Absolute Dissent

If this world were a better place, there’d be no need for Killing Joke to exist. As it is, the planet is coming unglued and these godfathers of industrial rock necessarily unleash a howling juggernaut of sound, bristling with slamming drums, bone-scraping guitar riffs and anti-authoritarian defiance. Band mainstays Jaz Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker are rejoined by bassist Martin “Youth” Glover and drummer Paul Ferguson to revive the fiery spirit of early-‘80s punk on “Here Comes the Singularity,” “Depthcharge” and the title tune. Killing Joke balances the sheer brutality of tracks like “This World Hell” with the mesmerizing, slightly sinister groove of “European Super State.” The bleak yet catchy “Ghost of Ladbroke Grove” is a nod to the band’s early fascination with Jamaican dub. Coleman shreds and contorts his voice into a cry of pure outrage in “The Great Cull,” then delivers a reverent tribute to his late bandmate Paul Raven in “The Raven King.” For all of its rampant hostility and paranoia, *Absolute Dissent* ultimately feels like a cleansing experience, harsh but energizing.