You may have read the other day the news that Killing Joke were pulling out of The Cult/The Mission tour this September. After a rather harsh statement from frontman Jaz Coleman, the band have taken to their Facebook page to apologise and confess that they don’t know where their vocalist is. They state he hasn’t contacted any of his band mates and the decision to take part in this tour was made as a group and one they still intend to participate in. To finish, they are trying to locate the singer and correct his mistake. You can read the full statement here.

Last month the five date UK arena tour feauring The Cult was announced, playing alongside them would be the recently reunited The Mission and of course, Killing Joke. But, recently the venues were downsized and now it appears that the tour may have lost its opening band. 

Rumour have been circulating recenty that Killing Joke, unhappy with the change in venue sizes have pulled out of the tour, and singer Jaz Coleman took to Facebook to make his feelings known on the subject, in a rather scathing attack on both the tour, but in particular The Cult. 

In part, that note read: “Frankly, playing at a gig with The Cult never appealed to me in the first place. The only reason we allowed ourselves to be talked into it was to blow both bands off the stage and to steal their respective audiences. As the concert has been downgraded to a venue that we have recently headlined (and sold out) it doesn’t make sense.”

Wayne Hussey of The Mission has also chipped in to have his say,  “I think the promoters have conceded that Killing Joke ARE pulling out of the shows. We have tried to contact the band through their management, agents and promoters and it seems that no one is any the wiser and the band have gone incommunicado.”

Hussey noted that he agreed with some of the points in the Killing Joke post (“These are venues that we could easily play on our own,” he notes), and urges the promoters not to replace Killing Joke and instead just let The Mission and The Cult each play longer.

The new dates/venues for the tour are as follows…

Sept. 10: O2 Apollo Manchester, Manchester, UK
Sept. 11: O2 Academy Newcastle, Newcastle, UK
Sept. 12: O2 Academy Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Sept. 15: O2 Academy Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Sept. 16: HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK

Lastly, Hussey advised that the said Facebook note is now rumoured to have been from a fan posting as Coleman and not actually from the man himself. Apparently Killing Joke are actually preparing their own statement to have their say and to confirm they are indeed pulling out of the tour. We wait with baited breath to hear that one…. 

Until then, you can view the alleged statement from Jaz Coleman before, but we warn you, its not a nice read!

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This year, The Cult are heading back to the UK for a week of tour dates with The Mission and Killing Joke. If you are going to see The Cult this autumn, you may need to have a look at the dates again - the tour has been downsized from arenas to academy-sized venues.

New dates are as follows:

Mon 10th Sept o2 Apollo Manchester
Tues 11th Sept o2 Academy Newcastle
Wed 12th Sept o2 Academy Sheffield
Sat 15th Sept o2 Academy Birmingham
Sun 16th Sept HMV Hammersmith Apollo London

For more information, please visit Ents24 or Live Nation.

Probably one of the most anticipated albums of the year, MMXII (2012 in numerals) is the latest studio album from classic Killing Joke line up. Maybe one that is a surprise to a few, unexpected shall we say, but not so surprisingly brilliant.

The title says a lot about the theme of the album. 2012, life as we know it, it explores the modern worlds obsession with political, economical and social issues and presents them in such a deep and dark manor, the bands own reflection of the world we are living in. As much as I hate to call it a concept album, it sort of is. Each track says something else, but with an underlying theme of despair.

Lead single In Cythera is very much a nod back to the 80s, heavy synth, the sound is familiar and it is soaked in melody. Rapture is like a full on disco track but a heavy, twisted, murderous disco. Glitch is heavy, thunderous metal, brutal to the ears but still keeping this melodic tone about it.

Jaz Coleman certainly lets his mouth run on this album, and his screams are intense. Almost as if he is speaking directly to you.  Pounding, brooding bass building throughout and some killer riffs to go with it, no wonder people are saying this may be the best Killing Joke album yet.

By the time you finish the closing track On All Hallows Eve you feel like you have been through it all and have managed to find a way out at the end. Its an experience, a good one, I urge you all to have a go. 

Caris Smith

Who would’ve thought that The Icarus Line would be back in the UK so soon after recently touring in October? Yes, they’re back and they’re supporting Killing Joke - all over the UK and beyond into Europe - with a small number of headlining shows slotted inbetween. To help fund this tour, The Icarus Line are releasing Expanded Editions of their albums Mono (“aspeaker-shredding performance that has garnered endless praise”), Penance Soiree (“the fan fave”) and Black Lives at the Golden Coast through their bandcamp website at http://theicarusline.bandcamp.com/. Each expanded edition is the original album in high quality with additional tracks such as demos, previously released EPs (Red and Black Attack), bsides and live recordings at Reading Festival or BBC radio for example.

MONO Expanded Edition

Penance Soiree Expanded Edition

Black Lives at the Golden Coast Expanded Edition

Support indie music? Why not check out an album or two? The expanded edition albums are released with a definite emphasis on the need to support bands over record labels “Whatever you have on your iPod probably pales in comparison to the quality of this download. Not to mention we have never seen one royalty statement for this record ever so don’t buy it on iTunes(etc.). ”

TOUR DATES

The Icarus Line headlining shows
Sun 11th March - Icarus Line + Sonic Tractor - Fibbers York
Thu 15th March - Icarus Line - Lock 42 Leicester

The Icarus Line supporting Killing Joke
 2012-03-04 Lemon Grove Exeter
 2012-03-05 Academy Bristol
 2012-03-06 Waterfront Norwich
 2012-03-08 Roundhouse London
 2012-03-09 Corporation Sheffield
 2012-03-10 Academy 2 Manchester
 2012-03-12 ABC Glasgow
 2012-03-13 Academy Newcastle
 2012-03-14 Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton
 2012-03-16 Pyramids Portsmouth
 2012-03-17 Academy Oxford
 2012-04-11 MELKWEGA AMSTERDAM (HOLLAND)
 2012-04-12 ROADBURN FESTIVAL TILBERG (HOLLAND)
 2012-04-13 LA CIGALE PARIS (FRANCE)
 2012-04-14 LA LAITERIE STRASBOURG (FRANCE)
 2012-04-16 BIKINI TOULOUSE (FRANCE)
 2012-04-19 TRANSBORDEUR LYON (FRANCE)
 2012-04-20 LIVE CLUBMILAN/TREZZO (ITALY)
 2012-04-22 ORION ROME (ITALY)
 2012-04-24 ABART ZURICH (SWITZERLAND)
 2012-04-25 SZENE WIEN VIENNA (AUSTRIA
 2012-04-27 BACKSTAGE MUNICH (GERMANY)
 2012-04-29 FABRIK HAMBURG (GERMANY)
 2012-05-01 BATSCHKAPP FRANKFURT (GERMANY)
 2012-05-02 POSTBAHNOF BERLIN (GERMANY)
 2012-05-03 VOORUIT GENT (BELGIUM)
 2012-05-04 CIRCUS HELSINKI (FINLAND)
 2012-05-05 Aysmetry Festival POLAND