Killing Joke albums come in many forms. Militant like their first two albums, polished like ‘Pandemonium’, catchy like ‘Night Time’… ‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ is different. With its long, slowly unfolding tracks, it feels like a deliberate attempt to create Killing Joke’s least accessible album to date. Therein lies the brilliance. More than any album before it, ‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ attempts to overwhelm with massive repetitive riffs, tribal rhythms and its sheer wall of noise in an almost Godflesh-like fashion. Difficult to achieve without turning into a monotonous mess, but Killing Joke succeeds with ease.

Sporting one of my favorite titles of all time ‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ already caught my attention before I had even heard a single note. And then there’s the music. There is something strangely hypnotic about the endless barrage of heavy riffing and pounding rhythms. The music sounds like it was not so much composed as it was made up on the spot and played until it made sense. That means there are hardly any memorable choruses and the riffs per minute ratio is ridiculously low, but the songs contain everything this combination of post-punk and industrial (doom) metal should have.

One thing that stands out about ‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ is how guitar-heavy the production is. Geordie Walker’s guitar sound was always a defining feature of Killing Joke’s sound, but it always shared equal billing with the bass and the synths. Especially the latter are buried in the mix here, but that is hardly a problem. Take a song like ‘Implosion’, where the constant drive of wide dissonant chords in a pseudo-metallic new wave sound carries the song. The following ‘Walking With Gods’ feels slightly more like modern Killing Joke, as Reza Uhdin’s synths are more prominent, giving the track something of a dance vibe.

Those who preferred the world fusion of ‘Pandemonium’ will be pleased by album highlight ‘Invocation’. Save for one half measure-long fill that occurs every now and then, Walker’s riff does not change for the entire eight minutes the song lasts, but the constantly building strings and the Middle-Eastern percussion add such a dynamic to the song, it’s simply brilliant. ‘Judas Goat’, with its awesomely brooding 5/4 riff, is another highlight. ‘Gratitude’ marries the immense heaviness of Walker’s riffs and Paul Raven’s bass with a surprisingly clean, but highly ominous vocal performance by Jaz Coleman and closes the album in style.

‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ is not the best album to start with for those who are curious about Killing Joke, despite ‘This Tribal Antidote’ being a relatively accessible opener. For a certain section of the band’s fanbase, however, this is 200 percent of what they’d want from Killing Joke. The album is as appropriate for apocalyptic darkness as it is for a dance party in hell. Personally, I think I prefer ‘Pandemonium’, but not by much. With its uncompromising approach and perfect production for this style, ‘Hosannas From The Basements Of Hell’ lives up to its amazing title as well as Killing Joke’s legacy in dark, but surprisingly blunt music.

Recommended tracks: ‘Invocation’, ‘Judas Goat’, ‘Gratitude’