On January 22, 1999, the industrial metal act known as KMFDM announced that its life as a band was over. Shortly after this decision, KMFDM founder and frontman Sascha Konietzko signed his new band, MDFMK, to Republic/Universal Records. No matter how you spell it, the music is still full force industrial metal. So who’s in or out of the new lineup? Well, Tim Skold remains on board for MDFMK, while En Escht and Gunter Schulz are out doing their own projects. Sascha wants to keep making music but under a new name; MDFMK is sort of a tribute to past accomplishments.
I hate to compare MDFMK to KMFDM, but this debut is lacking the intensity of Xtort and Angst. Crunchy riffs and electronic circuitry are still the heart and soul of Sascha and Skold’s musical repertoire. Insert the band’s first single, “Rabbit Rouser”, for the best of what the band has to offer. It’s industrial metal with heavy and raw riffs that are totally relentless, just like it used to be. “Rabbit Rouser” is a good choice for the first single because it brings the old fans back and creates the potential for a new following.
Sascha and Skold are complete tech heads; they use a long list of samplers, processors, and synths to hammer out their industrial strength metal. When you first listen to “Be Like Me”, you might think your cd player is whacked! There’s a series of looping and serious programming done to give an effect that sounds as if the cd is actually skipping. It’s cool if you can appreciate the work that was put into it. The same applies to the industrial drum and bass of “Control”. The open lyrics and slow cringing riff are straight out of the brain of Sascha: “Fight the power and the power will fight back.” Very interesting song.
At times, there’s too much going on electronically with this record and the band seems to fall into a developing cycle. I think this is the first record that is often too complex to listen to because of all the different electronic sounds coming and going; it’s hard to focus on the main drive of the song. When I listen to it, I sadly fast forward to hear the thunder of guitar riffs instead of waiting for the song to unfold.
Rating: 4 / 10
+Ls
