Killing Joke - 'Love Like Blood'

Not really intended as a Song of the Week, this post is more of something that I have just felt like adding to share my own thoughts on some tracks that I feel are worth checking out. Sometimes I might do one review a week; other times I may post more or less frequently. Just my little way of adding to your musical experience here at the Lonely Note ;)


Love Like Blood
Killing Joke
Night Time

Killing Joke has remained a band in some form or another, off-and-on since the late 1970s, however it has always managed to stay relatively underground. In somewhat the same fashion as Motorhead, Killing Joke mixed the sounds of the punk movement with the edge of metal. However, where Killing Joke splits off is that it also delved into the experimental realm of synthesizers that defined a lot of alternative rock/pop music in the '80s. With their 1985 album Night Time, Killing Joke had awoken from a hiatus to create one of the most commercially-successful records of its career. The song 'Eighties' from this album is now looked back upon as one of the group's more influential songs, since it is considered that Nirvana cloned the guitar for their own song 'Come As You Are.'

The song 'Love Like Blood' made it on the UK's Top20 chart, but didn't gain quite as big of a US following. The song managed to sound enough like Duran Duran or Tears for Fears to make it on the dance charts, while maintaining Killing Joke's dark and brooding intensity. The song's driving rhythm and the mysterious quality of its guitar and keyboard work makes it easy to get caught up bobbing your head without really paying attention or giving credit to the song's intelligent lyrics. While the song remains catchy, the lyrics create depressing scenes of alienation and utter disappointment.

We must play our lives like soldiers in the field.
The life is short
I'm running faster all the time.
Strength and beauty destined to decay
So cut the rose in full bloom.
Till the fearless come and the act is done
A love like blood
A love like blood.
Till the fearless come and the act is done
A love like blood
A love like blood.
Everyday through all frustration and despair
Love and hate fight with burning hearts.
Till legends live and man is god again
And self-preservation rules the day no more.
We must dream of promised lands and fields
that never fade in season
As we move towards no end
we lean to die.
Red tears are shed on grey.
Till the fearless come and the act is done

Killing Joke may have stayed somewhat unknown to the masses, but the influence can be seen in numerous bands that have gained popularity since. Helping pave the way for what would later be called industrial music, Killing Joke never quite fell into any one category. For more information, I would highly recommend checking out the AMG articles on the band and the song 'Love Like Blood.'