Review Summary: KMFDM once took the pain to write a really good album.
This review is written a couple of weeks before the release of “WTF !?” the new KMFDM album, in 2011. For those who have listened to “Krank” or “Rebels in Kontrol”, the hope of hearing an album that would hold comparison with “Angst” has probably already died away, or was there any hope in the first place ? Long and honest KMFDM fans can admit easily that the band is not what it once was: ambitious and daring. We all hope not to see the day when the meaning of “KMFDM Sucks” will be ambiguous amongst the fans themselves. It has not yet come but after the very redundant but yet agreable “Hau Ruck”, “Tohuvabohu” and “Blitz”, one can be worried that “WTF!?” could be the album that will add “weak and uninspired” to “unoriginal.”
So let’s look back in perspective at “Angst”, arguably their best album. It was released in 1992 and displayed a departing from the previous albums. The music is far more metal oriented on “Angst” than ever before and the guitars are given a lot of room to express themselves whereas the electronic part stand back. It is hard to know which guitarist is to be missed, Günter Schulz or Mark Durante but the guitars never were as enjoyable again. A song like “A Hole in the Wall” perfectly exemplifies the astonishing efficiency of the guitar work. At the first listen, it sounds horribly repetitive and pretty forgettable but the song actually hides so many variations, layers, unexpected ambient riffs and solos that it ends up being one of the most addictive songs KMFDM has to offer. It is even more impressive considering the simplicity of the riffs. From this point of view, “Sucks” is equally an impressive song. Thrown at the face of the listener like a self-complacent joke, it reveals itself slowly as a very solid track. Noticeably, the over-repeated and over-simplistic main riff manages not to become repetitive because the song has absolutely no structure and goes nowhere. Unique parts come and go and revolve around the main riff like satellites. That’s where the appeal of the song lays. There are no choruses or verses and they were never missed that less. If the lyrics seem pretty inane, in the end they perfectly fit the song which can be taken as an anti-single anthem and a provocative affirmation of freedom and talent. The last line: “We won’t sell to a major for a couple of bucks, no doubt about it KMFDM sucks.” Could be reformulated: “We consider the music that is popular as mediocre. So our music, which we find great, will certainly not be considered good by most people. F**k them.”
“A hole in the wall” and “Sucks” are not the only songs blessed with numerous layers of guitar riffs and unexpected parts. All the songs on the album have a touch of randomness about them which give them depth. “Angst” is indeed less accessible than KMFDM’s other very good album “Nihil.” The latter is still interesting but the structures of the songs have gone the opposite way, everything is predictable and square and much of the fun has disappeared, not to talk about “Blitz” on which the only song that dares stray from the structure of a single is “Being Boiled”, the cover. The instrumental part is thus very solid on “Angst” and solid is the word because although the result is not perfect the work accomplished gives depth to the record and a huge replay value which “Tohuvabohu” or “Blitz” don’t exactly have.
On the vocals part, Sasha is at his best, which will never be incredibly high. He truly shines at several points but the listener will wish he could sing at some others (Light, Sucks). Raymond Watts is not credited for the album on KMFDM’s website, but Sasha is certainly not singing on Blood. En Esch appears on “Lust” and sings in german which gives the song a different feel from the others. And last but not least, Dorona Alberti gratifies the record of her wonderful performance. Her warm voice gives humanity to the songs, something Lucia‘s cold voice fails to do. Again, it is to be deplored that KMFDM now tends to split the songs in two groups on each album, those sung by Lucia and those sung by Sasha. On Angst, the cohabitation of the different styles of singing works very well, adds depth and prevents the monochord male voices from becoming boring.
Before talking about the highlights of the album it must be said that there is no bad song on “Angst.” “Light” is not astonishing and is weight down by some flaws but it still conveys this feeling of enthusiasm and excitement that is present on every track of the album. It is followed by “A Drug Against War” which has become one their most popular song and has had several children since like “WWIII”, “You’re No Good” or “Saft und Kraft”. Yet, it is far from being the most beautiful track there. “Glory”s heavy beat is one of the things that get the listener addicted to the record. Along with “A Hole in the Wall”, “Blood”s taste of industrial metal is delicious. The organ in “Peace” makes it sound a bit outdated but it is still a very good track. The vocals are beautiful and the guitar is allowed to thrill the listener. “The problem” is certainly the best closer any KMFDM album ever had. And as for “Glory” and “Peace”, the serious lyrics help. Eventually, “Move on” is arguably their best song ever. A climax, or emotion is not exactly what you expect from a KMFDM song. It sounds grand, important, serious, sad… they cannot possibly have done this on purpose.
KMFDM is still a great band, and its members are undoubtedly talented but looking back at such an album, it cannot be denied that the band is not in the same playground anymore. The guitars are still cool, but there is nothing of the excitement that can be found on “Angst”. Lucia is a good singer but she cannot serve the band as well as previous female singer could. Sasha’s vocals are still good (and the politically involved aspect is still here) but Raymond Watts has not delivered one of his wonderful performances for a long time now. Sasha’s ultra heavy beat is undoubtedly still here. He hasn’t lost his hear for catchy sounds. That is certainly why the band can still be called KMFDM and is still alive.
But there used to be so much more.
“Blitz” is a pack or crisps, good, tasty crisps but crisps nonetheless; “Angst” is a ten courses meal, let’s hope “WTF!?” is not going to be a peanut.
