Any year KMFDM produces a new LP tends to be a good year for Industrial music. I mean look at this year so far: 3TEETH, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, 16Volt, and Ohgr (who’ll be sharing a stage with KMFDM on tour this Fall) alone all have released something or have new music in the pipeline. Hell, KMFDM put out an EP in addition to this upcoming LP already!
I’ve often said that KMFDM are like the AC/DC of Industrial Rock: They’re consistent and persistent and you know what you’re going to get each time you put on a new record. And that’s a great thing! AC/DC is legendary as is KMFDM at this point. Led by the incomparable Sascha Konietzko along with his usual cohorts (Andy Selway, Steve White, Jules Hodgson, and Lucia Cifarelli), this well oiled machine is set to level expectations with their twentieth (!) album.
HELL YEAH is, quite simply, the greatest KMFDM album of the 21st Century. Brimming with excitement and electronic ecstasy as well as ferocious guitars and potent lyrics (The only good thing about “45” are the resulting albums/songs to come in protest), KMFDM hits a new stride on their latest.
The lead single, title track, and album opener is all that and a bag of chips. And then some. If this song didn’t pique you’re interest initially then turn back now. “FREAK FLAG” is a signature Lucia track but grooves with a renewed intensity until “OPPRESSION 1/2” turns up the Reggae influence (Yes, Reggae) before “TOTAL STATE MACHINE” pile drives you with riffs reminiscent of NIHIL‘s heavier offerings as Kap’n K spews lines like “Your government hates you”. Hmmmm, wonder what he could be talking about? It’s one of the most memorable and lasting heavy tracks KMFDM has penned in recent years.
“OPPRESSION 2/2” picks up where “1/2” left off as it ambles its’ way in right after until the synthetic driver “MURDER MY HEART” bounces in giving listeners a small reprieve before more of the Ultra Heavy Beat consumes them. “RX 4 THE DAMNED” drops later and is one of Lucia’s most vicious performances as well as one of the greatest showcases of her lyrical flow while “BURNING BRAIN” shows off Konetzko’s vocal prowess.
HELL YEAH is a very different KMFDM record, for sure. More synthetic, more varied styles and hands down one of the most interesting KMFDM releases of the past decade. The penultimate track, “ONLY LOVERS”, doesn’t even sound like a KMFDM! And believe you me, that’s not a bad thing at all as Cifarelli drives the track that undoubtedly proves why she is still one of the strongest vocalists in modern music today. “GLAM GLITZ GUTS & GORE”, on the other hand is KMFDM through and through. Well, not quite. It’s like a cybernetic futuristic KMFDM with a frenetic intensity as Kap’n K barks lyrics at you and ends the album as impressively as it started.
HELL YEAH is out through earMUSIC on August 18th. Pre-orders are available here and here. If you like the sounds on the record then be sure to catch KMFDM as the tour incessantly this Fall with Ohgr, including a stop at the annual Cold Waves Festival in Chicago. For dates and more, head here.