Killing Joke - Unspeakable Lyrics

Timeless, amazing, undefinable track,
respect! ♡

Intense as fuck.

Still have this album on vinyl and had the privilege to see this band in Norway in 82 or 83. Unspeakable good!

What type of keyboard/ synth or whatever is making that creepy monotone note in the background during the verses? This song epitomizes the 80's I loved (not the crap the "oldies" stations play from the 80's)

Those drums.

What a fucking jam.

O. M. F. G.

That fucking bass.

the clocks turn backwards

Nightmare time.

yay. i clicked the 666th like. i win.

To my ears, the standout track of this album. Everything great about punk/post/new wave in one song. The tribal drums, the dark synth line, the distorted, jangly guitar, the killer bass line, and just enough of everything vocally to cover all the bases. My favorite band right now. I'm through the first four albums; what a journey so far.

I got into them a few years back and have been hooked since. They were the warm-up band for Motley Crue in 2005 (what a bizarre contrast) but I got distracted. Rediscovered them years later... holy God! Much more depth than those degenerates.

@ComeTheDawn 64 Motley Crue, thats awesome and oddly random for sure. I got into Killing Joke earlier this year through a weird way too. One of my favorite bands of all time is Faith No More, and I was re-reading their biography, and bassist Bill Gould was saying how in the early days they listened to KJ a lot. So I just fired up their first album and have been hooked since. Going to see them in May in Chicago. And I hear that their albums from the 90's and 2000's are really good too. 'Revelations' is my favorite currently.

There is no random. It is written.

You can hear where Ministry were influenced by... KJ, so ahead of their time.

My mum bought me What's THIS For on cassette when I was 12 and listened to it all summer over and over. I've never forgotten that summer.

Your mum has taste.

Killing Joke goes psychedelic

so surreal

Totally. Dream like.

Amazing to say the least.

Killing Joke remains ahead of their time or anyone else's time at that.

I see these in November and if anything like last time I have a treat in store.brilliant live band.

those drums are just amazing and then comes that kick ass baseline followed by that jangley guitar,like layes.amazing to this day!

You have to just turn off your brain and feel this song because the lyrics make no sense. Maybe they did to the band at the time.

I wonder who chose the colour scheme its very nice.

My killing for ever.thanks for all. the best band.

And the STRANGLERS.....😍😍😍😍😍😍😍👊😍👊

Tribal drumming at its best!

At this stage KJ had two drummers.

Really sounds a lot like Joy Division.

Pat Moon No disrespect to Joy Division and the late Ian Curtis but Killing Joke are the original and best!

+Pat Moon - Correction; Joy Division sounds like KJ.

Joy Division founded 1976, playing as Joy Division 1978. Killing Joke didn't yet exist... Actually I love both and I don't consider any being the original of the other. And anyone talking about any music being "The Best" doesn't understand art.

@Rose Tico Enthusiast sounds like a sped up atrocity exhibition minus the vocals

Probably cos they were in the same music scene and knew one another personally

I'm 53,,,, So many memories,,,, SO GOOD>>>>> x

DITTO!!

I AM 52 and love it.

Marvellous.

Quel puissant morceau...quand je songe que tant dansèrent à l'unisson sur love like blood (au demeurant pas mal), tout en ignorant cet album, qui lui est en tout point supérieur.

So Perfect - sooo soooo sweeet....

Wow. 1981. Someone recently turned me on to Killing Joke but I absolutely had no idea they dated back to 1981. Talk about being years ahead of your time!

They go back to 78.

yup, next year's a big anniversary

@Richard Blais Believe it or not, I like both The Police and Killing Joke.

@Albrecht I believe you, life can be cruel that way ...

1. they did not create Punk Iggy + The Stooges invented punk, 2. they were Post-Punk Post-Punk has more electronic stuff thrown into the Punk while still remains aggressive on vocals and guitars.

1979-1983 great band.This song ang other 2-3 aa the begining looks us Bauhaus

Unspeakable

Steamrolling Action , Awesome .

Can't believe I've never heard this song before. That drum and bass are amazing! Killing Joke is my favorite band by far.

BANGING JOKE!!!!! My favourite KJ album with Exit! Who told you how? NOBODY can fuck with this shit.

Best drums & bass combo ever!

+Antoine Doinel and best guitars & vocals combo ever as well....

Does "Breathe" by Ministry remind anyone of this song ?

+Monjeseñal lots of bands copy The Joke ... they are ALL Rogues and Upstarts ...

+cuttingthru No need to get all worked up there little man.

+cuttingthru What is really fucking sad is getting worked up over a simple observation that I made. You just look pathetic because you feel the need to defend Ministry.

@cuttingthru Ministry copied the Joke, and so did Nirvana, and many more ... no need to get all your knickers in a knot ... 

+Lionel Richards
...and Tool copied...

speaklelblealble

OW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW-WOW !!!!!

Scorched earth.

I love that bobbing bass line with those drums,just amazing to this day.whhats this for was my first ever album I bought and had to keep it going.its a masterpeice.

best drums ever

@Lazlo Morphine Still ... they are the two greatest bands in world History ...

I would two of the greatest bands, but yeah

At this stage KJ had two drummers.

koenraad kindts also Cure's Pornography

To me you here Nick Launay and Hugh padgham doing their gated Reverb AKA Phil Collins drum sound before it lost its flavor

Always confused me this album cover...still does to this day...great album though. 

To be 16 again with this.

Me too. Happy days compared to the shite people have to suffer these days.

especially supermarket music and fucking techno zombie mentality-- I wasnt punk, more metalhead, but the days spent drinking and rehearsing hard rock songs are priceless

Amen brother.

@Bog Standard i have 16 :)

Hey David, when the fuck did I say I didn't like R&B, hip hop or Indie? That style has been around since even before I was a teen. If you read my post correctly, it states the producers ( mainstream big business ) are the ones fabricating stars based on looks and appeal. It's been like that since even before I was born and will continue even thru your kids time. Music is big business designed to rake in cash and nothing sells faster than bubble gum pop shit to lil girls that's all I said

The kids are into today's stuff, R&b, hip hop and the like. just because you don't like it, you old fogey, doesn't mean it's fake. A lot of good stuff out there today, Indie type stuff, just listen to radio 6, and most of the old bands are still going anyway! Mainstream has always pretty dire!

Mainstream eighties was mostly dirge, but the 'alternative' scene produced the best music EVER imo.

Actually, the 80's was my favorite era for pop music too. I loved the 80's pop new wave. There were some truly terrible songs, but even those were interesting.

How anyone can consider today's "mainstream" anything and then criticize the 80s is beyond me. Obviously the 80s were better than anything that has come after. Everything sucks now.

In a league of their own!

Was this Geordie's SG period or his ES 295 period??

whos making you feel anything, its you not words n a computer screen dumb asss, we aint doing anything except saying todays music is crappy manufactured shyte ,problem if so turn off the computer and never turn it on again PLONKER

cant find the words ...

just found this song today, glad i did.

Bollocks. I grew up with Killing Joke, but the charts were filled with stuff I wasn't into. I'm now looking at my nephews, and they've got an abundance of good music to listen to, none of which is ever going to chart. Bands that get out there and play. If they're lucky, they'll get as many listeners as the Joke managed, or Fugazi, or Joy Division. There's still great music out there, but don't expect to hear it on the radio. Go out and see some fuckin' gigs.

I always listened to underground and still do to this day. There are lots of newer bands that I like. If you re-read my post you will see that I did mention that shit bubble gum music has always been around and always will, to include my times! However, there is a greater push towards manufactoring young pretty teeny pop stars now thanks to the HUGE power of these corps. You don't think so? Turn on Disney, Nickleodean, MTV, 80% of radio, even singing TV contests let thru bad singers if cute

So you look at what is going on in the mainstream of music today and judge all of todays music on that. That's sad, very sad. There are loads and loads of great underground bands around today I could just as easily judge your generation on the bad mainstream music that was around at the time (and their was plenty of it) Good music will always exists no matter what generation it comes from.

My punk-rock nephew, Sam, played me this. I was 14, it tore my bonce off, I took it to naval boarding-school, where everyone liked Judas Priest and Queen. I was loathed. They're all in the army now. Gits.

I found a home-recorded cassette with this awesome track, requiem, follow the leader, war dance, and 2 other tracks, one with a dog bark at the beginning and at the end, do I have the greatest hits collection- I'M GLAD I DO

I think ur the one who needs to lighten up. These kids are the future. I'm not being a pansy or pitying them. But music is "escape". And these kids don't have it like other gen's did, no good rock music. It use to be sex, drugs and rock n roll. Now's just sex and drugs. They don't have that escape we had. All they have is there pride to be cool enough to listen to bands like Killing Joke instead of whatever there names

Screw the kids! And screw your PC angst- that is exactly what is shitting on this generation. Bullshit arselicky, "lets not hurt the kids feelings" bullshit. Anyhow, I dont think they give a shit, as this gen is going to be going crazy ala August riots I'm guessing this year as well. Good 4 them TeeHee. Its better than my shitty gen (90's- PUKE) or yours (2000s- a JOKE), 2010s is going 2 b FUUUUUUUN 4 EVERYONE. Old farts and young alike. Lighten UP u PC pansy!! ;D

This is not my generation. I'm twenty six. I was trying to point out that there are all these kids out there, this is there gen! And all we do is shit on it and say it sucks. It's not right for the kids.

Dr Steve shits on u, ya pansy! Lighten the fuck up u angsty fucker. ;D

One of the best drum beats i've ever heard.

I'm sick and tired of all you fucking people complaining about the music today! Granted, it may be shit a lot of it but this is my generation and a lot of other kids gen's so stop making us feel like shit, music's getting better now

As it happens....... if you can find the richard skinner session of this you will find it a tad better. Excellent stuff LOUD

hummingly hauntingly masterpiece... a special mindset to create this music yet in a structured precision clockwork

@gibsones295sturbo
You get it! Thank you for that.

With the keyboards THIS sounds beautifully haunting............. along with geordie.... (obviously)

@bloodyrockfire
tbh there haven't been any other bands like KJ that i've found.. i guess the police and PIL are in the same category.. radiohead? nooo way!

@snupcho *in time

@MorkaGraven You should listen to KJ more. With time, you may find that there is nothing silly about this band.

I never really got into this band until the last few years, they are WAYYYY ahead of thier time, that is for sure! They still are awesome to this very day!

I wonder who chose the colour scheme its very nice!

Iceland is a Killing Joke 2day and im living there and we desperatly need muzic like this now.

One of my favourite KJ Basslines....Youth at his best.

my fav joke track

This is landmark Big Paul drumming! One of the most unique songs EVER!

wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow-wow

R. Stevie Moore (and you must and need to know R. Stevie Moore) has an amazing cover of this song on one of his latest releases...Errorism (2010)

Have no word!!! Just awesome

At last, a decent upload. Fucking Brill.
Nice one takes me back.

good stuff!!

tribal and industrial in 1981