 Blitz |Metropolis, 2009| 
1. Up Uranus (symbol), 2. Bait & Switch, 3. Davai, 4. Never Say Never, 5. Potz Blitz!, 6. People Of The Lie, 7. Being Boiled, 8. Strut, 9. Bitches, 10. Me & My Gun, 11. Take'm Out.
KMFDM has been continuing its oeuvre for the last 25 years now while a lot of bands either put in a hiatus or just quit their music activity.
Their success is probably based on the international line-up, because they come from Germany, USA and Great Britain. KMFDM has some connections to or even fascinations with Russia as well and seemingly they are loved the most out there thanks to juicy, screaming and comic like artworks along with certain fonts used, recalling those early CCCP posters amongst all.
An attraction to KMFDM has been also drawn by talented and sexy Lucia Cifarelli with her sweet-predatory voice. She also took part in such side projects like MDFMK, KGC and Drill.
KMFDM have tried a lot of ways to stay attractive to their die hard fans and gather new listeners and album buyers during their years of activity. It seems KMFDM released the biggest number of singles, B-sides, re-releases and unreleased demos amongst all of industrial rock bands. Additionally the group has always had a support of bigger record labels of which they stayed the longest with Wax Trax! and Metropolis, however both of them directed their releases to the certain groups of listeners. KMFDM owns its own record label though (KMFDM Records), and its musicians left USA to get back to Germany a few years ago.
Blitz is the sixteenth studio album in KMFDM's discography and.. not that great to me though I cannot say I've ever been a faithful fan of their tunes.
It's clear the band tried to reach a bigger number of the listeners with Blitz release and so they have modified their characteristic sound what brought to, I dare to say, pop songs as if made for ordinary radio airplays. Such tracks like “Strut”, “Bitches” or “Bait & Switch” sound too easy going and flat to me of KMFDM I have heard so far.
On the other hand, there are heavier songs on Blitz, maybe not that heavy like those released on Xtort in 1996 (their best album to me) but still I enjoyed listening to them and I'm glad they decided to follow such moods. “Up Uranus (Symbol)” and “Never Say Never” are the perfect examples with their dynamics, aggression, heavier guitar riffs, Lucia's predatory voices and general songs vibes. „Potz Blitz” sounds Rammstein-like mostly thanks (or due!) to marching rhythm and the lyrics sung in German but „Me & My Gun” reminds me some songs by Angelspit, what's not a shock considering the fact the two bands were touring together not that long time ago.
There are two surprises on Blitz as well. The first one is called „Davai” sung by Sasha in perfect Russian with a typical Russian eagerness calling the people to 'unite'. For an average Pole the lyrics sound understandable but for the Americans and the rest of non Slavic world “Davai” may sound exotic still, what actually should draw attention all around the world.
The other surprise should be recognized by the fans of new romantic music because one of the main bands of the style, besides Duran Duran and Gary Numan, was Human League and their weird song „Being Boiled” has been covered by many so far. I was always astonished why this song rose so much of an interest because it's not a typical new romantic track with its odd cold, mechanic rhythm and gloomy moods.
Additionally, Blitz album features guest appearances of Swedish musician Tim Skold (Shotgun Messiah, Marilyn Manson) and a pop singer Cheryl Wilson who had worked with KMFDM on their WWIII album before.
It's definitely a useful release for your KMFDM albums collection and a few of the songs can be easily used for both radio shows and podcasts.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
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