KMFDM – Angst (1993)

January 18, 2022

I have no idea why this is on my To Do list, as this breed of 90s “industrial” really just fills me with rage. I could go off on one here, but I’ll keep it short – how did industrial get from Throbbing Gristle, to Godflesh… to something like this?

I often jest how the 90s saw industrial turn from an outsider genre into a tag that basically means “crap dance music for goths”. KMFDM is at the foreground of this movement, and whilst some tunes are pretty damn good (the beats especially), it’s very uninspired and a bit wet, to be honest. There’s a song towards the end where your man here says he wants to die by being suffocated by some titties. And whilst I don’t particularly draw the line on that kind of subject matter, and I am aware that a lot of industrial tries to be either sleazy or sexy in its own way, this is just pure cringe. I checked out after that.

It’s worth mentioning however, having worked backwards to this, the influence I have noticed on other bands. The Kovenant for example, based their entire vocal structure and approach off these guys, with THAT vocal effect and the cutting female operatics bursting in every now and then. And, of all people, Rammstein owes a lot to this. Both Herzeleid and Sehnsucht echo the motifs present here.

Either way, it’s not for me, kids.