KMFDM

Have you been to one of those so-called goth-industrial clubs lately? There's hardly any goth, and the industrial is a heck of a lot closer to disco. But hey, things change, right? Like a few years back, when KMFDM tried to subvert its own paradigm by adventuring into the realm of breakbeat electronica but didn't really succeed in much other than inverting its own name. Frontman Sascha Konietzko must have learned something from MDFMK's lukewarm reception, however, because KMFDM's new album draws from the best of both projects. Konietzko and collaborator Tim Skold seem more comfortable integrating KMFDM's eminently danceable signature crunch with newer breakbeat rhythms, such that the latter no longer usurp their old-school industrial rock glory. Former collaborators En Esch and Günter Shulz "indignantly declined" to rejoin the band, so Konietzko reformed it with other longtime KMFDM/MDFMK collaborators, including Raymond Watts of Pig (who wrote such great KMFDM smashes as "Juke Joint Jezebel"), Bill Rieflin and Lucia Cifarelli. Rumor has it that Skold went off gallivanting with Marilyn Manson to produce his new album rather than sticking around to tour. But the band is no stranger to guest musicians and rotating lineups, having included 30-odd individuals among their ranks over the years, and no matter who is on stage with him, Konietzko and company always deliver one hell of a kick-ass show.

Tue., June 18, 7 p.m., with Pig, 16 Volt and Kidney Thieves, $22.50-$25, Trocadero, 10th and Arch sts., 215-922-LIVE.

—Helen H. Thompson

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June 12, 2003
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