WWIII [PA]

Performer: KMFDM
Engineer: Jules Hodgson; Marc Heal; Raymond Watts; Sam Hofstedt; Sascha Konietzko
Producer: KMFDM
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: KMFDM includes: Sascha Konietzko (vocals, synthesizer, bass, programming); Lucia Cifarelli (vocals); Jules Hodgson (guitar, banjo, programming); Andy Selway, Bill Reiflin. Recorded at Gulag, Soundhouse, Kommandozentrale and The Pigsty, Seattle, Washington. Personnel: Sascha Konietzko (vocals, synthesizer, drums, programming, loops); Bill Rieflin (vocals, drums, snare drum); Andy Selway (vocals, drums); Cheryl Wilson, Lucia Cifarelli, Raymond Watts (vocals); Julia Hodgson (guitar, banjo, strings, piano, synthesizer, drums, programming); Curt Golden (harmonica). Audio Mixers: Chris Shepard; KMFDM. Recording information: Chicago Recording Co (03/1996); Gulag (03/1996); Kommandozentrale (03/1996); Ranch Apocalypse, London, England (03/1996); Soundhouse (03/1996); Studio D, Chicago, IL (03/1996); Studio X, Seattle, WA (03/1996); The Pigsty, Seattle, WA (03/1996). The most frustrating thing about WWIII is that it's so darn inconsistent. Kicking off with the Atari Teenage Riot-sounding and George Bush Jr.-sampling title track, WWIII sounds like it's going to be an inspired affair. The Bush-led Iraqi war has given KMFDM plenty of fuel for their disdain toward America circa 2003, so listeners with differing views will find little to like about the lyrics. On the fierce "Jihad," the band paints the human race as "a dying species" that is "poor sick dumb numb feeding on feces." Lucia Cifarelli's vocal and songwriting contributions are excellent (the forgettable tracks don't feature her writing), and her near-pop "From Here on Out" ends up as the highlight of the album. The nihilism keeps up until the silly "Intro" roll-calls the band � la the B-52's' "Song for a Future Generation," and of course, closes the album. It's a cute little ditty, but it's almost dumb enough to wipe away any chance of taking the rest of the album seriously. There's about five or six songs' worth of truly great KMFDM with the just-right combination of churning guitars, symphonic keyboards, and stern vocals lesser bands imitate. Perhaps in a race to be topical, WWIII too often sounds rushed and unfinished, with material that KMFDM's followers would pass on. ~ David Jeffries

Alternative Press (p.156) - 3 out of 5 - "This is a politically potent set list..."

The German industrial dance act KMFDM were one of the first bands to recognize the link between the mechanical ferocity of industrial music and the unrelenting rhythms of the dance floor. Although they formed in Germany in 1984, they soon made a name for themselves in the United States as one of the premier bands on the seminal Chicago industrial label Wax Trax. While their popularity faltered a bit in the wake of more cartoonish American versions of KMFDM's aesthetic, the band's influence on industrial music can not be underestimated.

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