Democracy isn’t as good as the two Killing Joke albums it’s between. However, it’s high-quality and consistent enough to be worthwhile. I would probably prefer this to Pandemonium if it weren’t for the whack production job (maybe I do, regardless).

But yeah, the production. It sounds like everything has been mixed at too equal a level, causing everything on the album to blur together. A bit “muddy,” if you would, almost sounding shoegaze-y at times. This might sound interesting to some, but even as a shoegaze fan these songs were clearly meant to pummel and roar, not simply wash across the listener’s ears. The production works against the album more than it could possibly benefit it by ideally making it a great unique album in the Killing Joke library.

The songs underneath the wash are pretty good though. This might be Killing Joke’s catchiest album other than the follow-up self-titled album. I recommend “Lanterns,” “Intellect,” and “Medicine Wheel” to see if you’re interested.

Can’t believe they missed the chance to name this album “Democrazy.”