Having been in existence since 1978, Killing Joke has seen the birth of many styles of music. You could say that they created some of those forms of music. They’ve also seen the rise of the corporate state, the digital culture of zero privacy and a type of environmental overkill that is changing the very planet we live on. I can think of few bands more qualified to deliver a musical statement on what we are doing to ourselves.

Pylon is that statement. It’s hard to believe that a band that has been active for over 30 years can release something this fierce, forward-thinking and caustic. Killing Joke has their finger on the pulse of an insane world and they are not pulling any punches. Pylon is one of their most aggressive records. Their trademark combination of metal, new wave and industrial elements sounds diamond hard here and mercurial vocalist Jaz Coleman has made himself into something of a shaman for these trying times. His vocals are not designed to sound “good” in the traditional pop sense but to tell stories and give warnings.

I have a feeling it may be too late to heed those warnings, but while waiting for the end, Pylon will keep you entertained.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2015  Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

An electronic pulse and the faint ghost of a vocal refrain lead the way to this song. Then it explodes into a fast, ferocious pounding that combines metal and industrial with a kind of Middle Eastern feel. Coleman’s singsong vocals relate a tale of the machine age while guitarist Geordie Walker cranks out the power chords and the bass/drum combo of Martin "Youth" Glover and "Big" Paul Ferguson provide a metronome-like backbone. This killer cut reminds me of a lot of the tracks from the Pandemonium album.