Release Date: 13 October, 1993
Audio CD
Tracks
- Light
- Drug Against War
- Blood Evil [Mix]
- Lust
- Glory
- Move On
- No Peace
- Hole in the Wall
- Sucks
- Problem
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Rating 4.5
Hold No Head Higher than Your Own!KMFDM has put out so many delicious albums since the inception of that now-infamous moniker, and have developed a mainstay of fans since they bulleted to chart-topping heights and helped pull Wax Trax to new levels. Their earliest pieces (What do you Know) were a little on the crude side when it came to developing their sound, but the 90s brought out a KMFDM that knew how to throw its muscle around into guitar-driven political/industrial. This refinement begins to show within works like Money and is especially evident in works like Angst and Nihil, where KMFDM seems to lose a lot of the theatrics of the past and "finds its way."
And that way, as we all know, can be compressed in the words "Rip the System."
With Angst, KMFDM hit stride and dropped quite a few tracks that have become staples in their line-up. As an album it gets me pumped up when I listen to it, having so many great tracks on it and also possessing a flow from start to finish, proving that they are a powerhouse in the genre to contend with. The energy they have is electric and contagious, and it gets the day started off right.
Hitting some highlights:
"Light" kicks things off and showcases the turn KMFDM is taking. KMFDM is a self-hyping vessel too, and one that likes to say things about themselves. That's one of their charms and it starts early. The track also works to say that this isn't going to be a softer, more touching KMFDM, and I it. It's spawned an army of singles (the cover on Don't Blow Your Top is Amazing) and simply is a tasty "treat for the freaks." "A Drug against War," was huge when it came out, getting some video play before the little KMFDM "incident" that happened between the band and MTV, and it was noticed with good reason. It is perhaps one the most driven KMFDM tracks, has the political message KMFDM becomes synonymous with, and the vocals are pounding. "Strong than never, ever before, KMFDM is a drug against war!" Yeah. "Blood(Evil-Mix)" is a nice sound, dark in its own right and still staying with the flow of the album, and I like the vocal distortion used here. "Hold no head higher than your own." "Lust," powered by En Esch's German vocals, is utterly amazing. I love the way he sounds and I have to say that the song goes right up there with some of the best. "Glory" is also a great one in the KMFDM line-up, kicking in the political overtones. "Black man, white man, yellow man; Rip the System!" "A Hole in the Wall" is a little flavorful sexy taste, one I like, and most KMDFM listens are acquainted with "Sucks!"
As anyone familiar with KMFDM will tell you, the line-up shifts a lot and some "pros and cons" show up depending on what album you're in. So, the first thing to do is find what you like about KMFDM and then trace the line-up. I personally miss Raymond Watts on the albums he doesn't take part in and seek him out, sometimes like or dislike Lucia depending on how much of my supposedly Sasha-driven feel, and I still don't know about Skold (not that it currently matters) even though I liked Symbols. I also miss En Esch quite a bit these days (even though his side-project Slick Idiot is entertaining), thinking he added a touch to the songs driven by German lyrics. Still, the albums all comes together in their own right and any are nice to try out. This is a great example of some Sasha/ En Esch fusion, an perhaps a starting point if you like the sound portrayed herein.
"War and slavery, exploitation; the common thesis of a western nation."
KMFDM SUCKS FOREVER!!!!!!Without a doubt, one of the best guitar/electronic albums ever. It remains one of KMFDM's crowning acheievments, in that it's both experimental and also extremely memorable. The entire album is amazing, but if I was going to pick two of my fave tracks from the album, they would have to be - Light and Move On. LONG LIVE THE ULTRA-HEAVY-BEAT!!!!!! a pinnacleThis is where KMFDM finally got it right. A GREAT combination of electro- dance beats and heavy guitar riffing. Although some of the songs suffer from slightly silly lyrics, which can be seen as either ironic or ignorant, the music speaks for itself.
Unfortunately, it was all down-hill from here..... |
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