SHIHAD REISSUE KILLJOY ON VINYL
On April 17, Shihad will release the 20th Anniversary reissue of KILLJOY. The album will
be available on remastered Deluxe Vinyl LP, CD and digital formats and includes
bonus track ‘N.I.L’.
Listening to KILLJOY is like getting a big, beautiful punch in the face. It’ll give you two
black eyes but leave you smiling. It’s that good. And now that Shihad’s classic
second album is turning 20, it’s fitting it gets the re-mastered and reissue treatment to
make it sound bigger and more imposing than ever. KILLJOY is volatile, catchy, and
intense all in one.
This storm of sonic power isn’t just one of New Zealand’s finest rock albums – it’s one of
the country’s best albums full stop.
If 1993 debut, CHURN, was the sound of Shihad’s roots, then KILLJOY was the
blueprint for the band’s trademark mix of melodic heaviness, pounding rhythms, and
catchy songs that get people singing and chanting along.
Released in May 1995, KILLJOY peaked at No.4 on the album charts and went on to
gain platinum status and win album of the year at the New Zealand Music Awards in
1996.
The album’s four singles – ‘You Again’, ‘Bitter’, ‘Gimme Gimme’ and ‘Deb’s Night
Out’ – are among the band’s most enduring tracks. Few songs have the chest
beating intensity and unbridled power of album opener, ‘You Again’, with its
punishing massacre of first up riffs through to its unhinged and fractured ending. And
the simmering, dark beauty of ‘Deb’s Night Out’ – the band’s ode to bizarre and
brutal Palmerston North band Skeptics – remains one of Shihad’s finest moments.
While CHURN received some overseas recognition, it was KILLJOY that truly launched
Shihad onto the international stage when they hit the road with Faith No More on a
38-date tour through Europe. It also led to the band’s first tour of the US where they
played everything from club dates in Los Angeles and New York through to
influential heavy metal convention Foundations Forum alongside Motorhead and
Monster Magnet.
The 20th birthday reissue of KILLJOY – available on re-mastered Deluxe Vinyl LP, CD,
and Digital formats and includes bonus track ‘N.I.L’ – is testament to what a
complete album it is from start to finish. Take your pick from the fiery spite of Bitter,
the brooding and thunderous ‘For What You Burn’, or the raw slugging ferocity of
‘Silvercup’.
The thing about KILLJOY is that it sounded exotic, heavy and ahead of it’s time back
in 1995, and now two decades on it sounds even better.
Here’s the You Again video with remastered sound