Absolute Dissent

「ポスト・パンクの旗手」「オルタナ/ヘヴィ・ロックの先駆者」、キリング・ジョーク4年振りとなる算13作目。何とオリジナル・メンバーが28年振りに集結したデビュー30周年記念作にして、Spinefarm移籍第1弾。プロデュースはバンドとYouth、エンジニアとミキシングはYouthと数多くの作品に関わってきたClive Goddardがロンドン、プラハ、スペインのスタジオで行った。

'Absolute Dissent' is the fourteenth album from British outfit Killing Joke and the first to feature the original line up for some twenty eight years. Reunited at the funeral of bassist Paul Raven, the quartet decided to re-enter the studio to record once again. Recorded in London, Spain and Prague and produced by Killing Joke themselves, the album sees the band deliver possibly one of their best releases for decades, nailing their mix of punk rock, industrial metal and dance perfectly.|

Killing Joke's 2010 release sees the band's lineup returning to its earliest incarnation, with vocalist Jaz Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker (the only two constant members) rejoined by bassist Youth and drummer Paul Ferguson for the first time since 1982. They're playing at full strength, with the rhythm section pumping hard on the opening title track and the three that follow it. But on track five, "European Super State," the album takes a surprising turn toward retro, synth-driven disco-pop, sounding like an outtake from Laibach's NATO. They recover quickly, though, with "This World Hell," one of the heaviest and ugliest tracks on the entire album. There are a few other surprises (the soft and kinda catchy "Honour the Fire"; the ballad "The Raven King," dedicated to late bassist Paul Raven; the dubbed-out "Ghost of Ladbroke Grove"), but for the most part, this is a monolithic slab of Killing Joke at their most forceful, focused, and aggressive. It's not totally surprising -- their self-titled 2003 album and 2006's Hosannas from the Basements of Hell, particularly the latter, have practically been the rock equivalent of life-extinguishing meteors -- but it's damn nice to hear a band still operating at this level after more than 30 years into its career. ~ Phil Freeman

冒頭の数曲を聴いただけで失禁寸前。キビキビと尖ったギター＆重くしなったリズム隊による攻撃的なへヴィー･グルーヴは、オリジナル・メンバーが再集結したとはいえ、とても結成30年以上のバンドとは思えないハイテンションぶりだ。オーブでも活躍したユースの凱旋復帰もあってか、ダンサブルなシンセ・ナンバーの昂揚感もたまらない。＜オルタナの祖＞としての不穏な貫禄を堂々すぎるほど放出した快作！
bounce (C)北爪啓之