Light of Eternity – Collateral

I'm a huge Killing Joke fan and have been ever since my first year at uni when I discovered their S/T 1980 debut. Then 1994's Pandemonium followed after which my love affair with the band blossomed further with my becoming ever more engrossed in the remainder of their impressively sizeable catalogue.

Light of Eternity was initially a side-project for 'Joke drummer Big Paul Ferguson and was formed in the August of 2023. Fate sadly meant that Ferguson's Killing Joke bandmate Geordie Walker passed away (RIP) in the November of that year effectively ending the band for the foreseeable future. This of course meant that Paul had more time to dedicate to LOE with both Fred Schrek (The Ancients, Crush, Satellite Paradiso) and Pauly Williams (Chaos 8) joining him. Collateral their latest release, collects together the band's two 2024 EPs, Edge of Fate and Aftershock.

It won't be a total surprise that 'Edge of Fate' is an adrenaline charged Industrial Rocker in the style of Killing Joke's brilliant 'Lord of Chaos' (which was that band's last release). As such it feels like a touching tribute to Geordie in terms of speed and attitude as well as thematically covering similar apocalyptic territory. A thrilling start. 'Explode' takes a different route, with somewhat dancier elements and such is the catchy nature of the music (see early NIN/New Order as possible reference points), that one feels it has been perfectly sculptured for the dance-floor despite its otherwise rebellious sentiments. By contrast 'Lament' is a rich Gothic number with Andrew Eldrich-esque (Sisters of Mercy) baritone Vocals. There's a sense of melodrama present which along with the beautifully atmospheric textures make for an unexpected delight. The final track on Edge of Fate 'Tipping Point' is the EP's longest at over six minutes and as with 'Edge of Fate' recalls yet again Killing Joke albeit the aforementioned Pandemonium, which is interesting seeing as Big Paul was well out of the band by that point. Indeed, I found there to be a hypnotic, psychedelic and transcendental quality to the music in which I found myself joyfully lost in.

Now is the turn of the Aftershock tracks, commencing with the title track of the same name 'Aftershock'. Crunching Guitars with an effect that reminds one once more of the much missed Geordie, particularly anything from the first two 'Joke albums. There's an eeriness present and it should be pointed out that the more 'chanted' lyrics draw comparisons to a certain Mr Jaz Coleman. A powerful opener. 'Nebula' opens with a wash of 80's style Darkwave Synths reminiscent of San Francisco outfits such as Factrix, which give this listener a fond nostalgic kick. An introverted, moody sounding number. 'Dark Hope's Groove Metal and Alt-Metal flavourings could easily be found on latter day Prong records as Cleansing, coincidental seeing as Killing Joke were one of that band's primary influences, (alongside Crossover Thrash/Hardcore). Yet despite this the track still manages to remain resolutely fresh and I can see this fast becoming a fan favourite. Synths/keyboards feature more prominently on Aftershock and this is highlighted on 'Conformity' with moments curiously recalling Gary Numan's past and present, The Pleasure Principle and Jagged respectively. This along with the track's anti-authoritarian stance and seeming warning to mankind concludes the EP in a defiant manner.

With Jaz busying himself with spoken word tours and orchestras and Youth focusing largely on production work, its seemingly been left to Big Paul to continue the Killing Joke legacy which he does highly effectively throughout Collateral. Albeit with plenty of contemporary touches to keep things interesting.

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