Reviewed by: Darklight

KMFDM broke up a couple of years ago and became MDFMK. Well, now they’re KMFDM once again and signed to Metropolis Records. ‘Attak’ is their first full-length offering since ‘Adios‘, and it’s a good return for them.

This overall recording sounds like a blending of the ‘Nihil’ period as KMFDM, and their most recent incarnation as MDFMK. Sascha Koneitzko, Tim Skold and Lucia Cifarelli are still the main three members of the project, with guest musicians such as Raymond Watts contributing to a few of the songs.

As with most KMFDM albums, there is definitely a lot of variety here. Some tracks are hard and heavy with brutal guitar thrashing and drum slamming combined with angry shouting male vocals, while others are more dark and melodic created mainly with electronic programming, synth melodies and female vocals. So the overall album does a superb job of delivering a nice contrast of different styles. But for the most part this is still KMFDM with their traditional sound of raw industrial crunch with a lot of guitars. Not a lot has changed over the years, but I still find their sound to be unique and appealing.

Each song offered here is good and entertaining with a lot of different things happening within them. KMFDM makes good solid hard driving songs that are easy to listen to and enjoy. If you are a fan of KMFDM and MDFMK then you pretty much know what to expect from this album.

Reviewed by: Darklight

KMFDM are calling it quits and this is their farewell album. This CD sounds like a compilation as opposed to one band doing all of the material. The songs "Adios", "D.I.Y." and "That's All" sound like traditional KMFDM songs, without a lot of the really heavy guitar riffs. But these are about the only songs here that sound anything like KMFDM. The songs "Sycophant", "Today", "R.U.OK?" and "Rubicon" sound like SKOLD songs. Tim Skold provides the vocals which make these songs sound like his previous solo work. The song "Witness" is the strangest track here with odd music, sci-fi lyrics and Nina Hagen on vocals. The song "Full Worm Garden" sounds like a SKINNY PUPPY song with Ogre providing the vocals. The song "Bereit" sounds like RAMMSTEIN with a heavy and aggressive industrial punch combined with German vocals. While at first I didn't know what to think of this CD with so many different styles and sounds, it grew on me after several listens. Now I actually like it a lot as every song here is good. The songs that stand out the most are "Adios", "D.I.Y.", "Today", "That's All", "Full Worm Garden" and "Rubicon". This is probably the most electronic KMFDM release yet because guitars are barely ever heard in these songs. Everything is still rather fast paced with energy that is heavy. But the music doesn't rely on thrashy guitars to give it that feel. Electronics, synths and drum programming make up the majority of music heard here. If you don't expect this to be a typical KMFDM sounding release and you give it a chance to grow on you, I think you will like it.

Reviewed by: Nicholas

In the last few years I have been given only (at best) more of the same or (at worst) a change for the worse when it comes to KMFDM's albums. This CD marks a pleasant surprise, as they have finally made the break from a guitar dominated industrial rock band to a hard electro sound with guitars coming in for layering but never overpowering. They have managed to retain a few of their trademarks, most notably those catchy melodies suitable for humming, while integrating a much heavier and thicker programming structure. Sascha and Tim Skold (who autographed preordered copies of the CD like my own) collaborate on the programming and vocals for most of the songs, with Bill Rieflin even showing up as a programmer instead of a drummer. The first three songs prove that KMFDM are back. This is the best work I've heard them do since Money, and is actually better if you don't take into account the change in the electro world since then. They sound good on your stereo since they have a lot of bass, but don't miss out on the chance to listen to all of the great effects on your headphones. I was completely surprised by how much I liked this CD, but I suppose that was because I was prepared for disappointment by last year's rushed work (since the original was destroyed), collection of songs I've heard a million times (RETRO) and a compilation of songs better left unheard or unreleased (AGOGO). Just when I was about to award them an "A" for best comeback record in industrial, they brought back one of their trademarks that I didn't care for. This would be the use of heavy vocal elements as the basis for a song rather than the music. I was hoping that I would be able to make it through this CD without soulful female groaning or wailing, but I guess not. Thankfully, Ogre makes a surprise appearance (didn't we all hear he was not going to be on this one? Why didn't he sign my CD?!?) on not one but two tracks, "That's All" and "Full Worm Garden". If you liked his last work with KMFDM but want a more Puppyish sound, you'll find it in the second of those tracks where his vocals sound very nice. You should definitely pick this album up, for it will restore your faith in this band. They still have a little improvement to make, but they are definitely headed in the right direction now. We're back to the days where you can put a KMFDM CD in the player and hit repeat!

Reviewed by: Darklight

Instead of giving this album an actual name, KMFDM has decided to go with five symbols for its title. The symbols include an explosion, skull & crossbones, a bomb, a spiral and a fist. This is original if nothing else. However, the music presented here isn't quite as original. Right when the first song "Megalomaniac" begins you know that this is KMFDM. The same style of electronics and guitars that they are known for is present here right from the start. Electronics and drum programming are the main focus. The guitars aren't as dominant like usual. The vocals are the typical Sascha Konietzko style where he basically talks out the lyrics in a deep and distorted voice. The standard female background vocals come in toward the middle of the song and remain until it ends. I like the song, but it's nothing that you wouldn't come to expect from KMFDM. Song two "Stray Bullet" is very good. It begins with electronics and acoustic western guitar. Sascha brings in his vocals in a deep and relaxed style. The song begins to rock when the chorus kicks in with heavy thrashyguitars and aggressive singing. It calms down after this thrashy assault for a short while and then explodes into action once again. Song three "Leid Und Elend" starts off with high pitched electronic sounds and then before long thrashy guitars and drum beats join in. The vocals are performed by En Esch and are all sung in German. This song is good, but it doesn't really stand out. It's rather straight forward and repetitive. Song four "Mercy" has a Nine Inch Nails sound to it. It mixes melodic singing with angry yelling, electronics, guitars and drums. It rocks, but is kind of generic. It doesn't offer anything new or different. Song five "Torture" begins with malfunctioning electronics that are joined by noisy scratchy sounds, drums and distorted vocals. While this song doesn't sound like standard KMFDM, it still isn't very exciting or memorable. It's good for the most part, but doesn't include as much variety as I would have liked. Song six "Spit Sperm" sounds like Marilyn Manson. It's very guitar thrashy with angry evil style vocals. It's a great heavy and aggressive song. Song seven "Anarchy" is very electronic with Tim Skold doing the vocals. The music is very well done and catchy while the vocals bring in emotion. I like it a lot, but it's a bit out of place on this album. There's just nothing about it that makes it sound like a KMFDM song. Song eight "Down And Out" is easily one of the best songs on the album. It's a pure electronic song with catchy rhythms and beats combined with a great mixture of both male and female vocals. This song proves that KMFDM can create their unique sound without flooding their music with thrashy guitars. Song nine "Unfit" has a slight techno vibe to it with sci-fi electronics combined with dark synths and catchy drum beats. The vocals are sung in a deep growling hip-hop style. This is another well done song that doesn't rely on guitars to carry it along. Song ten "Waste" is scratchy and noisy mixed with guitars, heavy drum beats and extremely distorted growling vocals. This is another hard and heavy aggressive guitar thrashy song with a lot of anger in it. It's good, but nothing original. I like this album for the most part. It does show growth and change for the band. But it doesn't flow quite as smoothly as some of their past efforts have. It delivers songs that sound like past KMFDM, a more mature KMFDM and even nothing at all like KMFDM. While this is great for variety, it does make the album a bit difficult to enjoy easily and fluidly from start to finish. Maybe if the songs were put in a different order things would have been better. While this album isn't quite as good as I was hoping for, it's still a very quality effort that will please KMFDM fans.

Reviewed by: Darklight

This album has a lot of variety on it. No two songs sound alike. Some don't even sound like KMFDM. The first song "Power" is a heavier and more aggressive "Juke Joint Jezebel". It's catchy and fast paced. The songs "Apathy", "Inane", "Son Of A Gun", and "Wrath" are extremely aggressive straight forward thrashing guitar assault madness at its finest. These four songs are definitely the most aggressive songs to be found here. "Rules" is probably the most traditional KMFDM song to be found here, but it's also the most dullest as well. "Craze" mixes jazz elements, yelling vocals, heavy guitar, and haunting goth female background vocals. "Dogma" mixes female spoken word with bursts of guitar and screaming male vocals that are included in-between the poetry reading. "Blame" mixes some stylistic male and female vocals with guitars, drums, and jazz horns. "Ikons" is a cool goth song that is a nice change of pace for KMFDM. As you can tell from this review, each song includes something unique that makes it stand on its own. This is the most varied KMFDM album yet.

Reviewed by: Darklight

The very first thing that KMFDM fans will notice about this album is that the cover art isn't done by Brute. But that should be an indication that this isn't your typical KMFDM album. This album is extremely hard and heavy with thrashy guitars, slamming drum beats, fast paced electronic rhythms, and screaming mad vocals. "Juke Joint Jezebel" is the only song out of place on this album. It's a techno dance club song featuring both male and female vocals with an overall disco flavor. But the other nine songs presented here are extremely anger fueled with aggressive assaults of angst all throughout. The guitars and drums are definitely the up front instruments. But there are some great uses of electronics and synths in the mix as well. A couple of songs feature both male and female vocals, and it works rather well. Each song sounds different with their own unique aspects that make them stand out. But each song does tend to play along at the same fast pace. These songs are very catchy, but do have a very serious edge to them that is usually not present in KMFDM songs. I personally think that this is KMFDM's best album yet. It will appeal to fans of harder and angrier guitar driven Cyber-Core music.

Reviewed by: Darklight

KMFDM produces an original sound. They are a hard and heavy guitar based industrial band with deep voiced male vocals, melodic female background vocals, and catchy dance floor techno beats all combined into one. This album includes all of these ingredients to dish out some of the best industrial songs that you have ever heard before. Songs like "Light", "A Drug Against War", "Blood", and "Glory" are the type of songs that you will play all of the time. The songs "Lust", "Move On", "No Peace", and "A Hole In The Wall" are good, but a bit slow paced. The song "Sucks" is catchy, and is good for a laugh. The only song that is out of place on this album is "The Problem". It's extremely slow and melodic with female vocals all the way through. This album definitely has a lot of variety on it.