Forged in a London fire ritual in 1979 and reborn with their original line-up in 2008, Killing Joke have been creating uncompromising music for over 40 years. In addition to their incandescent self-titled debut in 1980, they have released essential albums in each of the past four decades: Night Time (1985), Pandemonium (1994), Killing Joke (2003) and Pylon (2015). But Killing Joke are more than a band; they are a primal force that exerts an intangible gravity on both its members and its fans. They have influenced countless groups across multiple genres – including Metallica, Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails – while their own style ranges across post-punk, dub, industrial, world music, electronica and alt-metal. Their equally eclectic lyrics traverse social alienation, dystopian futures, the folly of hubris, Cold War dread, paganism and the occult. Above all, their work embodies a process of self-discovery whose aim is nothing less than the revelation and integration of our darkest urges.

Killing Joke On Track covers the fifteen studio albums and almost 200 songs of Killing Joke’s vocation to date, including obscure gems, live albums and compilations. It’s a celebration of a band who are often challenging, always provocative, but ultimately life-affirming.

Nic Ransome spent most of the past 20 years as a screenwriter and is currently researching toward a PhD. Straight out of school in the mid-1980s, he self-published a rock fanzine then played bass in a short-lived space-punk band, before dabbling in theatre. He spent the next ten years doing a series of bullshit jobs to earn a living before rekindling a teenage obsession with movies, which eventually led to a seven-year stint at legendary British film company Hammer. This book is Nic turning full circle back to his first love as an adult: writing about music, specifically a band of which he’s been a fan going on 42 years. He lives in Suffolk, UK.