KMFDM

On their ninth full length album in a 14 year history of ground breaking industrial sounds, KMFDM have brought back frequent collaborator Raymond Watts (PIG) to help engineer a sonic change in course. In the past, I could always count on Sascha Konietzko and company to produce uncompromising albums that rocked hard and fast from start to finish. On this most recent effort, however, KMFDM seems to have sold out to the electronica craze. While this might seem like a natural progression for KMFDM, the result in this case is an album that is uneven and occasionally plodding. The first two tracks, "Megalomaniac" and "Stray Bullet," as well as the album’s final track, "Waste," represent the best efforts. The intervening offerings are where this album falls flat, relying too heavily on electronic samples and downplaying the guitar and drum heavy sound that has characterized KMFDM’s past successes. Listening to this album, I found myself wishing for a rocket like "Flesh" from Nihil, but coming up wanting. Unless you are a huge KMFDM fan, your money would probably be better spent elsewhere.

- Rob Kacprowicz at www.spinalcolumn.com