KMFDM - Nihil (1995)^{Release ID: 1706}

Remember when I mentioned that one of the songs in my August Sphere playlist ended up in the soundtrack for Bad Boys? Well that movie came on TV earlier today (as of this review) and that was the incentive needed for me to give this album a listen and a review. How did it go? Well, where do I begin...

Album #8 from KMFDM, Nihil is where the band started adding a bit of that metal groove into their industrial sound. They've also become more of a collective than a band, with En Esch and Sascha Konietzko gathering many guests throughout the years. Even their image has become powerful, thanks to the visual marketing that includes comic-style cover artwork from Brute. Except this album's cover art was made by guest drummer Bill Rieflin's wife Francesca Sundsten (both passed from cancer at age 59, RIP).

Busting through is the nearly flawless opener, "Ultra". After that is the anthem "Juke Joint Jezebel", the most popular song from KMFDM, selling over a million single copies, and the aforementioned song that appeared in the Bad Boys. A remix version is also in the Mortal Kombat movie. You can really dance along to some parts, much more than Nine Inch Nails, especially the disco-sounding choir led by guest vocalist Jennifer Ginsberg. "Flesh" is slower in the verses, but speeds up in the chorus and definitely towards the end. "Beast" has choruses you can sing along to.

The political-sounding highlight "Terror" thunders through with industrial metal guitar. "Search & Destroy" is one of the more destructive songs here, while having some of the catchiness infecting the album. "Disobedience" is perhaps what really stands out the most in the album. It's not a ballad, but it sounds the closest to one. In saying that, it's one of the greatest highlights here.

"Revolution" cranks up the heavy power once again, but not before things get heavier... "Brute", named after the cover artist of almost every other KMFDM album, is more brutal while staying melodic. "Trust" has another female sung chorus by Dorona Alberti, "Do what you can, what you want, what you must, feel the hunger inside, don't lose your trust", which has a funny similarity to Steely Dan, and is ironic during the battle for idealism that ends up getting lost. The hidden title outro is rather pointless, but I guess it helps makes sure the album doesn't end too abruptly.

Nihil can be considered the core of KMFDM's industrial intelligence that has helped the band fly in the mainstream realm, far beyond their peers. Alongside founders Esch and Konietzko shining throughout, vocalist Raymond Watts and guitarist Gunter Schulz make colorful contributions above the artful production. Compared to industrial metal's usual abrasiveness, KMFDM have a more polished sound, proving that they can be more than just noise. Still they know how to control their striking impact....

Favorites: "Ultra", "Juke Joint Jezebel", "Terror", "Disobedience", "Brute"

So this is the first I’ve delved into  KMFDM in a long time. I bought “Angst” back in 1993 since I liked the track “A Drug Against War,” but was disappointed because the rest of the album wasn’t as fast or aggressive. “Nihil” is closer to what I was expecting, but it still doesn’t grab me. I think the problem (or one of the problems) is that it leans a little to close to techno/house/rave music. I have nothing against music being danceable, and it’s really par for the course for everything on this end of the Industrial spectrum. But at times it’s just straight dance music without any heaviness, as opposed to late 80s/early 90s Ministry, which works in the disco AND the pit. There are a lot of clean female backing vocals, sometimes they blend well, but at other times they contribute a lot to the music just being too poppy: I do not like “Juke Joint Jezebel,” for example. Thing is, if the songs were catchier, I’d be fine with the pop element, but the whole thing is kind of bland. “Flesh” and “Search and Destroy” are okay, thrashier and more uptempo, kind of what I was pursuing to begin with, but nothing special. On the plus side, I do kind of like “Revolution” and “ Trust” towards the end of the album (this is where I think the femme vocals blend well - still really poppy though). Overall, I’ll pass.