Disco de KMFDM: “WWIII”

KMFDM is a band whose line up is rarely consistant from one album to the next. As such there is a tendency to focus on this or that member joining or leaving the band, and how that has made, or conversely ruined the most recent release.

But let's talk about WWIII in terms of sound and atmosphere.

The immediately noticable difference between WWIII and ATTAK is the band's rediscovery of that trademark humour we assumed had tapered off after 1996's XTORT. 'Intro' particularly, is the most shameless self-referential song KMFDM recorded since 'Inane'. It might seem odd that humour should resurface amongst such serious subject matter as globalisation and the War on Terror, but wry cynicism wrapped in a cohesive concept is more than welcome. ATTAK's major weakness was that while technically dazzling, it didn't have the feel of an album constructed from a core idea. It wasn't ABOUT anything particular. In WWIII, Sascha makes a b-line for the 'axis of morons', and it is effective. The title track itself is an act of defiance; Konietzko violently frothing war on everything, from corporate dotcoms to Britney Spears. You can just about read his mind; 'while we're declaring war on things, here's MY list'. If Bush can do it, it seems, KMFDM can do it too. With some very heavy guitar.

The female vocals, care of Lucia, have improved and are best utilized in Last Things, and the backing in Stars & Stripes. Since working on her still yet to be released solo album, Lucia's singing has gained strength and lost that propensity for the interesting yet somewhat excessive falsetto and vocal acrobatics of her earlier Drill work (such as 'What You Are').

And what can be said about Raymond Watts's contribution to WWIII other than 'how can he DO that?'. Songs like Blackball give the impression that Pig has been holding out on us, and yet, it is possible Watts may have shot himself in the foot. Nonetheless, the studio sound is positively mindblowing, and should it be one third as compelling live, no fan will be disappointed. Once again, Raymond pulls his weight and then some.

Relative newcomers Steve and Joolz provide some very mean guitar throughout, and Andy's live drum over drum loops gives WWIII a kind of menace not heard from the band since ANGST.

The album is definitely not a retread of old turf, but there is a wealth of long dormant KMFDM that has been revived and assimilated into the more hi-tech noise of the Skold era. The result is hard to dislike.

I'm the proud owner of just about every kmfdm cd released to date, and i was hoping that this cd would join my collection. I had downloaded this album a few weeks before it was released, and LOVED it, however, when it was released, i noticed something odd...

WWIII is released under Sanctuary Records, wich is a RIAA member.

What is KMFDM doing, with a riaa label? I always thought of kmfdm as a sort of off-mainstream team of great artists... it saddens me to see them join the ranks of metalica, nsync, and britney spears

If you just want KMFDM, buy this CD! its a wonderfull CD

Support the artist, not the hype.

If you believe in the RIAA, or agree with them, or just tolerate them, buy the CD, otherwize, go check out attak, symbols, angst, or any of the other amazing kmfdm CDs

I'll say straight up that I think a lot of reviewers were a little hard on this album. I agree that it's not KMFDM's best, but when you think about it there can only be one best. That's the definition of the word best. KMFDM trying to compete with it's former self is like trying to compete with KMFDM's former self. Let's not forget how good some of their earlier albums were. Will they ever top 'Naive', Nihil' or 'Angst'. Probably not very easily. Most of the original band members are gone now but Sascha K. is still keeping it together.

This album does have it's strong points. It is one of their most politically charged albums. But KMFDM still manages to have the occasional humor and pokes fun at themselves at times. So in my opinion I don't believe KMFDM has lost their identity entirely.

KMFDM surprises us with their new release WWIII! And what a way to do it. I mean, this album is quite different than their latest releases. "Symbols", "Adios" and "Attak" showed a more modern KMFDM, leaving pop and guitars behind, with more room for electronic and dance sounds. These three albums came after three jewels, such as "Angst", "Nihil" and "Xtort", where Konietzko and co. grabbed the guitars and gave KMFDM a heavier approach, yet retaining the good humour and irony both in music and lyrics. So, "WWIII" is more proper of those times than what KMFDM was recently doing. Of course, some of the members that played and wrote music in those jewels are not anymore in the band, so, the vibe or the mystic of the new album is not the same, if you know what I mean (three brains think more than one).

Now lets's go to the album. I was surprised when I listened to the album. I thought that after leaving the guitars in their previous releases, KMFDM would never do a heavy album again. But I was wayyyyy wrong! The album has guitars all over it. The songs seem to have more structures, and more rhythms. Basically, the album sounds much more rockier and heavier in general, from beginning to end. With a great sense of humour, e.g.the beginning of "WWIII" (the song) with banjos and then a furious start (a la "A drug against war"), the funny vocals in "Bullets, bombs and bigotry", the fact that the last son is called "Intro" (where all the members of the band are INTROduced, with funny descriptions in the lyrics), etc. You won't find dance or electronic rhythms, all the rhythms in the album are due to the drums, that with the guitars and vocals give the album that rockier atmosphere that I was talkin' about, really different than previous releases. Sometimes the arrangements are really heavy or punk...It's a cool album, I mean, all the songs have that "something" that will make you smile (at least I did), if it's not a solo, it's a chorus. "WWIII" has different tempos and speeds, for all tastes. The album is 100% industrial metal, and should have been of of the top 5 industrial albums of the year. Some highights in the album:

1-"WWIII": a cool intro with a banjo, and then speeds up, like "A drug against war";

3-"Blackball": very nice rhythm, catchy choruses;

7-"Stars and Stripes": 100% industrial, catchy rhythms, very powerful;

8-"Bullets, bombs and bigotry": very rocky, with punk influences, coll lyrics and funny vocals;

9-"Moron" one of my favorites, talks about certain...president...with different tempos...

Anyway, this is KMFDM new album. The band has gone through so mant stages, changing their musical approach all along their career. I don't know if this will be KMFDM's future or if they will decide to do someting more electronic, I like this album, and we should give credit to a band that goes against the trends and survives the test of time, staying true to their roots... k-m-f-d-m sucks!=)

Best. Album. Ever.

Anyone still living under the illusion that KMFDM isn't a metal band needs to wake up. This is the hardest and heaviest KMFDM have ever been, and that may be just what makes this their best album ever. Even better that the mighty Nihil.

Unlike Attak, which was great, there are no clunckers here like Urban Monkey Warfare, Skurk, or Yo Ho Ho. The only weak track on WWIII is From Here on Out, which sounds like a MDFMD bonus track, and even it's OKAY - There are NO bad songs on this album!

Some fans have griped about the constant theme of war and politics on just about every song, but I don't have a problem. Think of it as KMFDM's first concept album, like Operation Mindcrime, or anything by Iced Earth. I think the consistent theme actually strengthens the album.

All the songs are great, but the standouts are WWIII, Stars & Stripes, Revenge, Blackball, and Moron. But why am I even bothering with this list, I'm serious, ALL THESE SONGS ARE GREAT! I can't remember the last time I heard such a consitently strong album.

The icing on the cake is that Raymond Watts does most of the vocals on this, making it a boarderline Pig album (which may be another reason this is their best album). But since 1999 there's been three KMFDM albums and only one from Pig. I need my fix, Ray. Get back to Pig soon!