KMFDM - Money

Wax Trax! Records/Metropolis: 1992/2006

Going from KMFDM's latest release of In Dub, to... well, not their earliest release. Much as I generally like this band, I don't think I can handle ultra-raw early-ass industrial rock. Or I may, the allure of What Do You Know, Deutschland? too tempting to resist forever. Still, I'm dipping back far enough, into a time I know little about.

Like a vast majority of folks not steeped in industrial, I learned of KMFDM's existence after they were swept into the TVT Records fold when the New York print bought a flailing Chicago print in Wax Trax! Records. As Sascha and co. were signed to Wax Trax!, they benefited from TVT's marketing, the label quite aggressive in pushing and promoting its bands wherever they could (looking for the next Nine Inch Nails their biggest incentive, no doubt). It was this greater exposure that clued folks like me into some wildly thrashy EBM beats lurking on the fringes of the dankest clubs.

All that didn't actually happen until their album Angst though. Instead, we're taking a step back to the prior record, Money, the last of the Wax Trax! Proper era. And what a fitting album capturing the tumultuous times with their labels, because hoo-wee, the band was going through its first of many tumultuous times as well. Even if you knew nothing about the behind-the-scenes going-ons, you'd have to suspect something wasn't quite right in KMFDM-Land.

Things kick off fun enough, the titular opener bringing bombastic riffs and orchestral stings before settling into funky EBM boogie. Things carry on about in typical KMFDM fashion, if a little more primitive compared to their later work, as would be expected. This album also has the distinction of being the first appearance of Dorona Alberti, who's vocals would become just as much a definitive part of the band's peak years as any amount of Sascha screaming and Günter Schulz shredding.

As Money plays out though, one can't help but get a sense the songwriting is a bit lacking. Rather than full-tilt buttrock industrial, things seem to settle into repetitive loops, music more in service of clubbing fodder. If you didn't know better, you'd assume Money was just a stopgap of EBM dance remixes, the care and attention paid to actual songs absent.

Fortunately, the liner notes help you to know better, a perfectly legit reason for this album coming off as two halves, one of which is incomplete. Turns out this was supposed to be an album of two halves, the first written by Sascha, the other written by band co-founder En Esch. When submitted to the label, however, they basically rejected En's material, leading to a splitting of the duo (they later reconciled), leaving Sascha to cobble together some new material to make the album's due date. Given all that, it's remarkable the extra tunes turned out as reasonably well-off as they did, but yeah, don't go into Money expecting similar highs as the rest of KMFDM's '90s output.

KMFDM - In Dub

Metropolis: 2020

Industrial rock and reggae dub hand in hand? It's not as daft an idea as first glance suggests. Both have roots in the realm of studio sonic experimentation, and several artists have paid nods and tributes to the other scene's taste-makers. There's even been ample examples of the two merging with winning results, Kevin Martin's The Bug probably the most obvious example, at least where this blog's concerned.

And while KMFDM made their mark in the '90s with a brand of EBM they self-described as Ultra Heavy Beat, Sascha K. wormed elements of dub in sporadic works as early as the 1989 album UAIOE. Clearly that fell by the wayside as thrashy guitars and aggro techno came to dominate the KMFDM sound, but it's never left his muse. All he needed was an opportunity to fully explore it. Eh, some global thing has made touring impossible for a while? That'll do.

Thus unlike many other 'in dub' albums out there, KMFDM's In Dub was produced completely in house, Sascha manning the console himself. While it would have been interesting to hear some radically different takes on KMFDM tunes from some of dub music's prominent producers (ooh, a Bug rub on Anarchy would hit just right, I wager), Mr. K. handles himself well enough. He's got all the standard tropes of reggae down pat – the heavy reverb on languid drums, the wobby-bobby basslines, the trumpet fills, the organ fills... and not much else, to be honest. Sure, he works in his shouty vocals, Lucia's singing, and chopped-up guitar action as featured in the original tunes he's bigging the dub up on, but doesn't push the envelope further than that. I mean, a full-on reggae dub version of KMFDM songs is plenty 'nuff envelope pushing where this band's concerned.

Alright then, which tracks are getting the In Dub treatment then? Some good ol' classics like Juke Joint Jezebel, Power, Glory, Terror, Apathy, Megalomanical? Ah, we kick off with Angst's kick-off, Light. Hmm, don't recognize Superhero, Uranus or Bumaye, but here's A Drug Against War, also from Angst. Then... uh huh... uh huh... huh. I don't recognize anything else at all. I know I've barely scratched the surface of the totality of KMFDM's catalogue, but surely more would have been included from the agreed-upon 'golden era'. What gives?

But yes, aside from the two Angst tracks, everything given a redubbing on In Dub comes from the band's post-2000 era, after En Esch and Günter Schulz had left. Despite some dozen albums being released, I'm wholly unfamiliar with this phase, and I'm not entirely sure I'm inclined to explore it much.

Which doesn't mean I don't enjoy In Dub for what it is. In fact, maybe I like it a little more, convincing myself these are mostly wholly new creations intended for this release? Mm, nah, I'm not so naive. It's a fun diversion, though you definitely need to be on that reggae dub vibe to get much out of it.

KMFDM - Symbols

TVT Records/Metropolis: 1997/2007

This could have been my first KMFDM album, in another timeline. When Symbols came out (yes, I'm going with that – it's simpler), it was right at that sweet spot of having more music buying options, and my tastes still somewhat in flux. Bands like Fear Factory and Type O Negative were catching my ear just as much as anything from The Prodigy or The Chemical Brothers. I knew of Sascha K.'s band thanks to their soundtrack contributions, which would often be enough for me to explore further, if any of their music ever made it out into the Canadian hinterlands I resided. Surprisingly, Symbols did, and there's no way anyone could miss that iconic Brute! artwork. For whatever reason though, I passed on it, someone else ended up buying it, and that was the last anyone ever saw of a KMFDM CD in that town. Tale as old as time.

A shame, because had I nabbed Symbols when I had the chance, it may have changed my entire sense of self-identity. Okay, not really – being a 'raver' in ass-backwards Canuckistan was weird enough, so becoming a rivithead just wouldn't fly. Still, if any album had a chance at wooing me to the haXz0r-side, this would have had a good go of it.

Symbols is often regarded as KMFDM's 'electronica' album, where heavier influences from techno beats and synthy sounds override the shredding. No doubt Günter's guitar work sounds drastically reduced compared to previous albums, that rockabilly boogie and metal thrash that made classics of Juke-Joint Jezebel and Ultra is mostly absent, but he still has moments to shine. Spit Sperm shreds between the stomping arena-rock chants, while Mercy gets in a little woogie-wiggle. I wish I had more to say about the extra attention paid to the electronic side of KMFDM but I dunno'. Feels like the song-writing got overstuffed as a result.

As I understand it (via the re-issue liner notes), this album's creative process was a bit of a mess. All the band members had greater input, plus many more outside artists contributed to the project, which would explain why it sounds like so much more is going on. Meanwhile, everything but the vocals had to be redone in the studio when the original recording sessions were lost, and as anyone who's had to redo something creative can attest, it's almost never as good the further you get from that initial spark. Long time fans have claimed Symbols marked the end of peak-KMFDM, and hearing it in contrast to the tightly written previous three albums, it's hard to deny.

Fortunately, some bangers still keep the album in discourse. Anarchy remains a great anthem for those PO'd days, Megalomaniac will always have its fans thanks to Mortal Kombat, Waste reminds everyone the band haven't forgotten their odes to gabber, I've a soft-spot for Unfit's boogie, and Stray Bullet... *sigh* Could have retained classic status in another timeline.

KMFDM - Angst

TVT Records/Metropolis: 1993/2006

I've decided the best way to experience KMFDM's discography is to jump back and forth from their critical peak Nihil. Or forth-and-back, in this case. I do this because, well, why not? Most often folks will do the chronological dive into a discography, or the 'best reviewed' descent. Why not change that up a little? Sure, I'm technically also starting from the band's agreed-upon pinnacle, but how about I spread out my exploration like an expanding glacier? Simultaneously discover where KMFDM went from Nihil while also learning of their growth. At the very least, it's a different way of doing this.

Thus I've come to Angst, KMFDM's seventh album and regarded as a major turning point in the band's history. Wait, doesn't every one of their albums leading up to this one have that claim as well? Rephrasing: the final step in a lengthy staircase of musical evolution. This was where the heavy industrial rock that marked much of their '90s output fully solidified, getting them noticed by all the metal heads who never really jived with the electronic side of industrial before. Just throw some screeching guitar shredding in there, and the long-hairs will feel right at home with the rivetheads. Also, make sure you let it be known that, despite coming from Germany, you're currently residing in Seattle – the instant credibility of the city made it the '00s Montreal of early '90s rock, or something.

Weirdly, I don't have much to say about Angst. For sure the guitar licks are a hoot, and apparently the band became so enamoured using them that they'd bring multiple guitarists on stage during the tour. Unfortunately, KMFDM don't quite sound at the level I'm most familiar with, the production still a tad flat and basic compared to Nihil and Xtort. Which shouldn't be unexpected, since this is an earlier album than those. And I'm sure when I finally deep dive into KMFDM's actual early, under-produced work, this will sound light years ahead of the game. Whatever, tunes like A Drug Against War and A Hole In The Wall shreds with the best of industrial thrash, and what metal lover wouldn't get tingly feels over the solos in Move On? This is a guitar album above all else, the backing drum tracks and lyrics secondary to the glory of the ol' six-stringer.

Oh yeah, I guess that's another thing that's kinda' lacked for me on Angst, the lyrics. Most of it revolves around the same ol' industrial tropes of evil overlords, fighting revolutions, and the like, but played seriously almost to a fault, lacking the sense of fun other KMFDM songs have. About the only tunes that lyrically stood out for me was anything Dorona Alberti sings on, 'cause that gal's got some pipes, and really shines on The Problem. Then there's Sucks, KMFDM basically having a jolly ol' pisstake at their own expense, including such nuggets of comedy gold as name-dropping some of the artists their acronym supposedly hates. I LOL'd.

KMFDM - Xtort

TVT Records/Metropolis: 1996/2007

KMFDM were on the verge of a mainstream breakout, the likes of which seldom seen in the industrial scene. Like, if teenagers in the hinterlands of Canada were now familiar with your tunes, it wouldn't take much to push your careers into the rarefied air breathed upon by Trent Reznor, Rob Zombie, and Al Jourgensen. Never mind that such commercial popularity is antithetical to the industrial mantra, you gotta' grab that brass ring in the one opportunity it comes around. Naturally, in their follow-up to the breakout album Nihil, KMFDM did the only sensible thing an industrial thrash-rock band should do: step back from the brink of all that was commercial and untrue.

Oh, Xtort was still a commercially successful album, indeed their highest charted record ever. That's almost certainly due to the positive buzz previous singles like Juke-Joint Jezebel generated though, all that hot soundtrack licensing getting folks into the stores searching for the latest KMFDM album. The turnaround from Nihil to Xtort was quick though, the band's ninth album hitting the shelves just a year after (and Symbols came a year after that ...KMFDM were a studio machine in the mid-'90s). Thus when folks were looking for the latest KMFDM album, it was probably Xtort they first saw – the return of iconic Brute! artwork didn't hurt either.

If you fear you're inching just a tad too close to the domain of pop, however, then one must get back to the raw, aggressive thrash that could only be loved in the underground. And KMFDM done did that, Xtort one of the heaviest albums the band had produced to that point (ever? I haven't heard enough of their post-2000 material to know otherwise). That didn't stop TVT Records from aggressively promoting the album, not to mention 'suggesting' the band make at least one radio friendly jam in lead single Power. Band leader Sascha Konietzko makes no bones it's a “dumb and catchy” tune, what with an ear-wormy hook and 'soul-mama vamping' singing from Cheryl Wilson on the chorus. Didn't stop him from making a similar track in Inane though. Really, Mr. Konietzko seemed to have a lot of fun both praising and trashing Xtort in his own promotional cycle. Oh, you know there were some doubters creeping into the fandom following their crossover success – the industrial scene's ridiculously anal about such things. Why else would Sascha do such a pisstake on Xtort's promo?

Then you get outright thrash tracks (Apathy, Son Of A Gun), the jack-booted industrial stompers (Ikons, boogie groover Rules), some nods to the burgeoning digital hardcore sound (Craze, Blame), plus a couple spoken word portions too. Dogma has anarchist poet Nicole Blackman spouting some anti-establishment rhetoric over thudding, marching beats, while secret song Fairy is a cheeky, dirty children's tale recited by Jr. Blackmale over piano. It'll make you laugh, if not blush.

So a solid album, all said, KMFDM delivering a properly aggressive response to their commercial success. Take that, wishy-washy fans!

KMFDM - Nihil

Wax Trax! Records/Metropolis: 1995/2007

About time I started up a KMFDM collection. They were only the first industrial band that caught my attention because Mortal Kombat obviously, but also all those eye-popping CDs with brutalist comic-art covers didn't hurt either. Truthfully, I was intimidated by the artwork, not quite ready for their aggressive, thrashy take on discotech rawk. That Juke Joint Jezebel jam though, always got my jimmies jostlin', and you can imagine my fanboyism upon discovering they used footage from the Patlabor movie for the music vid. I figured I'd get to their output eventually, but industrial remains rather fringe where my tastes are concerned, something I hope to rectify over time. Have to start somewhere though, and while Nine Inch Nails, Fear Factory, and Front Line Assembly have provided a taste, it's about time I give Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid their due.

And as Nihil is the album that has Juke Joint Jezebel on it, it's only natural that I'd pick this one up first. No, wait, that's not it. I got Nihil because, as their most commercially successful album, it's clearly The Only KMFDM Album You're Supposed To Have, Even If You're Not A KMFDM Fan. Haha, no, it's a good reason, but that's not it either. I got this first because of a totally unrelated situation that will be made clear incredibly soon.

Thing that's always struck me as crazy with this band is how American they sound. Maybe their earlier work was more Teutonic (I haven't heard any of it), but much of the stuff I've come across always had this 'buttrock' vibe to it, like they were fully committed to American gutter riffs, gospel glory, and cyberpunk sleaze. This may have been in part to their moving to the States, the industrial scene a different beast here compared to Europe. Opening track Ultra (also made popular by anime) is a propulsive beast, with shouty lyrics and abrasive guitars that'll get all the longhairs whipping their heads about. Flesh, Trust, and Search & Destroy go even thrashier, the sort of tunes that makes me hype to just attack something, like a punching bag or my dishes.

KMFDM haven't forgotten their EBM roots though, tracks like Beast, Revolution, and Brute getting down to thumping, jack-boot rhythms as cyberpunk samples and electronics play out – probably could have made handy soundtrack fodder if Juke Joint Jezebel hadn't hogged all the glory. They even find time to slow things down to a grinding chug with Terror (that hook!), and... is that a ballad with Disobedience? Well, about as mellow as they'll allow, vicious sonic attacks still bridging the mellow parts.

Given their history, it's remarkable KMFDM hit upon such a success eight albums deep, though they'd been building plenty of good-will for most of the '90s too. Maybe it was the added input of former band member Raymond Watts to the mix, or maybe just feeling inspired by the West Coast scenery they relocated to, but whatever the case, Nihil remains peak KMFDM.