Extremities! (Invisible Records) is an essential piece of Killing Joke history for fans. This album compiles the Steve Albini (RIP) “Black Cassette” demos with the secret show at Burrberries in Birmingham on December 20, 1988, which would be the band’s first performance with drummer Martin Atkins. Albini used his downtown Chicago basement as the drum room. Its acoustics created the ambiance for a tightly compressed drum sound. The guitars echo with the unmistakable sound that Geordie Walker (RIP) was known for, and it’s clear that the tight syncopated performances captured here were groundbreaking even in the experimental days of this early Post-Punk.
This should serve as a testament to new bands that post-Punk should not be mechanically playing along to a drum machine with all the boxes checked off for the songs you managed to get right, but a more organic jam feel that is captured here. It keeps the Punk attitude but runs through a more thoughtful creative filter. It’s when you hear the barebones framework to songs like “Money” and “North Of The Border” in this isolated instrumental state that you hear some of the more nuanced choices being made in the grooves that we would come to know in their final states. There is a remix of “Money” included here that leans heavily on sampled and tape loops, occupying the space where the vocals would exist.
Don’t worry, Jaz Coleman is on the live tracks; his performance captured here highlights this transitory period for the band as they were at the forefront of what Industrial music shifted from a more experimental performance art into something with Rock’s punch and songwriting smarts. Coleman’s roar emerges on “The Fanatic” while flanked by the kind of surreal apocalyptic sonics we now think of as being synonymous with the band. While a rougher mix than an official live album might have it certainly serves the purpose of being a monument to the raw power the band wielded on stage.
The bass line to “Intervenous” created a heavy backbone for Coleman’s vocals to ride. These songs have a more impressive impact live that gives an interesting contrast to the studio version while still being true to them. It also paints a vivid picture of what a force this band was when they took the stage. The version of “Beautiful Dead” might not be as dark as the studio version, but it offers a more organic sense of where they were as musicians, creating the legacy even fans might take for granted without these building blocks set in motion. Fans of the band should rejoice in having this glimpse into the band’s history being presented in this fashion, as it offers insight into this stage of their career.
Buy the album here:
https://overdriverec.bandcamp.com/album/extremities-the-albini-demos-and-live-beginnings-88
9 / 10
WIL CIFER
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