Typically, it's taken the death of one of their number - guitarist Kevin "Geordie" Walker - and the subsequent torrent of tributes and obituaries to convince me that Killing Joke might be worthy of serious investigation. That's only been further fuelled by this article by Quietus founder John Doran, written earlier this year and shared by its author to mark Geordie's passing.
Doran argues cogently that Killing Joke (and some of the other forefathers of goth, such as Bauhaus) have had a raw deal from sniffy critics and historians, who - for various reasons - have failed/refused to acknowledge their status as originators and innovators. He traces their influence in metal and post-punk in particular, enthusing about their capacity to evoke "the collapse of normal values and negative transcendence through the intensity of music alone".
It would be bittersweet if it took Geordie's death to kickstart the critical reassessment and rehabilitation that Doran feels Killing Joke are due.
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