Review Revue: Killing Joke - Fire Dances

One thing about browsing through the KEXP stacks is that you never know when you'll come across something that should probably be in a museum, and not on a shelf where some grubby-fingered scribe such as myself can pull it out, snap a picture of the cover, and transcribe the pithy comments scrawled on it. I don't know if this is, as one of the reviewers mentions, a test pressing of post-punk heroes Killing Joke's fourth album, Fire Dances (and their fourth album in four years, I might add), or just a seriously no-frills press copy, but it's definitely cool and rare, and definitely has the wrong title printed on it (The Fire Dances, rather than Fire Dances).

And if you look down at the bottom left corner, you'll see this particular disc was added to the KCMU library almost exactly thirty-three years ago! Happy birthday, you marvelous slab of plastic, you! You don't look (or sound) a day over thirty.

"Test pressing of the new Killing Joke LP!! A new member, but basically the same sound, with a more commercial touch."

"Cool yeah."

"Not nearly as downbeat as previous stuff."

"This is cool. 'Fun & Games.'"

"Never mind."

"Yuck. Another band dies but doesn't know it. Oh, well it beats Bananarama."

"Alfred, you is such a pessimist!"

[Two or three comments heavily scribbled out, one of which seems to read "Hee Hee."]

"'Dominator' - excellent. Funky DOR [Dance-Oriented Rock]. Much improved over last album."

"Hey this I like."

"No arguments."

"Me too!"

"1st album better" [I'm surprised there wasn't a "1st album better" stamp issued to all college radio music music directors. Someone get on that!]

"It's better than Revelations though!"

"Thrashy + good!"