KILLING JOKE
EXTREMITIES, THE ALBINI DEMOS AND LIVE BEGINNINGS '88 ( INDIES ONLY EDITION – CREAM WHITE VINYL)
Vinyl LP

Item no. :ODR128LPI Barcode :0723706000678 Artist :KILLING JOKE Product type :Vinyl LP Label :OVERDRIVE RECORDS Release Date :20 March 2026
 
DESCRIPTION TRACK LIST
A journey into the raw and visceral origins: from the demo sessions mixed by Steve Albini to the night of the very first secret show on December 20th, 1988.
In the heart of Chicago, Geordie and Martin Atkins turned frustration and distance into pure creative energy, recording the now-legendary “Black Cassette” demos at Albini’s house. Distorted, menacing bass lines, unruly oscillators, and Albini running endlessly up and down the stairs between the basement drum room and the pantry control room defined a sound that was brutally direct and uncompromising. The first interactions with the Yamaha drum machine foreshadowed elements that would later shape parts of the album. Those sessions sparked essential ideas, while the future studio - purchased from Steve and moved to Wabash Ave - would soon become the core of Invisible Records and Killing Joke’s operations.
On the other side, a truly rare document: excerpts from Atkins’s very first show with the band, at Burberries in Birmingham on December 20th, 1988. In a small, mirror-lined club filled with tension, adrenaline, and inevitable collisions with the walls, Extremities, The Fanatic, Intravenous, and The Beautiful Dead were performed publicly for the first time. It was the night when everything ignited: the blast beat still in its embryonic stage, the controlled fury Geordie demanded - “can you go a bit more Moonie on it?” - and above all Jaz’s theatrical yet strikingly genuine laughter. Not just joy, but a declaration: a giant “fuck off” to the doubters and a prelude of what was about to come.
A raw, essential, indispensable testimony: the birth of an era. 

Side A
STEVE ALBINI MIXES "BLACK CASSETTE" DEMO Side
1. Mondey (DEMO)
2. Unreleased (DEMO)
3. Scrape/North of the border
4. Money (Reflex Mix) 

Side B:
SPECIAL SECRET SHOW IN BIRMINGHAM, 20th DEC 1988 Side 
1. Extremities
2. The Fanatic
3. Intravenous
4. Beautiful Dead