Focused and intense - classic!
It's like looking at something from every possible angle and finding something new each time. There's something strangely obsessive about this album - arguably every song is simply a variation on a single theme, but far from sounding redundant the album attains a hypnotic intensity.
I think this is the most consistently strong album of Killing Joke's long career, and a great capstone on the early-Joke era. Musically and emotionally intense, but easily accessible too. Great stuff.
Where it all comes together...
Taken out of context, it is. A lot of fans of this band--including a couple who've reveiwed the CD here--say that this CD is somehow "atypical" of the band. . . it's not as abrasive as the discs that preceded it, and Jaz's voice doesn't seem to have the same edge, or desparation, that the earlier releases had.
On the other hand, if you look at where the Joke was headed, it all makes perfect sense both musically and lyrically. Rather than just railing at the absurdity and decay of life, this is the first album that starts to point to a way forward. It suggests, I think, that there is an identity beyond nationalism, beyond party politics, et cetera, and offers something of that identity through music. Part of the reason, I think, for the "jaunty" sound of Coleman's voice is the realization that there was/is something bigger to tap into, and he saw his music as a conduit for that. The possibility of building a community of like-minded individuals is pretty heady stuff.
Or maybe he was just happy that the world hadn't ended during that trip to Iceland. :)
And it's equally possible that I'm over-thinking this. But I do think that they were on to something here. It's the first inkling you get in the band's sound and lyrics of any kind of optimism that another world is possible, and taken in the context of the band's later work--all the way up to "Hosannas"--that optimism isn't out of place.
Then again, I have to admit that I'm biased toward this album; it's the first thing of theirs I ever bought (right around the time that "Night Time" came out), and I wore my vinyl copy out with repeated plays. So hear it yourself rather than taking my word for it.
Buy It!
It's dancy, punky and gothy sounding. This is one of the best albums for Killing Joke fans and for anyone who loves music. Song & Dance, Dominator, Let's All Go (To The Fire Dances). . . all very good songs. I play this album very frequently. There's nothing bad about this album except that it's too short. Clocks in at 39 minutes.
strange trance inducing madness!
That being said- firedances and nighttime still get quite a few listens. Im older now so alot of the KJ's output isnt lasting the test of time though they will always hold a special place for me. Firedances in particular is one of the strangest records ever made- and it always seems to put me into a trance whenever i listen to it. Theres a weird vibe it gives off- as some reviewers mentioned almost like a bright heat and it makes me wonder if colemans forray into the occult cast a spell on this record! tribal drumming fierce but uplifting wall of guitar that sounds like elephant call put through distortion. most of the songs are repetitive in style-pulsing funklike dub disco bass- tom heavy drums-colemans "positive calls" in celebration of life- of drink wine and sex. It sounds like the soundtrack to some primitive fireorgy. But it truly sounds unlike any other recording out there Sure it has some pil(early) and some of KJ's early frenzied energy- but its a new beast entirely. Theres hardly a weak track though be warned these are not your normal structured tunes-more like mantras magnified to epic proportions. The title is perfect- because it makes you feel as if your dancing naked around a bonfire while preparing to sacrifice yourself to the lust almighty. Its pure unintellectual caught in the moment magic- with hints of secrets only known to the band or some secret order. Theres a freshness after the apocalyptic tone of the first three records- this is oddly positice but still mysterious and by no way a "happy or safe" record. Perhaps their most uncommercial record- the title track being the only song people seem to remember if at all. ANd i swear the record conjures up strange dreams after listening to it! Not everyones cup of tea but one of the most original sounding records ever released. .
Band in transition? are you Kidding?
please dont pay attention to Mr Stack words. my Friend Stack i think you dont have any idea what are you talking about?Fire Dnaces it is an incredible album ,it was
the bombastic response at teh first taste caused by the Revelations album,huge, powerful, sick ,and no doubt about it
this is whre the Jaz voice was totally inmersed in psychedelia
adn power.
i think you should have listen to this Fire Dances again
really near to a fire ,perhaps in a night camp.
no doubt 5 stars in this marvelous albums,
one of the best ever of the 80s.
cheers. Maurice .
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