Also being a long-time Killing Joke fan, I have to disagree with a fellow reviewer who thinks they performed too many of their earlier songs for this DVD. The original sound of the band is what made them so unique and powerful
metal bands are a dime a dozen
but the pure tribal beats of founder/drummer Big Paul Ferguson are what put KJ on the map for me, and have lodged permanently in my primal soul for three decades! It is all the more appropriate that they paid homage to some of the songs that put them where they are today and what a 25th Anniversary Celebration is all about. There were far too few of them, in my opinion.
Really, another screamer for the metal genre is mostly a yawn if it is not accompanied by substance .a fantastic beat by drums and bass, and solid, ethereal guitar riffs. Fortunately, most of the more current KJ songs performed for this special are generously packed with both thanks to Geordie, the late, great Paul Raven, and a truly impressive young drummer, Ben Calvert, who almost makes up for the obvious fact that the founding member, Big Paul, was completely out of the picture for this commemorative DVD.
This is a fantastic performance, and one that I will watch numerous times! Despite the somewhat questionable interview with Jaz Coleman, who constantly waffles between brilliance and lunacy, I enjoyed watching it. I wish they had interviewed the others as well. I don't, for the life of me, understand why Jaz thinks he is the center of the universe, as if the other band-members belong to him or are under his protection or something, but it seems that he thinks so. At least that is how it appears in this interview. What saves him really, is his tremendous sense of humor and irony perfect, I suppose, for the spokesman of a band called Killing Joke. He IS a character, that is for sure.
All-in-all, this is a dynamic and well-crafted show, and a real treasure of a DVD for any Killing Joke fans. 'Hidden Treasure' is what they are!
Really, another screamer for the metal genre is mostly a yawn if it is not accompanied by substance .a fantastic beat by drums and bass, and solid, ethereal guitar riffs. Fortunately, most of the more current KJ songs performed for this special are generously packed with both thanks to Geordie, the late, great Paul Raven, and a truly impressive young drummer, Ben Calvert, who almost makes up for the obvious fact that the founding member, Big Paul, was completely out of the picture for this commemorative DVD.
This is a fantastic performance, and one that I will watch numerous times! Despite the somewhat questionable interview with Jaz Coleman, who constantly waffles between brilliance and lunacy, I enjoyed watching it. I wish they had interviewed the others as well. I don't, for the life of me, understand why Jaz thinks he is the center of the universe, as if the other band-members belong to him or are under his protection or something, but it seems that he thinks so. At least that is how it appears in this interview. What saves him really, is his tremendous sense of humor and irony perfect, I suppose, for the spokesman of a band called Killing Joke. He IS a character, that is for sure.
All-in-all, this is a dynamic and well-crafted show, and a real treasure of a DVD for any Killing Joke fans. 'Hidden Treasure' is what they are!