If one were to be concerned with very unimportant things, one might put forth the question: "Why has pyfr written so many Killing Joke reviews thus far?" Well, I can answer that one easily. In addition to being a big fan of their music, I think they have a story (and accompanying philosophy) that is unique. They were not the first mentally ill band to ever hit the scene, to be sure, but their madness did cause them to do bizarre things and dwell upon topics that fascinate me. They were a strange band from a very creative time and place, and for that, I will never deny them a place to crash if they come to Dallas, TX. I will, however, sleep with a gun under my pillow in case they flip out and attack me.

So when last we met upon the moors of Killing Joke's desolate and bleak career, our anti-heroes had fled to the country of Iceland. Their third album, "Revelations", had been released to not much fanfare in 1982, and that probably just made the guys even more paranoid. Who was working to hold back the success they deserved? The Illuminati? The Masons? The Anheuser-Busch bottling company?

Why did they go to Iceland? If you read my review of "Revelations", you'll know that singer Jaz Coleman thought the apocalypse was at hand. He thought that Iceland was remote enough to take refuge in, and he was soon joined there by drummer Big Paul Ferguson and guitarist Geordie. Bassist Youth left the band to seek out a last name.

While in Reykjavik, the guys were busy. They worked with some local Icelandic bands, one of which went on to become The Sugarcubes. I don't know if goose dress wearing Bjork was singing for them at the time. Jaz travelled around the island, studying occult stuff and presumably causing the locals some concern over his mental health.

Then they went back to England, found a bassist named Paul Raven (who I hear is the son of Gary Glitter, but I don't know for sure), and began recording their weirdest album yet, "Fire Dances". It was released in 1983 and I can't even imagine what their record company must've thought when they were allowed to listen in.

The first thing I'll say about "Fire Dances" is that it was the work of men who were still mad (in the clinical sense). This time, though, they were grinning in a spooky way instead of pacing around and sweating bullets. Their insanity was expressed in an entirely different manner on "Fire Dances", an album that is philosophically more coherent than any of their first three releases.

The cover is red, and shows a boy (I assume) with a painted white face, holding fire in his hand. Not as interesting as the cover of "What's This For...!", but a touch more spectacular than that of "Revelations". There is an inner sleeve picture of the band standing in front of the words "the world" and a clock, probably some cryptic statement about doomsday being at hand. Jaz is holding an umbrella and looking like one of the Columbine killers, while the others resemble ugly things. Raven and Ferguson in particular have the appearance of chicken-fried lizards in that photo.

The musical consistency here is amazing. It almost borders on monotonous, but in a fairly exciting way. Except for "Dominator" (which has a dance beat) and "Let's Go (To The Fire Dances)" (which moves along like a figure skater fleeing a polar bear), the songs are all very tribal, drum-heavy affairs, with Geordie playing dissonant and unusual guitar parts all over the place. Nobody apparently paid the ransom money for the kidnapped hi-hat, which is conspicuously absent yet again. A very unique sound, which would change yet again by the release of "Night Time", their fifth studio album.

"The Gathering" is a strong opening number that introduces the listener to the themes that dominate the album. "Fire Dances" is apparently Killing Joke's encouragement to return back to basic ways, since modern ways have obviously brought us to the brink. "The Gathering" is their invitation to join the party, to throw off the yoke of evil modern life, and become a "basic man". It is also one of seven songs on the album that uses the word "Go" so frequently that one wonders if the band had recently bought stock in Use The Word Go, Inc.

Now that we've gathered, we're told to join in "Fun & Games". There is the sound of a fire burning in the beginning, with a clock chiming or something. In addition to showering us yet again with the word "Go", Jaz warns us that "the playpen is falling" and that domestication will be lost overnight. Clearly, the man still believed that society was unravelling, but he was trying to come to terms with it. He's almost OK with it on this album.

On "Rejuvenation", the paranoiac notices that we (GO!) gather into packs, then the packs form into hordes, "where the old will always die/when winter comes along". Uh-oh, they might've crossed a line here- you can't just go leaving Granny and Grandpa to die in the cold. It seems that one of the "basic ways" Jaz is promoting here is killing off those who are old to join in the orgy. Cruel-hearted man.

Actually, we have proof of his cold-heartedness on "Frenzy", where he says "GO!" and tells us that he left his conscience way behind. The cities come and go, and the song speeds up at the end to near-thrash level. I have a bootleg video of them playing this song in a small Danish club, with Jaz wearing white face paint, and the man truly was in the midst of a frenzy.

At least he still has his sense of humor though, even if it sometimes gets out of hand, as it does on "Harlequin". He describes himself on this one as a "child of folly", but I once read that he is really half-Pakistani or something. Don't believe everything British post-punkers tell ya. GO! Also, Coleman says that "if you guess my next move/then that's more than me". Indeed. I'm sure that after the Iceland debacle, NOBODY was exactly sure what this guy was capable of pulling off.

The listener is then given the option of participating in the "Feast of Blaze", a festival of banners, wine, and probably lots of other stuff that shan't be mentioned. Jaz promises that "the mess the fools have made won't stop us in our way". It's his party and he'll GO! if he wants to.

It's back to the old ways/basic man concept on "Song & Dance", where we find our ancestors awaking (the ones we left to die in the snow will probably be understandably cranky). I think what he's getting at here is that people are reverting to barbarism, and we should celebrate it when "the ways we've lost come flooding back". I agree- I can't wait to hunt down rabbits with a spear and romance some woman from the pages of National Geographic.

"Dominator" is a dancey, jump around the room tune that is mostly Jaz and Big Paul. There's something ominous about a lunatic like Jaz Coleman telling us that he'll "have his day" and ordering us to "move in on them". By the end of the album, one can hardly ignore the notion that Jaz would like to see this primitive lifestyle come back by force, if necessary. The old, weak, and intoxicated should tremble at a line like "if they fall/leave them behind". There's something almost naughty about shaking one's booty to such a Nietzschean number.

The only song released as a single was "Let's Go (To The Fire Dances)", at least, as far as I know. It starts out with a fast, snare drum opening, kinda like "Wipe-Out", with one of Geordie's best guitar riffs. It's actually very catchy and I've no doubt that MTV probably played it at least once or thrice, back in the early 80's. Thematically, it just keeps on keepin' on, with Jaz looking for "basic ways to simplify me" and the opportunity for us to "be human, oh so human".

Where they were going with all this is revealed in the last number, "Lust Almighty". It bears more than a father/son resemblance to "The Fall Of Because" from their second album, and has a darkness to it that I can't quite pin down. Probably 40% of the song's words are "la-la-la" and "hey", and the line "and the sex between your legs" certainly made them no fans amongst the religious fundamentalist types. Ah, who needs 'em anyway?

My theory is this: Killing Joke came back from Iceland in a randy mood, Jaz was having fantasies about living in a society with no rules or inhibitions, so he came up with "Fire Dances" to get it out of his system. Their usual "run to the hills" mentality was here appended with "where we can party down, have a feast, sex it up around the bonfire, and watch the world collapse". Hey, where's the sign-up sheet?

This comparatively light-hearted, let's all get naked and Neolithic phase of the Joke's career (and the tribal, noisy sound that went with it) was gone by the next album, "Night Time", which is one of my favorites.

Next time on "Killing Joke: The Series": worry returns to the band in spades, a more conventional sound is embraced, and the men write a song that was ripped off by Nirvana AND used in the movie "Weird Science".

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising