Following their successful 1994 Pandemonium album and tour, Killing Joke reconvened in Cornwall, U.K. to write new material before moving on to Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire to record a new album. Production was overseen by bassist Martin "Youth" Glover, with session musicianGeoff Dugmore returning once more on drums. Stage keyboardist Nick Holywell-Walker was also brought in to add some additional synthesizer and programming. Singer and keyboard player Jaz Coleman had spent some time decompressing at the end of the Pandemonium tour in Sedona, Arizona, where he had been inspired by a new interest in Native American culture, striking a chord with his previous involvement in Māori culture in New Zealand, where he had settled in 1991. This resulted in a more optimistic and New Age-tinged album lyrically and marked the beginning of a more settled period for Coleman, who had by now also made considerable progress with his orchestral career. The album sessions supposedly culminated in a full moon drumming fire ceremony on a small island on the river Thames at Henley, with Youth reportedly braving the murky waters for a naked swim. Coleman and guitarist Geordie Walker have both expressed their disappointment with the resulting album, blaming their decision to allow Youth to mix it without their involvement. After a short tour in the summer of 1996, the band entered their longest career hiatus to date, lasting until 2002, when they began work on what would become their second eponymously titled album.
Release
Democracy was released on 1 April 1996 by Youth's record label Butterfly Records in conjunction with Big Life, on CD and cassette. It reached number 71 in the UK Albums Chart. One single, the title track "Democracy", was released on 11 March 1996. It reached number 39 in the UK Singles Chart. The album was reissued in remastered form in 2005 by Cooking Vinyl featuring one bonus track, a 17-minute trance remix of "Democracy".
Reception
Critical response to Democracy has been generally mixed. Adrien Begrand of PopMatters commented that on the album "the band sounds watered down". Trouser Press called the album "the wrong kind of joke – either Midnight Oil with a raspy singer or James Hetfield attempting to hijack U2 – complete with inane lyrics about 'Prozac People', 'Intellect' and 'Another Bloody Election'. Vote with your feet." Jack Rabid of AllMusic, on the other hand, called it "Killing Joke's best album in years". In Germany, the album garnered “record of the month” status in at least two magazines.
