KMFDM
Press blurb states, "Once you've experienced a KMFDM live show, there is no turning back." Well, unfortunately, I've not had the pleasure of a first-hand experience, so have to make do with this new album, 'Live in the USSA'. Recorded during the band's stateside tour at the tail-end of 2017, I'm uncertain as to what precise show or shows the recordings are from, as neither the press sheet nor CD booklet itself actually elaborate on such. So, what we have are twelve live cuts of these industrial rock/metal stalwarts from unspecified dates in the US... or USSA, if you will!
Sascha Konietzko and his Ultra-Heavy Beat comrades are on fine form throughout these live recordings. Those expecting a creative diachrony from KMFDM's prolificacy of releases from the past 34 years might be disappointed to discover that over half of the tracks are from the band's most recent studio offering, last year's 'Hell Yeah'. But, I guess it's where the band were at, artistically, in 2017, so at least it's representative of the "there and then" stage of the band. And it happened to be a very strong album, so it's no bad thing that its tracklist features so heavily here.
The rock, metal and electronic elements, each as heavy and hard-hitting as the other, have received a perfectly balanced mix in these recordings, along with the vocals, which collectively have a hefty amount of resonance to convey KMFDM's dominant industrial impetus. Crowd noise is interposed between each track to provide that live album second-hand live experience. However, despite the great recordings on 'Live in the USSA', I'm left with the impression that you really need to be there at a KMFDM show to truly experience the essence of the band in a live setting, to genuinely "feel" their sonorous might. I guess I should finally make the effort when the opportunity next arises, and then discover whether there really is "no turning back". For the time being, this is a more than satisfying release.
Sascha Konietzko and his Ultra-Heavy Beat comrades are on fine form throughout these live recordings. Those expecting a creative diachrony from KMFDM's prolificacy of releases from the past 34 years might be disappointed to discover that over half of the tracks are from the band's most recent studio offering, last year's 'Hell Yeah'. But, I guess it's where the band were at, artistically, in 2017, so at least it's representative of the "there and then" stage of the band. And it happened to be a very strong album, so it's no bad thing that its tracklist features so heavily here.
The rock, metal and electronic elements, each as heavy and hard-hitting as the other, have received a perfectly balanced mix in these recordings, along with the vocals, which collectively have a hefty amount of resonance to convey KMFDM's dominant industrial impetus. Crowd noise is interposed between each track to provide that live album second-hand live experience. However, despite the great recordings on 'Live in the USSA', I'm left with the impression that you really need to be there at a KMFDM show to truly experience the essence of the band in a live setting, to genuinely "feel" their sonorous might. I guess I should finally make the effort when the opportunity next arises, and then discover whether there really is "no turning back". For the time being, this is a more than satisfying release.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
earMUSIC
Album
LIVE IN THE USSA
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
52:19
RELEASE DATE:
26th October 2018
TRACK LISTING
1) Freak Flag
2) Hell Yeah
3) Rebels in Kontrol
4) Total State Machine
5) Burning Brain
6) Bumaye
7) Glam Glitz Guts & Gore
8) Shock
9) Virus
10) Murder in My Heart
11) WWIII; 12) Godlike
2) Hell Yeah
3) Rebels in Kontrol
4) Total State Machine
5) Burning Brain
6) Bumaye
7) Glam Glitz Guts & Gore
8) Shock
9) Virus
10) Murder in My Heart
11) WWIII; 12) Godlike
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Germany
"...I'm left with the impression that you really need to be there at a KMFDM show to truly experience the essence of the band in a live setting, to genuinely "feel" their sonorous might."
