Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (album)

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
Studio album by Killing Joke
Released	November 1986 (1986-11)
Recorded	Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin, Germany
Genre	Darkwave Post-punk
Length	41:17 (LP), 60:32 (CD)
Label	EG Records
Producer	Chris Kimsey, Chris Tsangarides, Stewart Levine
Killing Joke chronology
Night Time (1985) Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (1986) Outside the Gate (1988)
Singles from Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
"Adorations" Released: August 1986 (1986-08) "Sanity" Released: October 1986 (1986-10)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Metal Storm	(9.1/10)

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns is the sixth album by English post-punk group Killing Joke. It was released in 1986 on LP, on CD and on cassette by EG Records. The CD and cassette versions have three bonus tracks.

At the request of the band, the 2007 remastered CD restored Chris Kimsey's mixes in place of Julian Mendelsohn's, which appeared on the original release. Kimsey's mixes are noticeably livelier, preferring the clean attack of bass, drums and guitar over the synth-washed, reverb-heavy approach of the original. The reissue also features extra bonus tracks, including "Ecstasy", a rare b-side from one version of the single "Adorations". The verse riff from "Ecstasy" was reused two years later on the track "Obsession", from the album "Outside the Gate".

Track listing

All songs written by Coleman/Walker/Raven/Ferguson.

Original LP Version

Side one

1. "Adorations" – 4:39
2. "Sanity" – 4:44
3. "Chessboards" – 5:47
4. "Twilight of the Mortal" – 4:12

Side two

1. "Love of the Masses" – 4:54
2. "A Southern Sky" – 4:25
3. "Wintergardens" – 5:24
4. "Rubicon" – 7:06

Cassette Version

Side one

1. "Adorations"
2. "Sanity"
3. "Chessboards"
4. "Goodbye to the Village"*
5. "Wintergardens"
6. "Twilight of the Mortal"

Side two

1. "Love of the Masses"
2. "A Southern Sky"
3. "Victory"*
4. "Exile"*
5. "Rubicon"

Tracks marked with an asterisk (*) only appear on the CD and cassette versions.

Original CD Version

1. "Adorations" – 4:42
2. "Sanity" – 4:45
3. "Chessboards" – 5:51
4. "Twilight of the Mortal" – 4:15
5. "Love of the Masses" – 4:40
6. "A Southern Sky" – 4:39
7. "Victory" – 7:11*
8. "Wintergardens" – 5:24
9. "Rubicon" – 7:03
10. "Goodbye to the Village" – 5:26*
11. "Exile" – 6:38*

Tracks marked with an asterisk (*) only appear on the CD and cassette versions.

2007 CD reissue

The 2007 version removes Julian Mendelsohn's remixing and restores Chris Kimsey's original production.

1. "Adorations" – 4:28
2. "Sanity" – 4:15
3. "Chessboards" – 5:47
4. "Twilight of the Mortal" – 4:14
5. "Love of the Masses" – 6:07
6. "A Southern Sky" – 4:38
7. "Victory" – 3:57
8. "Wintergardens" – 5:32
9. "Rubicon" – 6:35
10. "Goodbye to the Village" – 5:17
11. "Exile" – 6:27
12. "Ecstasy" – 4:10
13. "Adorations" (Supernatural Mix) – 6:39
14. "Sanity" (Insane Mix) – 6:15

Personnel

• Jaz Coleman - vocals, synthesizer
• Kevin "Geordie" Walker - guitar
• Paul Raven - bass guitar
• Paul Ferguson - drums, vocals
• Dave Kovacevic - synthesizer

Original version - production credits

• Produced by Chris Kimsey
• Engineered by Thomas Stiehler
• Mixed by Julian Mendelsohn
• Recorded at Hansa Tonstudios, Berlin
• Mixed at Sarm West Studios
• "A Southern Sky" produced by Chris Tsangarides, mixed by Bob Kraushaar
• "Victory" produced by Stewart Levine, engineer Glen Skinner

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	54
U.S. Billboard 200	194