Customer Reviews

WWIII (World War III)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I was skeptical about buying this album. I was worried that the new KMFDM line up wouldn't work out. The new lineup for "Attak" was interesting, good (but not as good without En Esch or Shultz) but nothing amazing. And now, with the loss of another KMFDM member, Skold (loved and hated), I wasn't sure KMFDM could keep it's strength and the "ultra heavy beat". Wow, was I wrong.

"WWIII" is definitly one of the hardest rocking KMFDM albums ever. No, I'm not just sucking up to KMFDM, it really is that good. It ranks well up there with the other top KMFDM albums (Money, Angst, Nihil, Symbols) and is far greater than the later KMFDM albums. What makes it better?
-There are no bad, or "skipper", tracks on this album
-A fantastic blend of metal guitar riffs and industrial beats
-A clear and definitive point and theme to the album
-No bad vocals(like some Skold tracks)
-A cool cover
Here's a closer look at the tracks:
1. WWIII (World War Three) - beginning with a redneck "Deliverance"-like banjo/guitar it leads into a fast paced guitar riff much like "A Drug Against War". Great lyrics, not too thrilled with Lucia's vocals on the chorus. 8/10
2. From Here on Out - a Lucia song, great vocals, catchy 7/10
3. Blackball - an amazing techno intro followed by some stellar Pig vocals and great German parts added in. Standout track. 10/10
4. Jihad - obvious reference, but your average loud, political KMFDM song. Nice drums. 6/10
5. Last Things - another great Lucia song, much better than most MDFMK songs that she sings in. Another great example of the combination of industrial and rock. 7/10
6. Pity for the Pious - a slower tempo, but Watts (aka Pig) makes this song great with his bassy vocals and "dirty" feeling. 8/10
7. Stars and Stripes - fantastic song. Great combo of industrial and rock, fabulous guitar riff, and great political feeling. Standout track. 10/10
8. Bullets, Bombs & Bigotry - fast paced hard rock song, pretty good, not my favorite 7/10
9. Moron - obvious reference, very catch 8/10
10. Revenge - another great Pig song, nice guiar riff, songs heightens as it goes along. 9/10
11. Intro - extremely funny. Sascha goes around and introduces the band, with awesome lyrics and music. Best part is when he introduces himself. Supposively an "Intro" to their next (!) album. Standout track. 11/10

If you like KMFDM or any other hard rock/industrial music, BUY THIS!!!!

People can say what they want about Esch and Schultz being gone.

Personally they're better off. Since they left, KMFDM's sound has been drastically changing, and that's what I want to hear in an artist. I get sick of "same old" syndrome.

Two of the founding members are here (say what you want about PIG but he's been in with em' for long enough to be called a founder.)

SOund-wise it's a perfect melding of the "old" and the "new." I'd suggest it to both a new KMFDM fan and an old fan. There's also a new song in the vein of SUCKS that really works. Just buy it and listen to it already... :-)

I really must confess that after I purchased Attak, I was convinced KMFDM was dead. The old spark just didn't seem like it was there. I blamed it on En Esch's abscence, and gave up that I would ever hear anything like Nihil again.

However, I walked by the local record store and was looking through and noticed that WWIII was out. On impulse, I bought it, just to confirm my suspicions. From the beginning of the opening track, I knew I was just plain wrong. If Attak wasn't your favorite, just try them again. One more time. Some of my favorites are "Last Things", "Blackball" and "Pity for the Pious".

KMFDM is back, bow to the warriors!

Once again, the masters of industrial mayhem have done it again. If you thought ATTAK was heavy, WWIII is heavier and then some! Whereas ATTAK had some songs that were more electronic than rock, WWIII, in many respects is more rock than electronic. WWIII continues along the lines of ATTAK, only with more aggression and focus. Plus, the majority of songs are sung either by Raymond Watts (a.k.a Pig) or Lucia. Sascha (the mastermind behind KMFDM) sings on the last song "Intro" (really funny I might add). All the current members share songwriting duties as well. It appears that KMFDM has continued to thrive without En Esch and Gunter Schulz (original members, don't get me wrong, they were essential to the band at one time). With WWIII, KMFDM are definitely headed in the right direction with their new sound. KMFDM are definitely not fading from the music scene anytime soon. MUCHO respect to these guys!

I got into KMFDM the same way a lot of people did: by listening to "Juke Joint Jezebel" in the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. "Nihil" and "Xtort" became my favorite albums and although the following ones had quite a few good songs, none was able to surpass "Nihil"... until "WWIII" came out.

Right from the start, when you hear the first seconds of the title track, you may get the impression that their sound has drastically changed but make no mistakes; at the minute 00:55, KMFDM unleashes hell in epic proportions, spreading bursts of flames throughout the rest of the album and only putting out the fire at the very end of "Intro". Simply put, "WWIII" is brilliant! As far as "ultra heavy beat music" goes (yes, didn't you know their music can't be labelled?), this is the shiniest gemstone ever produced. Combining heavy guitars, pounding drums and even some unusual instruments (banjos, harmonicas and even an orchestrated piece in "Blackball") with powerful lyrics based on a well-defined theme (the american "empire" and the war on Iraq), the results couldn't be better. This album will surely fill you with energy whenever you're feeling down or upset with all the sick news you hear on television.

As for the tracks, I must say there is only one track i didn't enjoy: "Pity for the Pious". The rest is pure gold; "WWIII" - the title track - is fast-paced and brutal, sampling sounds of war and parts of G.W.Bush's speech on post-9/11 terrorism. Sascha, the lead singer, takes a chance to rant about all the things he hates in the world, without forgetting Britney Spears.

"From Here on Out" and "Last Things" are lighter and perhaps a bit radio-friendly but still full of angst and with great lyrics. Lucia Ciffareli's voice is what actually highlights these two.

"Blackball" brings us back the techno-metal fusion that made KMFDM so infamous in the past. This song had a creepy melody alone, but when the orchestrated part came along, it made me shiver! "Jihad" is a marching riot, a military anthem for the fanatic followers of any idealistic regime (samples of Adolph Hitler's voice give a hint that this song isn't just criticizing the islamic fundamentalism but the western ideals as well). "Stars & Stripes" aims at the american so-called patriotism and almost makes you wonder that KMFDM wrote this song with Michael Moore...

"Bullets, Bombs & Bigotry" is yet another speedy rock song, but with a strange 1950's feel to it. Try to imagine this as a harder version of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" :)
The album ends with a somewhat late "Intro" which is your standard "KMFDM song about themselves" and is probably the most hilarious one they ever did!

All in all, a surprisingly outstanding album. Definitely worth a listen.

KMFDM is a band whose line up is rarely consistant from one album to the next. As such there is a tendency to focus on this or that member joining or leaving the band, and how that has made, or conversely ruined the most recent release.

But let's talk about WWIII in terms of sound and atmosphere.

The immediately noticable difference between WWIII and ATTAK is the band's rediscovery of that trademark humour we assumed had tapered off after 1996's XTORT. 'Intro' particularly, is the most shameless self-referential song KMFDM recorded since 'Inane'. It might seem odd that humour should resurface amongst such serious subject matter as globalisation and the War on Terror, but wry cynicism wrapped in a cohesive concept is more than welcome. ATTAK's major weakness was that while technically dazzling, it didn't have the feel of an album constructed from a core idea. It wasn't ABOUT anything particular. In WWIII, Sascha makes a b-line for the 'axis of morons', and it is effective. The title track itself is an act of defiance; Konietzko violently frothing war on everything, from corporate dotcoms to Britney Spears. You can just about read his mind; 'while we're declaring war on things, here's MY list'. If Bush can do it, it seems, KMFDM can do it too. With some very heavy guitar.

The female vocals, care of Lucia, have improved and are best utilized in Last Things, and the backing in Stars & Stripes. Since working on her still yet to be released solo album, Lucia's singing has gained strength and lost that propensity for the interesting yet somewhat excessive falsetto and vocal acrobatics of her earlier Drill work (such as 'What You Are').

And what can be said about Raymond Watts's contribution to WWIII other than 'how can he DO that?'. Songs like Blackball give the impression that Pig has been holding out on us, and yet, it is possible Watts may have shot himself in the foot. Nonetheless, the studio sound is positively mindblowing, and should it be one third as compelling live, no fan will be disappointed. Once again, Raymond pulls his weight and then some.

Relative newcomers Steve and Joolz provide some very mean guitar throughout, and Andy's live drum over drum loops gives WWIII a kind of menace not heard from the band since ANGST.

The album is definitely not a retread of old turf, but there is a wealth of long dormant KMFDM that has been revived and assimilated into the more hi-tech noise of the Skold era. The result is hard to dislike.

I was blown apart when I heard this CD.

I really like all of KMFDM's work including the side projects MDFMK for example, its not to say that I have some dislikes, I do.

With so many contributing artists I have pretty much enjoyed every album they have done since I started following there work with the album "Money"

The "new" lineup on the album "Attak" was good but the album was not a #1 hit for me, I preferred Symbols and Nihil to it, which on those albums featured En Esch and Guenter Schulz. It was still a good album but I eagerly waited for the next....

The next album (WWIII) has completely obliterated me...I'm stunned at the raw energy and power. I rate this on my top three. If you like KMFDM or any of this style of music buy WWIII now. It is already a classic.

I'm the proud owner of just about every kmfdm cd released to date, and i was hoping that this cd would join my collection. I had downloaded this album a few weeks before it was released, and LOVED it, however, when it was released, i noticed something odd...

WWIII is released under Sanctuary Records, wich is a RIAA member.

What is KMFDM doing, with a riaa label? I always thought of kmfdm as a sort of off-mainstream team of great artists... it saddens me to see them join the ranks of metalica, nsync, and britney spears

If you just want KMFDM, buy this CD! its a wonderfull CD
But if you dont want RIAA, go with ANY of the previous KMFDM CDs, wich where all released under non-riaa labels.

Support the artist, not the hype.
Please note if you buy this, what exactly you are supporting.

If you believe in the RIAA, or agree with them, or just tolerate them, buy the CD, otherwize, go check out attak, symbols, angst, or any of the other amazing kmfdm CDs

I personally enjoyed last year's KMFDM comeback album "ATTAK". I thought the drum & bass influences added another dimension to the band's traditional industrial sound, not to mention sounded different for the band. I have been eagerly anticipating "World War III" for the past month or two. Like "ATTAK", I just had to buy the band's new album on the day it was released. I must admit that I miss Tim Skold's presence on the new album. I always loved it whenever he had the opportunity to sing on past albums (i.e "Anarchy", "Save Me", "Risen"). Nevertheless, his absence wasn't going to rain on my parade. When I first looked at the tracklist for "World War III", the first thing that came to my mind was our dear ol' president, especially songs like "Moron", "Pity For the Pious", and "Revenge". Totally appropo considering the current events in the past several months and certainly describes our current commander in chief IMO. Despite Tim Skold being gone, I enjoyed "World War III" immensely. I am just glad to see Lucia is back on board again for the band's new album for Sanctuary Records. And of course Sascha, Raymond, and the rest of the KMFDM gang. On my initial listen to the cd, my response was merely lukewarm but as I am listening to the cd for the second time at the office, I find myself getting more and more into the music. The tracks that did stand out for me the first time I listened to the cd are "Stars & Stripes", "Revenge", and "Intro". I especially loved "Intro" given the wicked sense of humor that KMFDM is well known for. When I threw in "WWIII" again into my PC, I started getting more into songs like "From Here On Out" and "Blackball" in particular. The overall sound on "WWIII" is certainly is a lot more tighter than on "ATTAK". I think the touring really helped the band to tighten up their sound after a brief break up. The music certainly has become more aggressive. I was not disappointed whatsoever with "WWIII". It is certainly one of the best albums of this year, and the best industrial record of 2003.

I'll say straight up that I think a lot of reviewers were a little hard on this album. I agree that it's not KMFDM's best, but when you think about it there can only be one best. That's the definition of the word best. KMFDM trying to compete with it's former self is like trying to compete with KMFDM's former self. Let's not forget how good some of their earlier albums were. Will they ever top 'Naive', Nihil' or 'Angst'. Probably not very easily. Most of the original band members are gone now but Sascha K. is still keeping it together.
This album does have it's strong points. It is one of their most politically charged albums. But KMFDM still manages to have the occasional humor and pokes fun at themselves at times. So in my opinion I don't believe KMFDM has lost their identity entirely.