Democracy (album)

Hot on the heels of their successful 1994 Pandemonium album and tour, Killing Joke's members converged on the UK from their new-found homes in three continents, to hide away in Cornwall and Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, where the album was produced. Coleman had spent some time decompressing at the end of Pandemonium in Sedona, Arizona, where he had been inspired by the new interest in the Native American culture, striking a chord with his previous involvement in Māori culture in New Zealand, where he had been settled for a short while.

A more optimistic and New Age-tinged album lyrically, while keeping some of the weight and import of Pandemonium, the album marked the beginning of a more settled period for singer Jaz Coleman, who had by now also made considerable progress with his orchestral career. Production was overseen by Martin "Youth" Glover, with live session musician Geoff Dugmore on drums. Synthesised textures from keyboardist Nick Holywell-Walker added to the concoction.

The album sessions culminated in a full moon drumming fire ceremony on a small island on the river Thames at Henley, with Youth reportedly braving the murky waters for a naked swim. Democracy was mixed in Sarm West in London's Portobello Road towards the end of 1995, with the exception of the track "Savage Freedom" which was mixed at Butterfly Studios, Brixton, by celebrated British engineer-producer Ott. However, guitarist Geordie Walker has expressed disappointment with the resulting Democracy album.

After a short tour in the summer of 1996, the band began their longest career hiatus to date, not reforming until 2002 and releasing their second eponymously titled album in 2003.

Release

Democracy was released on 1 April 1996 by record label Big Life, on CD and cassette. It reached number 71 in the UK Albums Chart.^[1]

One single, the title track "Democracy", was released on 11 March 1996. It reached number 39 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1]

The album was reissued in remastered form on 20 June 2005 by Cooking Vinyl, featuring a bonus track, a remix of "Democracy".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
PopMatters	mixed^[3]

Critical response to Democracy has been generally mixed. Adrien Begrand of PopMatters commented that on the album "the band sounds watered down".^[3] Trouser Press called the album "the wrong kind of joke – either Midnight Oil with a raspy singer or James Hetfield attempting to hijack U2 – complete with inane lyrics about 'Prozac People', 'Intellect' and 'Another Bloody Election'. Vote with your feet."^[4] Jack Rabid of AllMusic, on the other hand, called it "Killing Joke's best album in [eleven] years".^[2]

Track listing

All tracks written by Jaz Coleman, Martin "Youth" Glover and Geordie Walker.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Savage Freedom"	4:52
2.	"Democracy"	3:39
3.	"Prozac People"	6:54
4.	"Lanterns"	4:53
5.	"Aeon"	8:05
6.	"Pilgrimage"	6:29
7.	"Intellect"	4:00
8.	"Medicine Wheel"	5:18
9.	"Absent Friends"	5:40
10.	"Another Bloody Election"	4:27

2005 CD reissue bonus track
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Democracy (The Russian Tundra Mix)"	17:52

Personnel

Killing Joke

Jaz Coleman – vocals, synthesizer
Kevin "Geordie" Walker – guitar
Martin "Youth" Glover – bass guitar, production
Geoff Dugmore – drums

Additional personnel

Nick Holywell-Walker – synthesizer

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
1996	UK Albums Chart	71^[1]

References

1 2 3 "Killing Joke | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
1 2 Rabid, Jack. "Democracy – Killing Joke | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
1 2 Begrand, Adrien (29 September 2005). "Killing Joke: Pandemonium / Democracy | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
↑ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Fasolino, Greg; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Killing Joke". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

External links

Democracy at Discogs (list of releases)

Killing Joke

Jaz Coleman Kevin "Geordie" Walker Martin "Youth" Glover Paul Ferguson Paul Raven Dave Kovacevic Martin Atkins Dave "Taif" Ball John Bechdel Nick Holywell-Walker Geoff Dugmore Troy Gregory Dave Grohl Ted Parsons Ben Calvert Reza Udhin

Studio albums	Killing Joke What's THIS For...! Revelations Fire Dances Night Time Brighter Than a Thousand Suns Outside the Gate Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions Pandemonium Democracy Killing Joke Hosannas from the Basements of Hell Absolute Dissent MMXII Pylon

EPs	Turn to Red Almost Red Birds of a Feather

Live albums	Ha BBC in Concert The Courtauld Talks ...No Way Out but Forward Go (Love Like Blood) The Peel Sessions 1979–1981 Requiem

Compilation albums	Laugh? I Nearly Bought One!

Singles	"Nervous System" "Wardance" "Change" "Requiem" "Follow the Leaders" "Empire Song" "Chop-Chop" "Birds of a Feather" "Let's All Go (To the Fire Dances)" "Me or You?" "Eighties" "A New Day" "Love Like Blood" "Kings and Queens" "Adorations" "Sanity" "America" "My Love of This Land" "Money Is Not Our God" "Change: Spiral Tribe Mix" "Exorcism" "Pandemonium"

Related articles	Discography Pigface Murder, Inc. The Damage Manual Transmission

Book:Killing Joke Category:Killing Joke

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