KMFDM - The Industrial Dominatrix is back!!!

September 9th 2017

London, Islington o2 Academy, UK

***1/2
WTF?! KMFDM are back in the UK

KMFDM ***1/2 are back in the UK, after postponing the tour earlier in the year. They are back this time for a short tour with German heavyweights Lord of the Lost and Inertia plus different opening acts in each city. But would KMFDM live up to the high standards they set last time they were in the UK, we would just have to see.

KMFDM have just released their twentieth studio album 'Hell Yeah', you wouldn't believe it's been five years since 'WTF?!' and four years since 'Kunst' which I think are two of the bands best most recent albums. You would not believe they had two other albums since then 'Our time will Come' and 'Rocks (Milestones Reloaded)' which I really enjoyed but did not hit me as hard.

They open up the set with 'D.I.Y' from the 'Adios' album, and we all see from the instant start of the performance. Lucia Cifarelli the fem fatale Dominatrix dressed in a black Geiger Esq. corset and amazing black rubber trousers. They are also joined on stage by Chris Harms and Pi from Lord of the Lost on guitars, which is an added delight for the mass of Lord of the Lost fans in the house tonight.

They also do great and look like part of the band from start to finish, with new songs like 'Freak Flag, Shock, Murder my Heart, Total state Machine' and the title track to the new record 'Hell Yeah' all sounding really big and polished.

On the new record KMFDM invite you in to the new era of their music. With 'Rip the System V.2' also making you see that KMFDM have not lost anything over the years. And that they know how to write great Industrial Metal anthems, as well as they did when they first started.

The only thing is that maybe KMFDM have made tonight's setlist too 'Hell Yeah' orientated, and their is not enough songs in tonights set that see Sascha Konietzko on main vocals. Lucia is the prominent force in tonights set, which is quite unbalanced.

I think it's sad that only play 'Animal Out' off the 'Kunst' album, because their are so many better tracks from that album to pick from. But that might just be my opinion cause the track goes down really well. Also I probably would have picked 'Krank' rather than 'Amnesia' off the 'WTF?!' album. But it is nice that bands mix around songs and play something different, it brings variety to a set.

Near the end of the set, they break into their last single 'Murder my Heart'. This song is a very Blondie Future Pop type of a song with Lucia on vocals, this song sounds like it could be played on mainstream radio. 'Murder my Heart' shows a very different direction for KMFDM, which I think will see them get even more popular, but I think could possibly lose them, some of their original fanbase.

But the thing I like about KMFDM is that they are not afraid to try something new, whatever the consequences. You should of heard the cheers as they burst into old classic 'Drug against War', which is one of the bands most popular songs. I do wonder why they don't end the full set with this, and not just the main set.

Because when they come back on for 'Hau Ruck' and 'Godlile', you feel like they are just added extra's rather than set closures. I think this was a good set by KMFDM, but I would not say it was their best performance.

This is to do with the lack of songs with Sascha on vocals, and the choice of the setlist. I think the tracks were better suited for the UK audience when they last played at the London, Islington o2 Academy, a setlist that would take some beating and sadly I think they didn't beat it tonight.

But saying that I would rush out to see KMFDM again, because they put on a great live show, I just think they are a band that could make their show so much bigger. With maybe a few little gimmicks on board to, to make the set even more interesting.

KMFDM - Setlist
-------------------------
(Intro)
D.I.Y.
Freak Flag
Hell Yeah
Amnesia
Rip the System
Rebels in Kontrol
Total state Machine
Animal Out
Burning Brain
Bumaye
Glam, Glitz, Guts and Gore
Shock
Virus
Murder my Heart
A drug against War
---------------------
Hau Ruck
Godlile