After releasing a few singles, they recorded Killing Joke in August 1980 at Marquee Studios in London,[2] shortly after a small tour promoting the Almost Red EP.

[4] The album's lyrics were written by Coleman and Ferguson expressing their opinions on issues such as politics, death, hypocrisy, human nature, pollution and exile.

The artwork was based on a photograph by Don McCullin of young rioters trying to escape from clouds of CS gas released by the British Army in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 8 July 1971 during the Troubles.

In his retrospective review, Bradley Torreano of AllMusic praised the album, writing, "Since 1980, there have been a hundred bands who sound like this, but before Steve Albini and Al Jourgensen made it hip, the cold metallic throb of Killing Joke was exciting and fresh", calling it an "underground classic" that "deserves better than its relative unknown status".

[11] In the band's biography it was called an "outstanding debut album which captured not only their defining sound, but also the chilling apocalyptic anguish about the world to come.

"[10] Sputnikmusic called it a "post-punk masterpiece of tribal funk-rock and grinding heavy metal with suitably doom-mongering lyrics and splenetic vocals".

[20] The music critic Chuck Eddy has praised the album for its "surprisingly potent gridlock-plot avant-drone somberness, layers of fuzz over kamikaze electrobongos",[21] and has highlighted the US bonus track "Change", commenting that its music "marches the children of Ozzy's grave into land minds of dub".

Prong frontman Tommy Victor has praised Killing Joke, stating, "There is nothing phony, gimmicky or pretentious about this record or this band.