Review: Skold vs. KMFDM
See Article on: www.kmfdmrecords.com!
Once upon a time, Chris Connelly had dreadlocks, tall German dudes with shaved heads were intimidating and Ministry was not a so-so Thrash band. Back in that oft-lamented time known as “the day,” the sounds that emanated from the “Industrial” music scene came to most of our ears thanks to Chicago’s sorely missed Wax Trax! Records. Genre-defining Wax Trax! bands like KMFDM, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Revolting Cocks ushered in the powerful second wave of Industrial music, a scene first established in great part (despite their constant denials to the contrary) by the infamous Throbbing Gristle.
Now, if you’re reading this, I have to assume you already know all of the above paint-by-numbers historical bollocks by now. With that said, let’s get down to the point of this review:
Skold vs. KMFDM is not only the best Industrial album released this decade, but a glorious reminder of what made this genre so exhilarating in the first place.
Those of us of a certain age remember Tim Skold as the bassist/vocalist for Shotgun Messiah, a late ’80s Swedish hair metal band that took every embarrassing cliché about that genre to its most preposterous level. A few years down the line, Skold reconstructed Shotgun Messiah into a fairly decent Industrial Metal act, as showcased on 1993’s criminally ignored swan song, Violent New Breed. Keeping on the same track as his former band’s farewell release, Skold issued a solo disk before establishing a true name for himself in the genre through his work with late’90s-era KMFDM (and its short-lived offshoot, MDFMK), Skinny Puppy’s Nivek Ogre and, most notably, Marilyn Manson.
Since 1984, Sascha Konietzko has been the creative force behind KMFDM, a group responsible for some of the most groundbreaking sounds of the 1980s and early 1990s. (Don’t believe me? Listen to 1990’s Naïve or 1992’s Money for starters.) After a lengthy time apart, Skold and Konietzko have joined forces once again – with mind-blowing results.
From the Bill Leeb-esque deadpan drone on album opener “Why Me” to everything on the 21 tracks that follow, Skold vs. KMFDM plays like an opened time capsule, bringing back a welcome flood of memories of attending ‘90s Goth clubs and having to stay up until midnight on Sunday to see a decent video on 120 Minutes. For those of us disappointed with what has become of Al Jourgensen’s sonic empire over the last 18 years, Skold vs. KMFDM brings us back to a time when Industrial music was the sound of endless possibilities unfolding.
And if that ain’t enough to make you want to shave your head, put on a wife-beater and slam a snare drum with a chain, I don’t know what is. (Joel Gausten)