In on the Kill Taker

Fugazi

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 30, 1993)
• Original Release Date: June 30, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dischord
• ASIN: B000000JP1
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,534 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #29 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Emo
  #40 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative
  #49 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Hardcore

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
By far the most unrelievedly aggressive of this seminal D.C. foursome's seven albums, this 1993 collection assembles all the essential elements of Fugazi's aesthetic--strafing melodic tension, dynamic shifts, and unrestrained lyrical fury--and drives them into the psyche with nary a hint of sonic subtlety. That might sound one-dimensional, but somehow Ian MacKaye and company manage to wring a full spectrum of emotional impact out of that small patch of territory. From typically vociferous political plaints ("Smallpox Champion") to decidedly personal missives designed to provoke self-examination ("Great Cop"), the songs invariably cut to the bone. The highlight? "Cassavetes," which stutters and swells with remarkable grace, paying oblique tribute to John Cassavetes, an outsider director who was to Hollywood what Fugazi is to the music industry. --David Sprague

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And the band played on..., May 11, 2000

By	Chris Parker (Valdosta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

For my money, this is the best album by Fugazi, a band that has never put out anything less than top notch material. It may not be their signature album, "Repeater" would have to take that distinction, but it is the one on which the band fully unleashes its energy. The result is an intensely stirring listening experience.

"In on the Kill Taker" gets off to a flying start, the first five songs are some of the best punk/hardcore anyone has ever released. The songs are a little more unhinged than anything on band's first three albums but that doesn't mean the virtuoso musicianship is in any way diminished, this is after all the most skilled quartet of rock musicians around. "23 Beats Off" is a great song that the band mystifyingly chose to ruin by turning the last two minutes into a ridiculously unlistenable mess of anarchaic distortion and noise. As disconcerting as that turn of events is, the bands rallies beautifully with "Sweet and Low", one of the best instrumentals by one few the few bands that actually understands how a rock instrumental should work. The second half of the album is no less energetic than the first but the energy is vented in a very different manner. The last five songs don't go full speed ahead like the first five, instead they grind, releasing their tension in a much more measured manner. In that way the last five songs might be considered more indicative of the band's distinct sound.

Overall, the material on this album is top notch and who would expect anything less from Fugazi. It is the different approach that this album takes that makes it my personal favorite.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Umm, it 'grows on ya.', May 2, 2000

By	Kevin P. Haley (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

OK, props to James below for his thoughtful assessment of Ian's contributions to Kill Taker. Made me think.

After a solid minute of contemplation, this is what I came up with: I still love every single song on this album. I bought it when I was in the 10th grade -- oddly enough, I found it at the Base Exchange on an air base in Germany. Go figure. Anyhow, I couldn't stand 10 of the 12 songs for a good year -- everything they had done before was so...melodic, in that fugazi kind of way. And then one day, right in the middle of that perfect execution of a feedback jam (on 23 Beats Off), I had what can only be called a musical epiphany. This album has inspired me time and time again to make my own music better, and unfortunately, it has made hundreds of other albums (hardcore, indie, whatever..) look poor by comparison.

Why is it so good? What's so special? Just about everything. The contrast of quiet and loud, beautiful and abrasive -- not much else comes close to the changes within the 5,6, and 7 tracks: Rend it, 23.., and Sweet and Low.

It's a tough record, certainly not open to everyone. Hardcore for the thinking man, or something like that. For me, it is THE textbook on how to make an excellent album.

The balance between Guy's more melodic, emotive songs, and Ian's rough, grating sounds is just right -- I don't think they've done an album this cohesive since. Repeater and Kill Taker are tops for me!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars classicq, June 3, 2008

By	William R. Nicholas "bill nicholas" (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This is the first i heard of this band and probably my favorate album by Fuguzi.

The album remains loud and punky throughout. But on this thread Fuguzi strings lots of bloody matallic textures, stedy precussive noises, and all kinds of shadings and dynamics you don't normally associate with hardcore music. The album is also engeneered with a soundstage feel, as if your in the back of an empty theatre listening, so the many flurishes stand out very well.

"Kill Taker" is perfectly paced, with some great rockers to open the album, followed by complex experiments like "Rend it." The sugues always surprise and work perfectly.

Fuguzi may be a do it yourself band, but they do it themselves extremely well.