I always get incredibly excited when a new KMFDM is announced. They are definitely the AC/DC of industrial metal i.e. they do what they do and they do it well. Love ’em or hate ’em. For some reason when WTF?! was announced a few months ago, I got a little more excited than I usually do. They released “Rebels in Control” in December in support of Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and “Krank” soon followed. They weren’t reinventing the wheel or anything but they definitely sounded reinvigorated to say the least.
When WTF?! finally hit on April 26th, I was not proven wrong in my theory that KMFDM circa 2011 was a renewed beast.
Like on most KMFDM lately, vocal duties are shared equally by founder Sascha K. and Lucia Cifarelli and I think this is the first time that the whole package has been completely cohesive throughout. “Krank” opens up WTF?! and just slays. The electronics mixed with the razor riffs are classic. “Come on-Go Off” is my favorite so far backed by a pulsating beat and some great electro (As well as some guest guitar from Static-X’s Koichi Fukuda). It’s a modern “Drug Against War” almost complete with a classic chorus and the token KMFDM wit. When Sascha utters “Whatever you stand for, we do not”, the anarchist in you will be smiling for a long time.
The highlights definitely dominate WTF?!. There’s the techno-dance of “Take It Like A Man” that features Lucia on the lead along with kidneythieves’ Free Dominguez. “Vive La Mort!” and “Lynchmob” are both ultra-heavy beat incarnate. “Spectre” features guest vox from William Wilson of Legion Within who is a dead ringer for long gone co-vocalist En Esch. Speaking of old co-conspirators, listen to “Dystopia” closely and you might also hear the return of Bill Rieflin (Who now plays for R.E.M.).
While it’s not harkening back to the Nihil/Angst-era by any means, WTF?! is still the most solid KMFDM have been since Attak (My last favorite album by them). If you didn’t like KMFDM before then you probably still won’t but if you were a disillusioned fan waiting for the right moment to come back to the fold, WTF?! is it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgFJPYddBKQ