''Democracy'' is the tenth studio album by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

, released on 1 April 1996 by Butterfly Records and

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Recording and production

Following their successful 1994 '' Pandemonium'' album and tour, Killing Joke reconvened in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, U.K. to write new material before moving on to

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

to record a new album.Coleman, Jaz (2013). ''Letters from Cythera'', p. 381. Self-published. Production was overseen by bassist Martin "Youth" Glover, with session musician Geoff Dugmore returning once more on drums. Dugmore shared mutual friends with the band hence joining the group.Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). ''Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?'', p. 148. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. . Stage keyboardist Nick Holywell-Walker was also brought in to add some additional synthesizer and programming. Singer and keyboard player

Jaz Coleman Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman (born 26 February 1960) is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke. In addition, Coleman has composed orchestral and sound ...

had spent some time decompressing at the end of the ''Pandemonium'' tour in Sedona,

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, where he had been inspired by a new interest in Native American culture, striking a chord with his previous involvement in

Māori culture Māori culture () is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Polynesians, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of Culture of New ...

in New Zealand, where he had settled in 1991. This resulted in a more optimistic and

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-tinged album lyrically and marked the beginning of a more settled period for Coleman, who had by now also made considerable progress with his orchestral career.Coleman, Jaz (2013). ''Letters from Cythera'', p. 381-383. Self-published. The album sessions supposedly culminated in a full moon drumming fire ceremony on a small island on the river Thames at Henley, with Youth reportedly braving the murky waters for a naked swim. Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker have both expressed their disappointment with the resulting album, blaming their decision to allow Youth to mix it without their involvement. After a short tour in the summer of 1996, the band entered their longest career hiatus to date, lasting until 2002, when they began work on what would become their second eponymously titled album.

Release

''Democracy'' was released on 1 April 1996 by Youth's record label Butterfly Records in conjunction with

, on CD and cassette. It reached number 71 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. One single, the title track "Democracy", was released on 11 March 1996. It reached number 39 in the UK Singles Chart. The album was reissued in remastered form in 2005 by

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featuring one bonus track, a 17-minute trance remix of "Democracy".

Reception

Critical response to ''Democracy'' has been generally mixed. Adrien Begrand of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

commented that on the album "the band sounds watered down". ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' called the album "the wrong kind of joke – either

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

with a raspy singer or

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

attempting to hijack U2 – complete with inane lyrics about 'Prozac People', 'Intellect' and 'Another Bloody Election'. Vote with your feet." Jack Rabid of

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, on the other hand, called it "Killing Joke's best album in levenyears". In Germany, the album garnered “record of the month” status in at least two magazines (

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

and Rock Hard).

Track listing

Personnel

; Killing Joke *

– vocals,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

* Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitar * Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar, production, mixing ; Additional personnel * Geoff Dugmore – drums * Nick Holywell-Walker – additional synthesizer & programming ; Technical * Andy Scarfe – recording engineer (tracks 2–10) * Paul Wright – mixing (tracks 2–10) * Ott – recording engineer (track 1) * Killing Joke – mixing (track 1) * Mike Coles – cover design

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 albums Killing Joke albums Industrial rock albums Post-punk albums by English artists