Killing Joke Night Time EG, 1985 amazon

A band moniker steeped in mystery, from overhearing older kids in junior high giving praise, to seeing the Batman graphic novel of the same name and wondering if they were somehow related. Moreover, it wasn't until i'd seen Weird Science for the 329th time that i realized that the song "Eighties" played during the penultimate party was Killing Joke. Okay, so by then i'd associated sounds with the name, now let's probe a little deeper. Critics marked 1985's Night Time as the beginning of the end for the industrial/hard rock/metal band, departing further from the tribal rhythms of their 1981 self-titled debut and incorporating the more melodic, synthesized elements of new wave. I beg to differ, as i find they maintained their identity while expanding arrangements to enhance their oeuvre. The opener "Night Time" repeatedly chants those two words over a driving, almost dancy guitar riff and drum track. This shifts however, into the bleak soundscape of "Love Like Blood", a modest hit for the band. The production is clean and punchy, again drawing comparisons to the new romantics of the day, but the content is of a different nature. The highlight for me is the electronic drone over a harsh and abrupt guitar line on "Europe", which blends into the head-nodding closer "Eighties". A powerful display, if unpleasing to those more disposed to the proto-industrial sounds of the band in the early part of the decade.

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