Hau Ruck

KMFDM | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metropolis Records
• ASIN: B000AMJD92
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,760 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

KMFDM have been blending and bending musical genres in the underground scene for more than 21 years. Loosely translated from German as "Heave-Ho", "Hau Ruck" exhibits that title in all its glory, musically rolling up its sleeves and getting to work with heavy guitars, dance inducing synths, and aggressive beats. As for the singing, Lucia unleashes a spectrum of vocal styles and Sascha K spews his own trademark bad-ass attitude. Lyrically thought provoking, yet humorously ironic, KMFDM skewer the world and themselves with each stab. Throwing out all misconceptions of the band and the genres they are associated with, "Hau Ruck" is their most powerful and innovative album. They produced and mixed the record themselves, thus guaranteeing a sonic redefining of their signature sound.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every day's a good day, September 22, 2005

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hau Ruck (Audio CD)

"Hau Ruck" is one of the few albums I had been eagerly anticipating all summer long. Despite being a bit disappointed in the band's last studio effort "WWIII" (it's good but it is no "Nihil"), I was still excited to hear new KMFDM. This time KMFDM delivered with "Hau Ruck". The aggressive track "Free Your Hate" kicks off the cd with its myriad of samples and ferocious synthesized beats. The industrial beats hammers into the listener's ears as if it was a jackhammer. Just a great song to blast your stereo to. I love this song. It reminds me why I fell in love with industrial music, especially KMFDM's music to begin with. The title track "Hau Ruck" is another personal favorite track off the album for me with its throbbing industrial beats. I especially dug the crushing sounds of the chorus with Sascha empathazies the song title. Of course Lucia sounds as wonderful as ever. I especially dug her on "Professional Killer" which sounded like it could have been on her solo album "From the Land of the Volcanoes". It had a nice pop sheen to the song yet it retained that trademark KMFDM sound with its minimalist industrial beats. While "Hau Ruck" may not be near the classic status of "Nihil" or "Angst", the album is one of the band's better albums in recent years.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Return of the best to their best yet !, September 18, 2005

By 

ferdolythrea "ferdolythrea" (KingOfPrussia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hau Ruck (Audio CD)

A truly sublime album from KMFDM.
Everything on this forged bit of a**kickery is godlike.
When you thought they simply couldn't top it off one more time, BANG.
Fooled us once again.
Forget NIHIL, forget everything some people here mentioned about this , that or the other.
KMFDM are truly the (sole) masters of the Ultra-Heavy-Beats.
If this is the only record to accompany me on the (proverbially)deserted island, I'd die a happy woman.

Buy it now, immediately (if not sooner) as Rusty put it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Electrocution is pop? Pun intended., September 22, 2005

By 

Michigoon "tech geek" (Mid-MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hau Ruck (Audio CD)

First up- just because I saw it in a few other reviews online- nothing about Hau Ruck is pop, and longtime fans should have nothing to worry in regards to that. Figuring out why these tracks have been labeled with "pop" at all is a mystery to me- but we'll cover that in a second.

For the rest of us, Hau Ruck starts out with an English track proudly proclaiming "the beatings will continue, until morale improves" in "Free Your Hate". The tone of the album is quickly set as you hear sounds delving a little into the experimental and near-techno, offset by a strong offering of Lucia's kickass metal growl, in addition to all the usual KMFDM staples. The title track, "Hau Ruck", follows up with a wide array of treats. German lyrics, an incredibly hooking chorus, and just a hint of classic militaristic sounds, all lead up the proud declaration of "Hau Ruck" (Heave-Ho!). Sascha, as if it needs to be said, is still ever-present and delivers most of the main kicks.

From there, the album delivers on all of KMFDM's classic notes. Songs like "New American Century" and "Professional Killer" follow up on the usual political notes. It's interesting to note that more than one person has associated "...Killer" with pop sound- a good portion of the song is a hard beat delivered behind a real-life narration of a man being put to death via electric chair. If narrating a state killing and calling the executioners professional killers is pop- then yes, I'd say things have gone pop here. I seriously doubt this is the case, however. Perhaps more people are really referring to Lucia's lusty interludes as she takes away the growl and leaves the sultry remnants, but her softness is just a counterbalance for the everpresent beat. Girls can rock too, and Lucia delivers.

"Mini, Mini, Mini" is a nice turn as KMFDM delves into a French cover, and it's one of the album's top tracks. "Feed Our Fame" journeys into a sound that seems to be the band's take on American older-school rock with heavy double-bass drumming, and it still kicks on all cylinders all the way through. The final track, "Auf Wiederseh'n" includes bongo-esque percussion, trumpet anthems, metal guitar, and a brief scream used for intense effect. Some say that all this mashing of musical tastes is a bit off-putting, but KMFDM has always played with sound in generating its industrial vibe, and this track alone is proof that they haven't let up. If anything, the mash has included more influences, and is all the better for it. Personally, "Auf Wiederseh'n" is a perfect, celebratory end to a great album.

To dip into the cliche, "Hau Ruck" is a tour de force. Lucia makes a splash with her screaming rage in "Feed Your Hate" and through her lusty vibes in "Professional Killer". Tracks like "Mini, Mini, Mini" and "Feed Our Fame" break new ground. And of course, you've got "Free Your Hate" and "Hau Ruck" with hardcore KMFDM sound. It might not be "Nihil", but for me at least, nothing ever could be. "Hau Ruck" rocks.