Pandemonium is the ninth studio album by British post-punk band Killing Joke. Released in 1994, it marked their return after a four-year hiatus and featured a new lineup. The album received critical acclaim upon its release and is considered one of the band’s best works.

Pandemonium sees Killing Joke experimenting with electronic and industrial sounds, blending them with their trademark guitar-driven post-punk. The album’s opening track, “Pandemonium,” sets the tone with its ominous synth and bass, leading into a heavy riff that builds into a frenzied crescendo. The song captures the album’s overall mood of chaos and disorder, with lyrics that speak of societal collapse and the rise of the “chaos magick”.

The album’s second track, “Exorcism,” is one of the album’s most intense moments, with frontman Jaz Coleman’s guttural howls of “Exorcise the demons, renounce the flesh!” over distorted guitars and pounding drums. The song’s lyrics are a meditation on spiritual and physical purification, with references to Tibetan Buddhism and Native American vision quests.

Elsewhere on the album, Killing Joke explores themes of political corruption (“Millennium”), environmental degradation (“Whiteout”), and mental illness (“Jana”). The album’s penultimate track, “Communion,” features a guest appearance by The Orb’s Alex Paterson and is a sprawling, ambient piece that evokes a sense of transcendence and unity.

Pandemonium also marked a new era for Killing Joke, with bassist Paul Raven and drummer Martin Atkins joining the band. Raven’s heavy, driving basslines and Atkins’ precise, propulsive drumming gave the band a newfound sense of energy and urgency. The album’s production, handled by Killing Joke and legendary producer Youth, is slick and polished, giving the band’s industrial and electronic elements a modern sheen.

In many ways, Pandemonium was ahead of its time. Its fusion of post-punk, industrial, and electronic sounds anticipated the rise of nu-metal and industrial-metal in the late 90s and early 2000s. The album’s lyrics also spoke to the cultural and political turmoil of the era, addressing issues that remain relevant today.

In the years since its release, Pandemonium has come to be regarded as one of Killing Joke’s finest works. It was a critical and commercial success upon its release, reaching #16 on the UK charts and launching the band into a new phase of their career. Its influence can still be heard in the work of many contemporary industrial and metal bands, and its themes of chaos, spirituality, and environmentalism continue to resonate with listeners.

Overall, Pandemonium is a masterpiece of industrial tinged post-punk that captures Killing Joke at their most powerful and relevant. It’s a testament to the band’s ability to evolve and adapt without sacrificing their core identity, and stands as a defining moment not just for Killing Joke, but for the wider landscape of alternative music.

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