still be reactive to the current state of affairs in the world. The band were as honest, loose, completely free-willed in their convictions as ever when this cd first came out in 1990. Fifteen years later, it remains Killing Joke's magnum opus.It pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the band.





































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Goodbye synthesizers...
Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 04/06/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)

"After the slick, clean, synth-driven sounds on "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns" and the disasterous release of the somewhat underrated "Outside the Gate", Killing Joke returned with the somewhat overrated "Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions". Paul Ferguson, unhappy with the band, had left, leaving vocalist Jaz Coleman and guitarist Geordie to figure it out-- they ended up being joined by old cohort Paul Raven on bass and industrial legend and former P.I.L. drummer Martin Atkins. This was probably in retrospect a mistake-- Atkins was another strong personality in a band dominated by the vision of Jaz Coleman. Its no wonder Coleman abdicated and Atkins kept the rest and put together the short-lived Murder, Inc. with all of these guys.



Nonetheless, this album documents their collaboration-- Coleman's focus has over the past couple albums drifted a bit closer to home,t his one seems largely about the evil's of society-- especially money, as so nicely illustrated by the two openers on the album, the powerful "Money Is Not Our God" and "Age of Greed". Gone are the synthesizers, the edgy guitars, and the smooth vocals, instead its raging and boiling like the old records-- Coleman wails on top of a distorted guitar wall. However, Atkins fills a different role-- he's a fine drummer, but he doesn't fall into the tribal or dance rhythms that dominated the early records, and with Raven largely falling in step rhythmically, this is a far less interesting band. The opening two tracks are great, but after that, its sort of an album of sludge industrial. Not that its particularly bad, but my expectations of Killing Joke are much higher than this, and without the usual level of noise and effects that a lot of industrial music carries, there's a lack of variety on the record as it passes from one heavy, loud song to another-- I'll grant that "Extremities" and "Inside the Termite Mound" are both great pieces, but outside those two and the opening pair, this one is somewhat formless metal. Maybe if it wasn't over an hour, it'd digest easier.



Nonetheless, there's enough great moments here to make me think reasonably of it, and if you come from a metal or industrial background, you'll probably love it."
Say what you will...this is one of KJ's best...
T.A. | South Florida | 12/03/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)

"MARTIN ATKINS. It wouldn't matter what kind of GUB was on this CD...it Martin played the drums, it's worth investing in. He creates the most incredible, undulating, MUSIC with merely a drum set, and sometimes a few other odd niose-makers (a rusty sink or old camera, as in some Pigface recordings). One thing holds true on all of KJ's discs--it's drum oriented, tribal, rhythmic chaos. They recruit a fantastic drummer for every disc (how about Dave Grohl on their new CD?) It was only a matter of time that they would run into England's most distinctive alternative drummer--Martin Atkins.



True, only the first two tracks and track 4 are legendary. The rest of the CD is like an odd Led Zeppelin tune: a rarely listened-to, John Bonham classic. I'm stunned by what some of the other reviewers have written! I have ALL their discs, adn I'm much happier chilling to this CD, rather than trudging through "Revelations" or "Fire Dances." Those are great CD's in their own classic sense, but song for song, if I was listening for 60+ minutes without skipping tracks, this one is at the top. There are even a few tracks I skip on "Pandemonium"...it gets too synth-ish at times.



There are some people who truly enjoy Atkins work...I am one of them, because I believe that a great, imaginative drummer puts the icing on the cake...he won't be with us forever--get this CD. The drums haven't been rendered this good in alternative music since, well--Pigface, Ministry, PiL,..."