Pylon is the fifteenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 23 October 2015 by Spinefarm Records, distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group. The album was recorded in the UK and the Czech Republic and co-produced by the band and Tom Dalgety.[2] It was preceded by the release of "I Am the Virus" and "Euphoria" was subsequently released as the album's second single. Jaz told biographer Jyrki "Spider" Hämäläinen that it was their Cold War album.[3] This is the band's last studio album with guitarist Geordie Walker, before his death in 2023, as well as the band's final studio album to feature the original line-up.
| Pylon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 October 2015 | |||
| Recorded |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:03 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Tom Dalgety, Killing Joke | |||
| Killing Joke chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Consequence of Sound | C[6] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[7] |
| Kerrang! | [8] |
| PopMatters |   [9] |
| Q | [10] |
| Record Collector | [11] |
| Uncut | [12] |
Pylon has received a rating of 77/100 based on eleven reviews on review aggregator website Metacritic.[4]
AllMusic wrote: "Pylon doesn't sound terribly innovative within the band's body of work, but the album's widescreen sound and bone-fracturing impact leave no doubt that Killing Joke are still deeply committed to what they do, and it's genuinely remarkable that they're still sounding this furious and effective 35 years after their debut album."[5]
Pylon peaked at the No. 16 position on the UK Albums Chart, thus it became the third-highest charting album of the band's career (tied with 1994's Pandemonium).[13] Pylon ranked at No. 10 in Rolling Stone's list of the "20 Best Metal Albums of 2015".[14]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Killing Joke (Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson, Youth and Geordie Walker)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Autonomous Zone" | 6:43 |
| 2. | "Dawn of the Hive" | 6:28 |
| 3. | "New Cold War" | 6:51 |
| 4. | "Euphoria" | 4:16 |
| 5. | "New Jerusalem" | 6:10 |
| 6. | "War on Freedom" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Big Buzz" | 5:02 |
| 8. | "Delete" | 5:00 |
| 9. | "I Am the Virus" | 5:38 |
| 10. | "Into the Unknown" | 6:15 |
| Total length: | 57:03 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Apotheosis" | 6:25 |
| 2. | "Plague" | 5:50 |
| 3. | "Star Spangled" | 5:30 |
| 4. | "Panopticon" | 8:45 |
| 5. | "Snakedance" (Youth 'Rattlesnake Dub' Remix) | 7:55 |
Personnel
edit- Killing Joke
- Jaz Coleman – vocals, keyboards
- Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitars
- Martin "Youth" Glover – bass, programming
- Paul Ferguson – drums
- Technical
- Tom Dalgety – recording engineer, programming, mixing
- Amak Golden – recording engineer, programming
- Michael Rendall – recording engineer, additional programming
- Bert Neven – recording engineer
- Joe Jones – additional engineering & programming
- Reza Udhin – additional engineering & programming
- Jamie Grashion – additional engineering & programming
- Edward Banda – additional engineering & programming
- Tom Barnes – band photography
- Mike Coles – cover design
References
edit- ^ "Five things you didn't know about Killing Joke". Time Out.
- ^ "Killing Joke - Pylon". Discogs. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Hämäläinen, Jyrki "Spider" (2020). Killing Joke: Are You Receiving?, p. 194. Milton Keynes: New Haven Publishing. ISBN 978-1912587407.
- ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for Pylon by Killing Joke – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Pylon – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ Barry, Sean (26 October 2015). "Pylon | Album Reviews | Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ McDonald, Andy (22 October 2015). "Album Review: Killing Joke – Pylon / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "[Pylon review]". Kerrang!: 54. 31 October 2015.
- ^ Olsen, Benjamin Hedge (17 November 2015). "Killing Joke: Pylon | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "[Pylon review]". Q: 113. January 2016.
- ^ Buscovic, Alix. "Punches, Not Punchlines". Record Collector. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "[Pylon review]". Uncut: 77. November 2015.
- ^ "Killing Joke Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R.; Shteamer, Hank; Krovatin, Christopher; Grow, Kory; Fury, Jeanne; Weiderhorn, Jon (10 December 2015). "Joke, 'Pylon' | 20 Best Metal Albums of 2015 | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
External links
edit
 | This 2010s rock album–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |