Fire Dances by Killing Joke

Fire Dances, Killing Joke's fourth album, came out in July 1983 through E.G. and Polydor, and it's the first record with Paul Raven on bass, brought in after Youth left following Revelations. The band produced it with John Porter at Basing Street Studios in London in February and March 1983, with Jaz Coleman on vocals and keyboards, Geordie Walker on guitar and Paul Ferguson behind the drums.

This is post-punk as tribal ritual, gothic shadows cast by tom-toms and a guitar that sounds like sheet metal being torn in slow motion. Coleman bellows over the top like a man preaching the end of days, and "Let's All Go (To the Fire Dances)" is the invitation to the bonfire, all pounding rhythm and war-cry chant. Ferguson later admitted the band's drug use played a part in the original mix coming out thin and tinny, but the fury still cuts through.

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