{"id":64004,"date":"2025-12-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=64004"},"modified":"2025-12-01T22:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T04:46:35","slug":"martin-atkins-resurrects-a-post-punk-beast-as-killing-jokes-extremities-roars-back-to-life-at-reggies-for-two-nights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=64004","title":{"rendered":"Martin Atkins Resurrects A Post-Punk Beast As Killing Joke’s Extremities Roars Back To Life At Reggies For Two Nights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By James Currie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a record-shattering Chicago snow night, the kind where even the El seems to shrug and give up, Reggies somehow transformed into a volcanic blast furnace. Because for the first time in 33 years, Extremities, Dirt and Various Repressed Emotions<\/em>, Killing Joke\u2019s most feral and defiantly misunderstood album, was heard live in its entirety as night 2 of 2 took place. And who better to lead the charge than the man who helped shape it in 1990: drummer, Chicago legend, and industrial ringmaster Martin Atkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before a single tom was struck or feedback howl let loose, former Killing Joke tour manager and self imposed Chicago music historian, Steve Silver, warmed up the crowd with stories only someone who survived the band\u2019s orbit could tell. Equal parts absurd, affectionate and unapologetic. It set the tone perfectly for a night that was equal parts tribute, s\u00e9ance, and celebratory riot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Extremities<\/em> first dropped, it was a jolt, even for longtime Killing Joke fans accustomed to the band\u2019s unpredictability. Gone were the more atmospheric shifts of the mid \u201980s. In their place, precision chaos, razor-sharp riffs and a rhythmic brutality that predicted the industrial metal boom by several years. Part of that shift came from behind the kit. With Martin Atkins replacing original drummer Paul Ferguson, the band suddenly sounded wired directly into a demolition site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was also a comeback album in every sense. Their previous record had tanked commercially, the band was dropped by their label, and, as Atkins has often said, everyone involved was fueled by a potent mix of frustration, conviction, and creative adrenaline. Touring with Ministry at the same time, Atkins brought with him the Chicago-style metallic grime that seeped into Extremities\u2019<\/em> DNA. And in the middle of all this chaos, something unexpected happened, lifelong friendships formed. Atkins, Paul Raven, Geordie Walker, and Jaz Coleman grew into a tight, battle-tested clan. The era also drew in John Bechdel, who\u2019d go on to become Ministry\u2019s longtime keyboardist, and later helped inspire the sprawling, ever-mutating Chicago collective Pigface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For this 2025 resurrection, Atkins assembled a supergroup tribute worthy of the post-punk legends. It was a supercell of talent for a supercell of a snow storm outside and included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n