Customer Reviews

What's This for

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Killing Joke's followup to their debut album is in many ways a superior effort-- the sound worked on the first album is honed and refined for this one-- "what's THIS for...!" FEELS like the followup to the debut, but there's a bit more consistency-- the material doesn't quite reach the peak of the first album but all of it is of a higher quality.

Opening with a tribal tour-de-force, the first three songs-- "The Fall of Because", "Tension", and "Unspeakable" are one after another more and more compelling-- with Geordie's swirling punk guitars, Youth's funky bass lines, and Paul Ferguson anchoring everything on the drums, vocalist Jaz Coleman can paint his picture of the collapse of society. "Unspeakable" in particular, about a housewife commenting on the "color scheme" of a mushroom cloud, is totally brilliant and begins introducing variety in vocal styles-- the first shades of things to come. The record in general is actually a bit smoother than the followup, maintaining the tribal/dub/dance feel that was so well illustrated on the previous record but losing some of the sort of proto-industrial sounds.

Admittedly, the album for me dips a bit after this, a couple of the songs are a bit overlong and drag (the otherwise superb "Butcher" and "Madness", which would have benefited from an outside producer pulling the plug 2-3 minutes earlier), but there's still the superb, tribally driven "Follow the Leaders" on the album, another Joke classic.

This remaster, well worth the investment, upgrades the sound to superb effect-- the record is much louder and in-your-face and direct, but more to the point, a lot of subtlety and sparkle in the playing comes forth-- as I write this, I've got "Unspeakable" playing right now and the roundness and detail of attack to Youth's bass tone is something I've never heard before. Ditto for the high pitched synth in the background of "Butcher"-- I don't think I even knew it was there. This is pretty prevelent throughout the album-- the mud has been cleaned up in the sound. The recording is augmented by three bonus tracks, two dub mixes (of "Follow the Leaders" and "Madness") and an old b-side, "Brilliant". I'm not much one for remixes (dub or otherwise), but "Brilliant" is gem well worth having. I'd never heard it before, its quite uncharacteristic for Killing Joke, a breakneck beat and funky bass groove and odd-ball grunting and squealing noises on top that I think is a guitar (its really quite hard to tell). It is kind of curious that it was included on this album as it was the b-side to "Empire Song" from "Revelations", but whatever, I'm glad to have it. Add to this expanded artwork by the original artist, and you've really got quite a nice package.

This album is a real gem, and one of the best the band ever put out. The band was way ahead of their time, and like their debut album, this one could have been recorded yesterday. Maybe not as good a place to start as the debut record, but ultimately a more satisfying recording.

(Can I give 6 stars??)

I first read about these mysterious freaks in a Kerrang! magazine in the winter of 1981, and the description of "weird metal" piqued my interest. A neighbor had it, and brought it over. We played it on dad's big hi-fi system, and I felt like one of those Clive Barker characters who is whisked off to a dark, strange place. I was hooked immediately, never to return again.

The opening cut "Fall of Because" was the perfect primer for their unique sound, and I still unleash it on the uninitiated whenever possible. (My first Joke concert started with this song as well. Magnificent.) An oblique reference to Aleister Crowley (whose madness they later regretted dabbling in), it sets the tone for a compelling descent into their ugly, dazzling, and ultimately addictive musical world vision.

All the classics are here - filtered through a manic tongue-in-cheek sheet-metal disco drone that you never want to end. I've recently noticed how the title cut was YEARS ahead of its time, with minimal synth bleats over rolling drums and unsettling chewing sounds. By the time you reach "Exit" they have left you feeling initiated and deeply alive in a dying world, "'cause the drums keep thundering\in familiar ways."

Understandably, the stomp and blare of post-apocalyptic paranoia seemed much more threatening in the Reaganesque early 80's, but it still has a power and authenticity that is sadly lost on a new generation of dejected abused whiners with detuned guitars. (These guys never even included a photo of the band until their 4th album!!)

So-called 'intense' bands have never touched the primal therapy (barely) contained here.

Every single KJ's work is worth listening to (and some a bona fine masterpiecess), but this one is simply in a class of its own. Every single rock band ever formed has been under some kind of personal delusion: from The Doors shamanic nonsense to the Offrspring's faux punk rock aesthetic, everyone had its own pretense, its own personal way to nobilitate their own musical effort. All - except Killing Joke. They never pretended - they lived to the extreme consequences (musical and human) their relentless pursuit for the definitive energy-in-art. And not, we're not speaking of taking loads of (...), reciting the Lord's Prayer "au contraire" or posing as a street thug. No sir - they REALLY mean it. They looked to that energy inside themselves, and what they found was probably more of what they had bargained for. "What This For" may not be KJ most complex work, but is their most terryfing hour. It's simple, alien, monstrous, entertaining (almost every single track will send you in a frenzied spin), ironic and cruel. It was (20 years ago!) the thing poor (...) like Korn or (... forbid) Marilyn Manson have tried to do and always failed to do. It's the thing every black/occult metal band has dreamed of, but you'll not find any occult mumbo-jumbo (expect the Alesteir Crowly quote in the title of the opening track "The FAll of Because"). It's a record with an immense sound, almost derisively played almost completely in a single take (except the vocals) and self produced with a raw energy that no producer has captured since (with maybe the exception of Steve Albini). Each song is memorable - even if the band hated "Follow The Leader" - but some are outstanding. Some (like "Tension" or "Exit") are warlike tunes you could kill for. Some (like "This Is Madness", a Last Poets quote, or "The Butcher" are eerie and discordant). Sone (like "The Fall Of Because") conveys a feeling like you're watching your last evening on earth. But one - the aptly titled "Unspeakable" gives you a brief glimpse of the abyss. It's (literally) an "unspeakable" feeling of dread, the Thing You Are Most Afraid Of But It Fascinates You, whatever it may be. I managed to see the effect of this songs on a huge but sparse audience in Italy back in 1982. Three quarter of the punters where shivering, one quarter (mee included) was fascinated, like a butterfly spiraling towards a flame. I remember a girl sobbing desperately outside the club, and saying that she didn't wanted to see'em anymore, neither to hear one more note of their music. I understood her feeling completely, but I couldn't help being hooked by what I've seen and heard. Many years have passed - years of excitement, sorrow and struggle, for each one of us, KJ included. They have released many fine records (Revelations, Fire Dances and Extremities being my favourites), and it's probable that we'll hear of them again soon. But I still wait for "What's This For" successor. I just can't help...

In Philadelphia at the East Side Club, 4 men in 1981 entered. The singer, with a black magic markered, colored plastic wonder bread bag covering his head spit out and screamed his words into a microphone. The guitar player, stood on the edge of the stage angry, staring, attacking the person right in front of him, then starting with that person he then stared at the person right behind him and steadily proceeded row by row to the back, when he reached the back row, he started all over again at the front. Requiem, Follow the Leaders, Wardance screeched out from an insanely violent rythm section to the beat of a distorted sequencer driving madly, endlessly, incessantly. The volume was excessive and the audience was certainly frightened that soon they may be attacked, - physically. And as their fear grew, - the delight and twisted frenzy of the band seemed to increase proportionaly. Not sure that I've ever had so much fun.

There were only two records then. "What's this for" and "Killing Joke" They were/are some of the most intense, powerful, violent and depressing music that has ever surfaced. In the tradition of Joy Division, this band not only created a dark image of the pain and violence of a potential Orwellian ruin, but did so with a creepy Nosferatu-like absurdity. The final death dance. Yes, this was the second and last great Killing Joke record. The watered down Killing Joke followed later weakening the drama and power of the band. This is a must own record. If you like Gang of Four, Public Image, and Joy Division, this is for you.

"Whats THIS For...!", the answer is playing over and over again. Killing Jokes second offering to the world see's them developing their sound. The guitars have shed their former sludgy sabbathesque, and adopted a stark industrial squall. If fact stark is perhaps the single world that best sums up WTF. The music invades the senses like a burning light as it conjures up apocalyptic visions.

"The Fall Of Because" opens the album, with its clanging mechanical rhythm, and the album doesn't let up from there. There isn't a bad track on offer here, and the lyrical content is perhaps the best on ANY album I've ever heard. Jaz Coleman savages the world around him, in such a visceral manner the fainter hearted listener should beware of it. From "This Is Madness" which attacks the religious right to "Butcher"'s slamming of the world leaders with the rather prophetic line "crawling for oil they were bleeding for gold", "Whats THIS For..!" simply confirms the fact that Killing Joke were then, and still are ahead of their time.

If you desire music that confronts and challenges, you'll be hard pressed to find an album that surpasses this one.

Killing Joke is an English band that started out towards the end of the punk movement. "What's THIS for...!" was their second release, and it was a truly original release back in 1981.

Musically the bands roots seems to be quite related to the punk movement, where especially the guitar sound ows a lot to the punk movement along with the generally fast and aggressive music here. Killing Joke have taken the punk influences and heavily evolved them though, creating a sound that was rather unique back in 1981, and highly influential as well.

The guitar do have a sound that oozes classic punk. What sets it apart is the way the guitar is played, where repated riffs are combined with complex and melodic riff patterns, unlike the classic repetetive punk approach to riffing.

The drums are played in a unique manner here. Most times fast and always very aggressively played, many of the songs have what most would call a tribal drum sound. In this case the playing is so complex and fast that the songs may well be described as drum assaults - the drums are loud, fast and everywhere; truly dominating the sound on this album.

In addition to the distinct way drums and guitars are used here, the at times very angst-filled vocals and the sparingly but effective use of synths to enhance the angst and aggression on display here adds up to a very dark and disturbing sound, influencing many later bands - especially in various forms of industrial and thrash.

As for the songs here, they are a very mixed lot. Most of the songs here do suffer from being too long. The scope of the songs here are limited, and after having passed the 3 minute mark there is generally too much repetition going on. The sheer intensity, angst and brutality keeps some songs interesting past the 4 minute mark as well, but rarely any longer.

Halfway through the album the band seems to run out of ideas as well; thus the second half of the album is much weaker than the first.

Still, it's an album worth purchasing on the strengths of the first 5 songs here, all of them to a greater or lesser degree representing something rather original and unique.

i'll be honest. i never really saw the point of punk until i heard this album. when i first heard tracks like fall of because and follow the leaders it completely made up for all that dischordant, music-free nonsense i'd pretended to like as an adolescent. this album wasn't just exciting because it was different (like the pistols). it was exciting because it was genuinely exciting. this album is the musical embodiment of absolute human rage. even today there are few artists who have so perfectly captured the intensity of outrage and turned it into such a powerful sound. this isn't shouty, annoying teenagers looking for something to curse about. this is the sound of the apocalypse, it's frightening, it's the real thing.

This is numero uno. They should have split up after this because they never bettered it. A monster dub electro record with bits of Glitter band thrown in. Wonderful noises and experimentation going on in the background, especially on 'Madness.' They would rarely be this free form again. Avante-garde vocals of yelps are thankfully in the background whereas later on Coleman's pompous personality would dominate. Memorable drumming from big Paul sounds like a herd of elephants stomping through your living room. 'Fall Of Because' makes me think of a T-Rex for some reason. A friend of a friend used to break up his furniture to this record which tells you all you need to know. Unbeatable. Unspeakable. Buy now or forever hold your peace.

Killing Joke's followup to their debut album is in many ways a superior effort-- the sound worked on the first album is honed and refined for this one-- "what's THIS for...!" FEELS like the followup to the debut, but there's a bit more consistency-- the material doesn't quite reach the peak of the first album but all of it is of a higher quality.

Opening with a tribal tour-de-force, the first three songs-- "The Fall of Because", "Tension", and "Unspeakable" are one after another more and more compelling-- with Geordie's swirling punk guitars, Youth's funky bass lines, and Paul Ferguson anchoring everything on the drums, vocalist Jaz Coleman can paint his picture of the collapse of society. "Unspeakable" in particular, about a housewife commenting on the "color scheme" of a mushroom cloud, is totally brilliant and begins introducing variety in vocal styles-- the first shades of things to come. The record in general is actually a bit smoother than the followup, maintaining the tribal/dub/dance feel that was so well illustrated on the previous record but losing some of the sort of proto-industrial sounds.

Admittedly, the album for me dips a bit after this, a couple of the songs are a bit overlong and drag (the otherwise superb "Butcher" and "Madness", which would have benefited from an outside producer pulling the plug 2-3 minutes earlier), but there's still the superb, tribally driven "Follow the Leaders" on the album, another Joke classic.

Shortcomings aside, this album as a real gem, and one of the best the band ever put out. The only possible complaint is that it sorely needs remastering (Edit: There is now an imported remaster available with bonus tracks, and the sonic upgrade is well worth the extra few bucks investment), but the band was way ahead of their time, and like their debut album, this one could have been recorded yesterday. Maybe not as good a place to start as the debut record, but ultimately a more satisfying recording.

One of the least "catchy" Killing Joke albums. The disturbing and alienating sounds, and the often lengthy songs, may take a little getting used to at first. But after years of being a fan, this is usually the first album I turn to when I'm in a Killing Joke mood. Only "Fire Dances" is clearly better in my opinion.

"Tension" is prime Killing Joke, and will be familiar-feeling to those who know other albums from this period (meaning everything pre-"Night Time".) Beyond that things are tougher going, but highly rewarding. KJ-Newbies may want to start with the debut album instead, but any fan needs this album eventually.