KMFDM: WTF?! (2011)

Attention, all you industrial metal fans - KMFDM are back with their first studio release since 2009's "Blitz". And they're here to remind people that they have been doing this longer than a lot of other pretenders in the scene. A career that has spanned more than 26 years, 50 unique releases, 100 remixes and over 200 songs, KMFDM are a virtual powerhouse of industrial noise-making. And with WTF! they have re-asserted their place in the hierarchy once again.

Containing 11 songs of hard-edged brutality that stabs you in the ear with a persistancy that to be honest has very few equals around at the moment. Listening to yhe album reminds one of the heyday of industrial metal in the 90s, when we had bands like Cubanate, Kill2This and Pitchshifter mangling the dark, sweaty underground every day with their unique brands of insanity. Yes, to be honest it sounds a little bit dated when compared to where the scene is at currently, but it reminds the listener that the Industrial metal beast is one that refuses to lie down and take it.

Kicking off the proceedings with "Krank", a chunky little slab of nerve-shattering brutality (also their lead single), it's an album that immediately grabs you by the balls. More of the same comes from tracks like "Come On - Go Off", "Rebels In Kontrol" (which garnered attention as a protest song in support of Wikileaks), "Lynchmob" and "Spectre".However, it's not all full-ahead industrial metal on the album, there are some more progressive and slightly introspective moments on offer here, tracks to note here would be "Dystopia" (a "dreamy yet driving number") and "Death & Burial of CR". There's even a slightly, dare I say it, "pop" edge to one of the tracks, namely "Take It Like A Man" - that's if you like the idea of Katy Perry tortured and roasted alive, if you know what I mean. Lyrically also, it's typically KMFDM, all political angst, rage and intellectual observations of human nature, society and much more.

All in all, a very strong offering from the British outfit, and definitely one of their strongest to date. Should be interesting to see these tracks live and where they next go with their musical insanity. Knowing KMFDM though, I shouldn't think it'll be that long before we get to see what it's like.

Tracklist:

01. Krank
02. Come On – Go Off
03. Rebels In Kontrol
04. Lynchmob
05. Take It Like A Man
06. Viva La Mort!
07. Dystopia
08. Panzerfaust
09. Spectre
10. Amnesia
11. Death & Burial Of C. R.

8/10