KMFDM = Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid No pity for the majority
KMFDM was an industrial band that originated from Europe in 1984. They came out with the demo Opium then, which in turn circulated through the clubs of Europe. It was very well received, and two years later, they came out with their debut album, What Do You Know, Deutschland? The response to this album was good enough to facilitate a follow-up album two years later called Don't Blow Your Top.
At this point, the group consisted of essentially three men: Sascha Konietzko, En Esch, and Raymond (AKA Nainz) Watts. The first two were core members of the ever-evolving lineup while Raymond Watts remained a force to be reckoned with, be it while finding time to lend a hand on some KMFDM songs later (He disappeared from KMFDM from 1988 till 1994), or while working on his own menacing group, Pig.
They met up with more people after the making of Don't Blow Your Top. One of these men was Rudolph Naomi, a drummer. The other was a Jamaican MC by the name of Morgan Adjei. While Morgan was never heard from again after their next album, UAIOE, Rudolph stayed with the group through what many call KMFDM's initial breakthrough, an album called Naive. While UAIOE had some nice songs with added guitars, more concentration on the beat, dub mixes, and good blends of metal and rap, Naive was far superior. This album had more guitars, with new guitarist Gunter Schulz (AKA Svet Am), heavier songs with danceable beats, better song structure, and one of the most blatant rip-offs of a Slayer song in history (In the song "Godlike", the main guitar riff is the same as a riff in the Slayer song "Angel of Death".). Through an unfortunate technicality, Naive was discontinued because it turns out KMFDM had used a sample in one of their songs that they didn't have permission to use. They reissued a new version of the album four years later (under the title Naive: Hell To Go), with remixed songs and remastering. The most valuable part of the production of this album, though, was the addition of Gunter Schulz to the group. Gunter stayed in KMFDM with En Esch and Sascha up until their breakup. Without Gunter's guitar wizardry, KMFDM could never have been as heavy and menacing as they turned out to be.
KMFDM recorded Money in 1992. This album was a departure of sorts from Naive, in that there was less guitars and more dancy techno tracks. The image they tried to convey shone through a bit more on this album, with song titles like "Under Satan", "Sex On The Flag (Jezebeelzebuttfunk Mix) and "Help Us/ Save Us/ Take Us Away", and a more urgent message than their previous efforts.
Angst was the name of their follow-up. For KMFDM, this was the point of no return. The album was intense with shredding guitar riffs and breakneck beats. You can't even try to compare songs like "A Drug Against War" or "Sucks" to anything KMFDM had done up to that point. "Sucks", in itself, is a well-meaning joke on KMFDM with lyrics like, "Our music is sampled. Totally fake/ It's done by machines 'coz they don't make mistakes.", "We won't sell to a major for a couple of bucks/ No doubt about it, KMFDM sucks."
Raymond Watts made his way back into KMFDM with the advent of NIHIL, their seventh release. Raymond sang on over half of the tracks for NIHIL. Together, they delved deeper into the styles of metal, with help from guest guitarist Mark Durante. For KMFDM, this was their commercial breakthrough. After recording this album, their songs showed up on the soundtracks of many anime flicks, and their first single for NIHIL, "Juke Joint Jezebel", was heard on the Mortal Kombat Soundtrack. Now KMFDM gained their biggest audience ever, with people all over the world becoming their new generation of fans.
KMFDM came back with a vengeance in 1996 with the release of XTORT. Within the songs of XTORT you get a glimpse of the darker, seedier side of KMFDM. XTORT starts out bright with "Power", but later on they get down to being vindictive with tracks like "Dogma", "Ikons" and "Wrath". The sinister, surly properties of this LP make it a must-have for all KMFDM fans. And for all those who don't like KMFDM but are still pretty weird in the head you still can't pass up the secret track, a fairy tale of sorts gone totally amok...
Note: I drew this pic myself back in 1999. Hope you enjoy it.
The symbols above are the title to KMFDM's 1997 release...
This album was one of their best all-around albums, with guest appearances from Michael Bassin (Treponem Pal), Nivek Ogre (Skinny Puppy), Raymond Watts, Abby Travis (Beck, Elastica, The Abby Travis Foundation), and Tim Skold, who subsequently joined the band.This album probably enjoyed the most success since it maintained a position on the charts that was respectable for a fairly underground band. The only things to say about the album are as follows: Diverse, Dancy, Outstanding, Cool As Hell.
Finally, after fifteen years of "Ripping the System", and three months before coming out with their 1999 release, Adios, Sascha Kegel Konietzko declared, "KMFDM is dead" and started a month-and-a-half long media blackout After the media blackout, Sascha stated that KMFDM broke up, and from it's ashes he would start his new band, MDFMK, on a new label. The members of MDFMK at the time of the announcement were Sascha Konietzko and Tim Skold, but later an additional member, Lucia Ciffarelli (Drill), joined the roster. Adios was still released, and the album showcased Sascha and Skold, mostly. Special guest appearances were made by Nivek Ogre, once again, and Nina Hagen (The Nina Hagen Band). Adios makes a worthy enough farewell KMFDM album, but the sad irony in the title comes from the fact that the title was supposed to reflect the fact that they were going to drop their longtime label, WaxTrax! Records, for a different one. At the time the title was announced, nothing was known of the impending breakup of KMFDM. So much for that...
In 2000, MDFMK came out with their eponymous debut album. The band MDFMK is a bit different from KMFDM for a few reasons, mostly because there is more of an aural onslaught of synthesizers, and the guitar stylings by Skold could never be anything like Gunter Schulz's. Still, the spirit lives on in MDFMK...
But... hey, wait a minute. As of April 2001, they're BACK! More news on this later...
Okay, apparently KMFDM is back in action, but it is not really KMFDM as anyone knows it, as it were. The only real member that remains is Sascha. Lucia Ciffarelli, Raymond Watts and Tim Skold are also in the new incarnation, along with Bill Rieflin (who appeared in several KMFDM albums for percussion, and was also in Ministry and Revolting Cocks) and Dorona Alberti (a female backup singer for some other KMFDM albums). To the dismay of many is the fact that En Esch and Gunter Schulz are not present in the new KMFDM. Only time will tell if KMFDM will ever live up to it's legacy again. (COUNT ON IT! -ed.)
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