Killing Joke – Democracy / Re-mastered using 48 bit techology. Includes bonus material / Cooking Vinyl Audio CD 2005 / COOKCD345

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Democracy is the tenth studio album by English post-punk band Killing Joke, released on 1 April 1996 by Butterfly Records and Big Life.

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 musician Geoff Dugmore returning once more on drums. Dugmore shared mutual friends with the band hence joining the group. 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.

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