THE Mill in Preston is hardly London’s West End but when Jaz Coleman turns up, what you get is pure theatre.
Imagine 'Phantom of the Opera' on acid and you get some sort of idea of how the KILLING JOKE frontman bestrides the stage, scarily wide-eyed, complete with hooded cape and his face caked in make-up and mascara.
But don’t let Coleman’s theatricals mask the deadly intent which informs Killing Joke’s thunderous assault on the eardrums. Killing Joke may be into their third decade as a band and their latest album may well be permeated with several new metal motifs,but live Killing Joke remain close to their punk roots; a gnarling and spitting beast, an antidote to the Pop Idol plasticmen, R&B merchants who have taken the soul out of soul and drug-induced dance idiots who plague the radio airwaves.
And neither has age compromised Coleman’s venomous anger about the world we live in. If anything, in this shallow but dangerous corporate world led by the likes of Bush and Blair, Killing Joke’s protests have never been more relevant and Coleman treats his audience to several homilies on American militarism, Britain’s client state status, corporate banking and the environment.
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The audience - mainly but not entirely thirty/forty something blokes – seems happy enough though, as Killing Joke raid their back catalogue, mixing up old Joke with offerings from the latest album.
And as ever, it is that classic sound which has captured a generation of fans, Geordie’s metallic guitar howling above the pounding, almost tribal, rythmn section, all underpinning Coleman’s growling vocals.
The moshing crowd reach top gear early on with a brutally inspired version of "War Dance" and the intense menace of recent single "Seeing Red."No sign of "Love Like Blood" or "Eighties" – but we are treated to a storming "Kings and Queens" and a magisterial "Empire Song" to round off the main set.
We get the obligatory encores, of course. On this occasion, it’s the doom-laden rumble of "Asteroid" followed by the equally doom-laden controlled rage of "Frenzy."
Age has clearly not caught up with Killing Joke yet. Go see if you get the chance.
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