Kmfdm

The second volume of KMFDM’s singles/rarities series, Extra, presents early 1990s tracks by the renowned German industrial-rock act. Highlights include multiple versions of the pulsing “Help Us/Save Us/Take Us Away” (from 1992’s Money) and various mixes of the scathing “Light” (from ‘93’s Angst). For KMFDM diehards, this is a welcome way to help complete the band’s extensive catalogue. ~Allmusic

The “ultra heavy beat” sounds as “ultra” and “heavy” as ever on WTF?!, the 17th studio album by industrial juggernauts KMFDM. Drum machines pound, slogans are chanted, and guitars slash through speakers as they always have, with the only real differences being a tighter, lower bottom end, perhaps influenced by the stadium techno sound favored by the European hardcore crowd. Whatever the source, these newly tuned beats inspire vocalists Sascha Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli to roar unrestrained, driving home the simple hooks of “Krank” and “Vive la Mort!” with a new lust for life, or better yet, death, as the topics are as dark and desolate as fans require.

Having built up both their reputation and their increasing musical range over earlier releases, the members of KMFDM brought it all together on the brilliant Naive, one of industrial/electronic body music's key albums and a great blast of entertainment from start to finish. The self-referential qualities evident from earlier songs like "More and Faster" came to the fore with the brief "Welcome," literally doing just that for new listeners, and from there KMFDM does everything from four-to-the-floor beats to Wagnerian epic metal and back again.

Extra, Vol. 3 is a rarities double album by KMFDM, released on October 8, 2008. It is the last of a three volume, double-disc set collection of tracks that were not included in any of the ten KMFDM Classic albums.

Having built up both their reputation and their increasing musical range over earlier releases, the members of KMFDM brought it all together on the brilliant Naive, one of industrial/electronic body music's key albums and a great blast of entertainment from start to finish. The self-referential qualities evident from earlier songs like "More and Faster" came to the fore with the brief "Welcome," literally doing just that for new listeners, and from there KMFDM does everything from four-to-the-floor beats to Wagnerian epic metal and back again.

XTORT doesn't sound markedly different than KMFDM's other releases – there are still the bruising mechanical drum beats and numbingly drilling guitars, combined with barked vocals. What's noticeable about XTORT – their first album since industrial broke into the Top 40 with Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral – is how the band made no concessions to the pop/rock mainstream whatsoever. They are still the same grimy, dank heavy dance band they were in the '80s. For some listeners, that means they're keeping the flame burning and, to a certain extent, they'd be right – KMFDM sounds as good as they ever have, and several tracks rank among their best.

Proto-Industrial stalwarts KMFDM are nothing if not prolific, both with its ferocious-melodic creations and the myriad remixes that follow. A two-disc set, EXTRAS VOL. 1 is the first installment in an attempt by goth-kings Metropolis Records to chronicle all the highly sought-after bits and pieces that never made it onto their previous full-lengths, including remixes by Adrian Sherwood and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. ~allmusic

84–86 is a double compilation album released by the industrial music band KMFDM in 2004. The album's 27 tracks on two compact discs were recorded from 1984 to 1986 but previously unreleased on CD. Certain noted selections have never been released at all prior to this album. Personnel featured on this recording include Sascha Konietzko, En Esch, Jr. Blackmail, Nico Blank, "Tamsi" Tamsjadi, and several others. ~Wikipedia

Due to copyright problems with samples used on the original version of KMFDM's 1990 album Naive, the album was taken out of circulation shortly after its release. It was reissued in 1994 as Naive/Hell to Go, with the offending samples deleted and several of the tracks remixed. If you've got the original, with the orange cover art, you're lucky – it is rare and highly sought after. Even still, this version of Naive (with green cover art) is worth having, thanks to its radical recasting of "Virus," "Godlike," and "Leibesleid." ~Allmusic

Like Ministry, KMFDM has attracted listeners who aren't necessarily big fans of industrial music. Abrasive, noisy and dissonant, Money hardly qualifies as easy listening. But compare this excellent CD to albums by Skinny Puppy and the seminal Throbbing Gristle, and you'll begin to see why Money was considered to be much more accessible by comparison. The aggression of industrial noise is there, but so are elements of heavy metal, Euro-dance music and hip-hop. And the overall results are as infectious as they are unpredictable.