''Revelations'' is the third 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 in July 1982 by

E.G. Eg or EG may refer to: In arts and media * ''E.G.'' (EP), an EP by Goodshirt * ''EG'' (magazine), a journal dedicated to chess endgame studies * Eg White (born 1966), a British musician, songwriter and producer * E.G. Records, a music record ...

via

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. It was recorded in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany and produced by

Conny Plank Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was involv ...

, making it their first album not to be self-produced. Since bassist

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

departed from the band after the album's release, ''Revelations'' was the band's last album to feature the original line-up (until their 2010 album ''

Absolute Dissent ''Absolute Dissent'' is the thirteenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 27 September 2010 by Spinefarm Records, distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group. ''Absolute Dissent'' is Killing Joke's first studio ...

'').

Release

''Revelations'' was released in July 1982 by

E.G. Records Virgin EG Records (formerly E.G. Records until 1991) was a British artist management company and independent record label, mostly active during the 1970s and 1980s. The initials stood for its founders, David Enthoven and John Gaydon. The pair ...

. It reached number 12 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 ...

. Youth was disappointed the way the album turned out, as it later contributed to him leaving the band, saying "It came out a bit dirgy". Two singles were released from the album: "

Empire Song ''Empire Song'' is a song by English post-punk band Killing Joke. It was released in 1982 by E.G. Records as the first single from their third studio album, '' Revelations''. Production and release By 1982, members of Killing Joke, especi ...

" and "Chop-Chop". "Empire Song" was performed on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', but without singer

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 ...

, who had departed for Iceland fearing

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...

at the time. "Chop-Chop" suffered the same fate as "

". At the band's performance on ''

'', the "Fake Coleman" keyboardist was used again with drummer

Paul Ferguson Matthew Paul Ferguson (born 31 March 1958) is an English rock drummer, best known for his work in the post-punk/ industrial group Killing Joke and cult English punk band Pink Parts. Following a stint as the drummer with the London-based Matt Sta ...

as singer. At this time, frontman

was the only member of Killing Joke to have moved to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. However, by the end of the year, the other three members also moved to Iceland to avoid the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

, as predicted by Coleman. A remastered version was released in 2005, including an alternate recording of "We Have Joy".

Reception

''Revelations'' has generally received mixed-to-favourable reception by critics. Nick Lancaster of '' Drowned in Sound'' praised the album, calling it "a less individual work – record company pressures and an outside producer necessarily toning down the band's nihilistic excesses – but it's all the better for it." Christopher Gray of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' called it "faster" and "sleeker" than previous albums. ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' put the album at no. 11 on their list titled "20 Best: Goth Records Ever Made". In negative retrospective reviews,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

believed the album had a "lack of cohesion and direction", while ''

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 ...

'' wrote that it "suffers from an uninvolving lethargy".

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 Kevin Walker (18 December 1958 – 26 November 2023), known professionally as Geordie Walker, was an English rock musician, songwriter and producer. He was best known as the guitarist of post-punk group Killing Joke. He joined the band in March 1 ...

– guitar * Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar *

– drums, vocals ; Technical *

– recording engineer, mixing,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Rob O'Connor ''Hollyoaks'' is a long-running Channel 4 soap opera in the United Kingdom. This is a list of characters who first appeared on the programme during 2010, listed in order of their first appearance. In January 2010, it was announced that Paul Marq ...

– sleeve design

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1982 albums Killing Joke albums Albums produced by Conny Plank E.G. Records albums