Outside the Gate (Reis) [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Import]

Killing Joke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B000VLJHNY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,022 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2008 digitally remastered and expanded edition of this classic album by British Post-Punk legends featuring seven bonus tracks. With frontman Jaz Coleman's intense persona and the band's edgy yet atmospheric wall of sound, Killing Joke always stood out amongst their contemporaries. Outside The Gate was originally released in 1988. Bonus tracks include five previously unreleased track ('May Day', early versions of 'My Love Of This Land' and 'Obsession', an instrumental version of 'Unto The Ends Of The Earth' and a dub mix of 'Stay One Jump Ahead') plus one non-album track ('Jihad') and an extended version of 'America'. Virgin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not just a matter of taste, April 26, 2002

By 

Claudio Piccinini (Modena Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outside the Gate (Audio CD)

Killing Joke fans generally tend to agree on the dismissal of this album as the most weak and uninspired of their repertoire. I became a great admirer of the music of Jaz Coleman and friends just starting from a vague, yet powerful image of the "Love like Blood" videoclip, the only real KJ hit that made its way to Europe and my native Italy.
So, starting with "Nightime" I bought all the KJ albums. The greatness of the group relies in the synergy that you experience between music and lyrics. People tend to judge more on music, but you can't take the two things apart.
Outside the Gate is among my favorite KJ albums. Being a 1988 release it has astonishing lyrics that sport, as usual, a vibrant social and ethical consciousness and commentary. The single, "America", is a powerful portrait of a nation's obsession and illusory values that becomes day by day more poignant and truer than before. "Unto The Ends Of The Earth" anticipates the desire of moving away from the nevrotic rites of modern "civilization" fully expressed in the masterpiece "Pilgrimage" from the "Democracy" album.
"Obsession" is one of the most amazing KJ songs ever: written 15 years ago it seems the soundtrack of today: the recent terrorist warfare fostered by religious fanatism (how does it sound "we build the tower, tower falls down?"), the sinister power of the multi-nationals, the anxiety of the big cities, the tension between west and east, both on a religious and cultural level.
The music is great but I could understand it might not fully appeal to nostalgic Killing Joke fans. At least they might be satisfied by the recent "Pandemonium" and "Millennium" where the band has finally successfully meld all their musical precedents, ranging from "pop" to "trash metal" if we insist on using labels with KJ.
This album, no matter your tastes, is a must have.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hear the calling..., September 29, 2003

By 

Seth Hauser (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outside the Gate (Audio CD)

Killing Joke has always been one of the most underrated and under-appreciated bands of the last two decades. In the collective works of 10 full-length albums and several "collections" discs, there has never been a single US radio hit. Some tracks off 1994's "Pandemonium" received limited radio play on late-night programs showcasing non-mainstream music, but that was about the extent of the fame during Kill Joke's 17-plus year domination of the underground music scene.

But within Killing Joke's repertoire, "Outside the Gate" is probably the biggest hidden gem. Invisible to the popular music world and disregarded even by many hardcore KJ enthusiasts, this incredible album is, in my opinion, one of their best. Since it is rather difficult to find, this was the last KJ album I added to my collection, and boy was I disappointed that this album has been around since 1988 and I didn't pick it up until 13 years later. Heck, I was only 8 years old when this album was released! But the incredible thing about virtually all of KJ's music is that it doesn't age at all. Songs off their 1981 debut are still as modern, if not moreso, than a lot of what is played heavily on the radio today. Killing Joke set the stage for countless bands to follow, and as a result, they are the unsung heroes who deserve the fame so many other bands received instead (Metallica and Nine Inch Nails come to mind).

I've heard this album referred to as "disastrous", "a disgrace", among other things. To those of you who think that, I ask this: Have you actually listened to the album? The only bad tracks on the album are the sloppy remixes at the end that sound as if the only thing changed was the addition of some samples from the 1980's news. The first 8 songs are incredible and rank right up there with the unforgettable lyrical tracks of the previous album, "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns." Every track is excellent, beginning with the cynically pride-filled "America" and culminating in the mystical title track, "Outside the Gate." "Obsession" and "Tiahuanaco" are also excellent songs, though it's hard to pick out any one song as a favorite.

Musically, "Outside the Gate" seems a logical progression in the life of KJ. "Night Time" and "1000 Suns" practically discarded KJ's tribal musical roots in favor of a more mainstream, though still completely unique, rock sound. This album began the progression back toward the heavier KJ of "Extremities" and "Pandemonium." As a result, the fans of the more venomous KJ present in "What's THIS for..." and "Revelations" might be disappointed with this album's musical beauty. But KJ transcended many genre's of music throughout their life, and this album doesn't seem out of place at all when you look at KJ as a whole.

To put it simply, this album got lost in the shuffle of Killing Joke, and it is an album that needs to be rediscovered. It's fairly hard to get ahold of, but if you can manage, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Every single track could have been written last week, not in the big-hair days of the 80's. Killing Joke has withstood the test of time, and it's my belief that perhaps the world is still waiting to truly discover them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Strange ways, July 6, 2003

By 

Sacco (here there and everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outside the Gate (Audio CD)

Nearly all Killing Joke fans will cite this album as their worst, some even dismiss it as not worth purchasing. In my view while its synth soaked bombast is hard to access the album has value. Colemans lyrics are poignant and as always probe at western values like an icepick to the brain. Outside The Gate is an operatic album and unlike their other albums is tellingly of its time and place being 80's Britain.

To each individual tune though. Tiahuanaco is the only essential song from Outside The Gate, reminiscient of Love Like Blood, its haunting and bleak, as it tells the tale of visit to Peru and rather than wondering at the accient ruins, being troubled over the poverty and despair of the countries poor. America is bombastic and the over dramtics of the synth give could be the backing music to a camp Horror film. My Love Of This Land, is a simmering gothic tune and is probably worthy of more respect, its the second best track on the album. Stay One Jump Ahead reminds me of nothing as much as early Faith No More, though it is a weak song, no where near the standard of We Care A Lot.

Buy this album last on your list of Killing Joke albums, or simply get Tiahuanaco from somewhere else, its not on the greatest hits "Laugh? I Nearly Bought One", so that might be hard. Seek it out anyway, worth the admission price alone.