KILLING JOKE — Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (review)

KILLING JOKE — Brighter Than a Thousand Suns album cover Album · 1986 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
RuneWalsh2112
The more I explore the discography of Killing Joke, the more I realize how brilliant and influential they really are! Unfortunately, artistic brilliance rarely strikes twice as artists are bound to move forward while leaving their glorious achievements behind them as trophies of their magnitude.

Having just discovered the new potential playground known as New Wave, Killing Joke decided to dig even further down the hole that they were making for themselves. Still, this was all done with good intend and the band never sounds like they are commercializing their sound for the sake of it nor is there any evident lack of ambition on "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns".

Stripping their sound completely from the familiar raw sound of Geordie Walker's guitar and Jaz Coleman's vocals must of been quite a daring decision for the time, but the result really makes no real sense considering the excellent results that Killing Joke achieved on, their previous album, "Night Time". Having said that, let's get one thing clear - "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns" is by no means a bad record but it certainly feels like a misguided attempt at a style that just doesn't bring anything interesting to the band's overall sound.

Frustrated with the direction that the band was heading for, Paul Ferguson left the band and didn't return until the release of "Absolute Dissent" (2010). Paul Raven also seemed to begin his distancing process by not receiving(/taking?) any credit for his bass guitar playing on the controversial follow up album "Outside The Gate". Ultimately this album was the breaking point for Killing Joke, but it turned out to be for the better considering the cult following that they managed to achieve in the following years!

**** star songs: Sanity (4:15) Chessboards (5:47) A Southern Sky (4:39) Rubicon (6:35)

*** star songs: Adorations (4:28) Twilight Of The Mortal (4:14) Love Of The Masses (6:07) Victory (3:57) Wintergardens (5:32) Goodbye To The Village (5:18) Exile (6:27)
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Tupan wrote:
more than 2 years ago
RuneWalsh, do you planning to review every album of Killing Joke, even the recent ones? This would be interesting!
RuneWalsh2112 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
In that case I'm sure that you'll enjoy the rest of my Killing Joke retrospective... once I actually get around to it. :)
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Actually i quilte like this one and also the controversial "Outside the Gate". But it's on the second album after this one that they would really excel.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed