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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their best, August 23, 2003
This review is from: Kmfdm (Audio CD)
When we compare KMFDM's Symbols to earlier works such as 1986's What do You Know Deutschland or 1988's Don't Blow Your Top, the band's sound now is unrecognizable from what they once were. And true experimentalists they are, leaping from genre to genre, refusing to be pidgeonholed. In fact, the one constant about KMFDM is their trademark ultra heavy beat. No matter what genre they choose to tackle, the ever present disco beat can be found, flirting with their new sound. Symbols presents a compelling twist for the band, merging both new and old as it combines the 70's disco beat with 90's techno music. And what a sound it is. Having come full cycle, finally meshing early and modern dance music, this is without a doubt the band's finest hour. The first song, Megalomaniac, sets the tone nicely for the rest of the album. Unlike previous hard rock/metal efforts Nihil and Xtort, The guitars are ever present, but pushed back into the mix as the electronics dominate. Within the first three of minutes, we've heard En Esch growling in German, Abby Travis' sultry female vocals, Sascha's unrelenting mechanical voice, Gunter's guitar work, name checking, and goofy yet tongue-in-cheek lyrics that will tempt you to sing along - all to a techno sound. Megalomaniac will raise a question mark above the heads of those who are experiencing KMFDM's work for the first time. But for those who have heard Angst, Nihil, and Xtort prior to Symbols, it will generate a smile as you bounce along happily to the rest of the song. Megalomaniac is almost an inside joke intended for the fans - in these six minutes, KMFDM tells their audience that they're still the KMFDM you know and love, but they've pursued a new direction and they've hit the nail right on the head. The second track, the mellow and slow paced Stray Bullet, is quite possibly the best song on the album. The music here is simply beautiful, and despite the lyrics, this song brings imagery of the Grand Canyon to my mind. Speaking of the lyrics, they are another reason Stray Bullet is notable. An attack on religion, this is as good as KMFDM's lyrics get. Perhaps the reason that the lyrics are so compelling is because Sascha's vocals have never sounded better. At the end of the song, his singing is unexpectedly joined and contrasted by Abby, resulting in one of the strongest closes to a KMFDM song. The third track is Leid und Elend. By viewing the track name alone, you know you're in for a treat - in all probability, it's going to be En Esch singing solo in German. Leid und Elend doesn't dissapoint, though it does surprise. Instead of hearing something angry, pulsing, agressive and Liebesleid-style, your ears are assaulted instead with the most beautiful programming ever to come out of Sascha. It's a melancholic and sad tune, yet it seems too soft for an En Esch track. That problem is solved as Gunter's guitars come in, backing the melody and adding an agressive edge to create a stunning effect. The real surprise however, is as En Esch's vocals enter the picture. The man can actually sing! After all these years of hearing En Esch growl, he has revealed a hidden and unexpected talent. It's only unfortunate that En Esch has not to date re-attempted this style of song. Regardless, for a band known for its powerful music, Leid Und Elend is the band's only succesful attempt at a ballad. Tracks four and five, Mercy and Torture respectively, are both excellent tracks in their own right, though not particularly notable. Torture, which features Ogre guesting on vocals, is recommended to Skinny Puppy fans. Ogre is not the only guest on the album, however. After taking a break from from collaborating with KMFDM in Xtort, Mr. Raymond Watts is back for an impressive guest preformance on tracks 6 and 9, Spit Sperm and Unfit. Raymond, to this day, with his rough yet strangely sultry vocals, is perhaps my favorite vocalist. I'll be damned if Spit Sperm and Unfit dissapoint, because they're some of the best tracks on the album. The former is slow, sleazy, yet guitar heavy as it builds up to an awesome guitar solo. Unfit is similar - slow, sleazy, and electronics heavy as it builds up and then unexpectedly changes musical genres in typical Pig fashion. Though this change may puzzle KMFDM fans, it is sure to please Pig fans. The third and final guest of the album is Tim Skold, lending his vocals on the almost fully electronic "Anarchy." A power ballad without substance, Anarchy is the only stinker of the album. Track eight is Down & Out, similiar to Megalomaniac in the sense that it seems to be a bit of an inside joke made for the enjoyment of long term fans. And like Megalomaniac, this song is likely to generate a question mark from casual listeners. Down & Out has a marching band theme, complete with war samples in the middle of the song. The song however, is not about war. Not even close - it's about KMFDM. Almost a threeway dialogue between En, Sascha and Abby, there are no microphone hogs. The contrast between En's growling, Sascha's mechanical voice and Abby's beautiful female vocals is excellent, resulting in some of the finest vocal preformances of this album. The last song, Waste, is the album's only real go-getter. Though the rest tracks on the album range from slow to speedy, they're all rather mellow. Fast and furious, noisy with heavy guitars, Waste wouldn't have been out of place on Xtort. A mosh pit inducing closing track for a near perfect electronic masterpiece. Tied with Pig's Wrecked, KMFDM's Symbols is one of the two finest industrial-rock/electro-rock albums ever released. It's a pleasure to award it a score of 9.5/10.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of their best, July 30, 2005
This review is from: Kmfdm (Audio CD)
This was the last truly great KMFDM album, and one of the band's best. It's pretty unanimous among fans new and old that Symbols is not to be missed. In general, KMFDM's sound sways between hard rock and techno from album to album--this particular release slants heavily toward techno. In general, everything that makes KMFDM good is present on this CD: Ray Watts, En Esch, Skold, Ogre, and Guenter provide a perfect sampling of KMFDM's major players on rotation throughout its existence to this point. Abby Travis is also one of the most stand-out guest female vocalists in the bunch. I could go through the tracklist, but must simply state that every song is top-notch, though a couple of 'em took me a bit longer to really notice. This is Sascha and co. at one of their peaks. Quit reading this and buy it.
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only album ever to be "Perfect", June 21, 2005
This review is from: Kmfdm (Audio CD)
For time out of mind, mankind has been searching for that album, the Perfect Album. The album without any skip-em tracks is rare enough, but an album made up of purely favoites? UNHEARD OF.
Even Rammstein has an off song or four per album.
The came Symbols, the album that cahnged my life. Nihil had been a GREAT album. But... Neither "Trust", "Flesh", nor "Search and Destroy" could be called favorites. Still, a solid put-the-disc-in-and-it-never-comes-out effort from the masters known as KMFDM. But one day, sitting in the bargain bin of Tower Records, I had a revalation. I has avoided buying Symbols up untill then for fear of that insidious "techno" that could make me uncool. But i gave in. The cover was too fascinating for that.
Into my CD player it went.
15 minutes later, my hands were shaking: I HAD FOUND IT! The worthy sucessor to NIHIL! Another 40 minutes and I was a convert. No more would I restrain myself to acts like Ministry. EBM was my new lover.
"Megalomaniac" was a sure hook for the disc. Who could resist such an infectous bass bleat? And those sultry, sexy, female backup vocals? And the disco-metal guitar groove? It was instantly my favorite song of all time. And each listen, another auditory layer revealed itself. As if that wasn't enough, "Stray Bullet" landed my flat on my rear. The guitar was unlike anything I had encountered before. Almost New Order, but not... quite... And the lyrics, oh, the lyrics! And the bullet sounds so cleverly placed! Another instant favorite.
But "Leid und Elend" opened my eyes. Electronica was good, bugger what my freinds said. Chugga-chugga- riffs were there, but barely. It was almsot all Keys, and I loved it totally and utterly. Who knew En Esche could sing? But before i could pass judgement, placing KMFDM under nigh-synth-pop, "Mercy" slapped me on the face, reminding me that KMFDM were industrial. And loved their grinding.
After "Mercy" came the song that introduced me to the wonderful workd of Ogre: "Torture". 7 minutes of epiphany ensued, and I have yet to be robbed of that feeling when I listen to it.
Up until "Spit Sperm", the album had been conspicously Watts-free. Thank God he returned, adding the 5th vocalist to the mix. The big rock-anthem of the effort, with the only guitar solo, and the best guitar solo ever, in my opinion. Perhaps not that skillful, but unmistakably beautiful and yet threatening, like a Dead Kennedys song.
Then Skold.
Many people hate him, and I fully understand why, but I... I love "ANARCHY"! Just... awesome and awe-inspiring. 'Nuff said.
And now the rock opera, "Down and Out", with a nice switchoff between Sascha, Esche, and Travis, to brilliant dramatic effect. Fun, with a very catchy hook. And the return of the horns I loved so much on "Disobedience"! Follow that with Unfit. Antoerh song that people somehow think is a stinker, that i find one of the best ever by a human being. The bass is swirling, as Watts croons, then the song abruptly and brilliantly changes... A great song that succedes at making me feel like I'm flying.
And the best closer to an album ever. Initially blamed for Columbine before Marilyn Manson was scapegoated, Waste is the heaviest guitarless (or at least unrecognisable) song I have ever heard. And the shortest song on Symbols. But brilliant, fast, angry, and leaves you an an upnote, and unusual thing on truly excellent albums.
KMFDM's best work is concentrated into 56 minutes of joy here. Buy it. Disappointment is impossible.
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