A to Z 2017: KMFDM

Okay, so by now you may be noticing a trend leaning towards Industrial music. I can't help but love it! Though I'm including various genres throughout the challenge, Industrial is leading the charge and KMFDM — hailing from Germany — adds another mark in its favor.

I'm sure I first heard the band on some movie and/or its soundtrack, another theme you've likely noticed throughout this series. I know one song appeared in both Bad Boys and Mortal Kombat, which are two movies high on my watch list! Here's "Juke Joint Jezebel":

So these guys have a lot of albums. Well over fifteen and that isn't really including single and remix CDs (which are really common for Industrial bands). What I'm getting at is with only sharing four videos I'll barely be covering a slight fraction of their work. One song I need to include is one of my favorites and another that appeared on a soundtrack. "Ultra" from their album, Nihil, and featured in Street Fighter 2 The Animated Movie:

I love that animated movie! And it's pretty cool that KMFDM has music associated with both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, rival IPs in the gaming industry. I was lucky enough to see KMFDM live at a smaller venue years ago and it was a great show. At first I didn't think they were going to play "Ultra", which for some reason I thought was named "Fire", but they eventually did and it made my night!

Both of those songs above were from Nihil, which was released in 1995, so lets push forward a decade or so with "Amnesia" from their release, WTF?!:

Who knows what was going on in that video, with its tentacles and all, but there was fire so it made for a decent transition. I have to say that their sound hasn't really changed much throughout the years, which I'm okay with.

Throughout those same years, however, KMFDM have swapped up their members, disbanded and reformed, and come under some heavy criticism, such as being accused as an influence connected to some major known school shootings. To be fair, Marylin Manson, Rammstein (another German band), and others were also thrown into the same pot. I'm glad that they pushed through it all and continued making music.

Their last release, Our Time Will Come, was in 2014. I'm unfamiliar with it so I will just grab a track randomly! Here's "Salvation":

Yep, still sounds like the good ol' days!

With their track record, I'd imagine KMFDM is due for another release soon, so I'll be keeping my eyes wide shut!

Did you enjoy the songs/videos? Are you familiar with KMFDM? Do you have a favorite song and/or album? Have you ever seen them live? If so, how was the performance? Do you remember the controversy over their music and tragic events?