A key influence on industrial rock, their early music was described by critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine and John Dougan as "quasi-metal ... dancing to a tune of doom and gloom," which gradually evolved over the years, incorporating elements of dance music, world music, gothic rock, though always emphasizing Coleman's "savagely strident vocals."

Finding modest commercial success, Killing Joke have influenced many later bands, such as Nirvana, Ministry, Amen, Nine Inch Nails, Napalm Death, Amebix, Big Black, Godflesh, Tool, Prong, Metallica, Primus, Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Faith No More, Shihad and Korn, all of whom have at some point cited some debt of gratitude to Killing Joke.