Rituals, Fire, and Out of Body Experiences | Killing Joke's First Album

Killing Joke formed in 1978 in Notting Hill, London by vocalist, keyboardist Jazz Coleman and drummer Paul Ferguson.

Jazz was from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Wait, is that how you say it? Gloucestershire? It's a big ass English word.

I'm assuming, I think it's Gloucestershire.

and he moved to London to start a band.

He then meets Paul through an acquaintance, and they hit it off.

Paul was a jazz drummer.

That's not a stupid pun, he played the jazz music.

He was a drummer for Matt Stagger, aka Mattia Clifford, and he got Jazz, the guy, to join on keyboards.

Then they both bailed on Matt right before a gig to start Killing Joke.

I think in the grand scheme of music, Matt took one for the team.

The second I set eyes on Paul's face, we both knew like destiny had struck us and it was kind of mutual repulsion.

So the two hit it off.

They found a lot of common ground philosophically, musically, practicing occult magic, politics, you know, normal stuff.

I'm kidding.

It's not normal.

Jazz and Paul are fucking magicians.

Now, whether you believe in this stuff or not, Let's not pretend it isn't very peculiar.

So while they're bonding hardcore over this stuff, the question gets raised.

How in the blue hell are we going to find two other musicians who are into this stuff and also happen to be amazing musicians? Easy.

Let's conduct the ritual of dedication to find them.

We painted the floor black and drew the circle in the pentagram, aligned it to the cardinal points, as one does, one should do.

We did a banishing ritual, stated our intentions, did an invocation.

I mean, amateur and basic stuff, but it apparently turned out to be quite powerful.

We, unbeknown to ourselves, were invoking fire and the flat burned down.

Killing Joke formed in 1978 in Notting Hill, London by vocalist, keyboardist Jazz Coleman and drummer Paul Ferguson.

Jazz was from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Wait, is that how you say it? Gloucestershire? It's a big ass English word.

I'm assuming, I think it's Gloucestershire.

and he moved to London to start a band.

He then meets Paul through an acquaintance, and they hit it off.

Paul was a jazz drummer.

That's not a stupid pun, he played the jazz music.

He was a drummer for Matt Stagger, aka Mattia Clifford, and he got Jazz, the guy, to join on keyboards.

Then they both bailed on Matt right before a gig to start Killing Joke.

I think in the grand scheme of music, Matt took one for the team.

The second I set eyes on Paul's face, we both knew like destiny had struck us and it was kind of mutual repulsion.

So the two hit it off.

They found a lot of common ground philosophically, musically, practicing occult magic, politics, you know, normal stuff.

I'm kidding.

It's not normal.

Jazz and Paul are fucking magicians.

Now, whether you believe in this stuff or not, Let's not pretend it isn't very peculiar.

So while they're bonding hardcore over this stuff, the question gets raised.

How in the blue hell are we going to find two other musicians who are into this stuff and also happen to be amazing musicians? Easy.

Let's conduct the ritual of dedication to find them.

We painted the floor black and drew the circle in the pentagram, aligned it to the cardinal points, as one does, one should do.

We did a banishing ritual, stated our intentions, did an invocation.

I mean, amateur and basic stuff, but it apparently turned out to be quite powerful.

We, unbeknown to ourselves, were invoking fire and the flat burned down.