The enigmatic former co-frontman for KMFDM and Pigface here releases his second true solo album, and it’s a solid, enjoyable electro-rock album that falls right in line with his past work, with elements of hard rock and metal as well as clubby dance elements.
Opening with the club-metal of “12345” (which features a guest appearance from Tim Skold), the album heads into the anthemic “Hard On”, which would fit well on any KMFDM album. “Give The People What They Want” recalls Esch’s 1993 solo album, “Cheesy”, with a groovy electro-funk grunge sound. “Soul To Steal” is a trance-electronica cut that brings the exotic vocals of Trixie Reiss to the forefront. Further cuts bring present En Esch’s sense of humor (as in the silly interlude “I Hop”) before diving back into his aggressive rock-dance melding (the menacing “No Guts No Glory”). En Esch has retained the sound(s) that made him famous so many years ago, as well as kept the sense of experimentation that seems to have left Sascha’s KMFDM a long time ago. As much as I hate comparing En Esch’s work 20 years later to his formative act, the link is still there, and En Esch does it as well or, in many cases, better.
Long-time friend and ally of Goatsden, MXV (and curator of the famous Punk Vault), now is offering his professional concert photography for fans and collectors.
The site already has superb live photos for sale of artists like Skinny Puppy, Ohgr, Down, Public Image Limited, Jello Biafra, Social Distortion, Descendents, Adicts, Fishbone, Doro, Weedeater, Public Enemy, Weezer, Damned, Tesco Vee, Thrill Kill Kult, Ministry, Naked Raygun, Korn, The Prodigy, Cradle Of Filth, Anthrax, Ted Nugent, Billy Idol, Slash, System Of A Down, Disturbed, Gwar, TSOL, X, KMFDM, Dead Milkmen, Jerry Lee Lewis, and tons more. Check his page at:
This collection of 50 clips from 1983 onwards presents 'Fifty of the top names from the independents', according to the packaging. My take is that this is a fine representation of the UK indie scene from the 80s-90s, with plenty of performance videos and some genuinely amateur promo clips that bring to mind the grand old days of watching weird new bands on "SNUB TV" or "Night Flight" on cable TV.
We get plenty of obscurities here, from classic punk (Exploited's ham-fisted "Sexual Favours"), hardcore (Crumbsuckers), garage rock, death-rock (the Birthday Party rip-offs Inca Babies), indie folk (Michelle Shocked or Robyn Hitchcock), Sunset Strip-style glam (Tygers Of Pan Tang), space rock (Hawkwind), psychobilly (The Meteors), blues (Turnpike Cruisers), exotic pop (Sheila Chandra), and cut-up electro from 2-Kut, featuring future KMFDM/Pig frontman Raymond Watts and Neubauten's Blixa Bargeld.
The crowns here, from my point of view, are the inimitable Alien Sex Fiend, who's classic acid-electro-rock of "Buggin' Me" and "Ignore The Machine" are underrated slabs of weirdo proto-industrial rock, and Psychic TV, who get 3 solid post-acid house videos in "JOY", "R.U. Xperienced (with Caresse P-Orridge), and "I.C. Water", their loving tribute to Ian Curtis.
Sure, there's a lot of naff stuff here to slog through, but with a few true gems, this one can be a nice part of the collection. (Screen Edge via MVD Visual)
As a fan of KMFDM pre-2000 (when former members En Esch and Gunter Schulz were the band's "wild cards"), it's been a shame to see KMFDM lapse into sameness in recent years. Stalwart band leader (and frontman) Sascha Konietzko has kept the band going, with a steady stream of releases featuring wife Lucia and the former backing band for sometime-collaborator Pig.
The band's 17th album, "WTF?!" kicks things off with the anthemic electro-rock single, "Krank", which further recycles familiar KMFDM motifs and lyrics. It's a well-produced slammer, but nothing outstanding from this band. "Lynchmob" is an unusually fearsome metallic attack, with an amped-up tempo and killer fretwork. "Take It Like A Man" is a disco-style showcase for guest vocalist Free Dominguez (from Kidneythieves), whereas "Dystopia" and "Amnesia" utilize Lucia Cifarelli's more commanding "rock" voice in a dance-metal fashion. This is perhaps KMFDM's best work in some time. Enjoyable and hard-hitting, and a welcome return to form. (Metropolis)
Legendary masked punk-grimers the Dwarves have been known for many things in the past. Upbeat, well-produced pop punk isn't something that comes immediately to mind. But longtime guitar player HeWhoCannotBeNamed's debut solo album here shows an interesting twist on the gutter-punk philosophy that his "money" band excels at. "Happy Suicide" is fast, fun, and more than legible, and the cover DOESN'T feature any nudity or, ahem, actual dwarves this time. What HeWhoCannotBeNamed proves is that he is a more than capable songwriter, with a penchant for a number of tempos and rollicking sing-along choruses. "Superhero" is positively anthemic, while "Duck Tape Love" is a feel-good song about love and the ways to "make you mine". "Toxene" is even a tongue-in-cheek ballad! Of course, this "solo" work also includes the participation of friends like Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age), Blag Dahlia (Dwarves), and Andy Selway (KMFDM). Fun punk melodies, strong production, some possibly offensive content -- this is 33 minutes of fun, with spirit and guts. Cool stuff. (MVD Audio)
Wax Trax! Records co-founder Dannie Flesher passed away from complications from pneumonia this past week. He was 57.
Flesher, along with longtime partner Jim Nash (who passed away in 1995), founded Wax Trax! in the early 80's to release some of their favorite musics. Years later, this label experienced international success, and brought predominantly electronic and post-industrial acts like Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Thrill Kill Kult, Meat Beat Manifesto, Coil, Front Line Assembly, Psychic TV, KMFDM, Pig, Front 242, Chris Connelly, Controlled Bleeding, the Young Gods, Pankow, Laibach, Greater Than One, In The Nursery, Foetus, and countless others to the ears of listeners across the United States and beyond. Their influence has been heavy on such followers as Nine Inch Nails, who used the Wax Trax! sound and scene to springboard to major rock success.
Wax Trax! was the centerpiece of my teenage years, supplying the post-apocalyptic soundtrack to my angsty life, and it's something I'm proud of and will always appreciate. I spent a load of money ordering the latest Wax Trax! releases back in the pre-internet days, and I owe a large part of my musical education to Jim and Dannie's Wax Trax! legacy. May he (and Jim) rest in peace.
“Dannie was a good friend. He was a true visionary and he will be sorely missed by us and all the other artists whose lives he impacted.” -- Al Jourgensen
More info can be found here, with a more thorough eulogy by Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune: Chicago Tribune article
And a fairly complete and exhaustive discography of Wax Trax! can be found here: Wax Trax! @ discogs.com
Taking their name from the scientific term for the syphilis virus, French industrial metal act Treponem Pal have been active for some years, and have seen a career littered with highs and lows. Often seen as a kid brother of sorts to their mentors/friends in Swiss avante-rock act the Young Gods, they have created some of the finest music of their genre, and they are back after an 11-year absence with a new CD. This is my quick-step assessment of their major recorded works up to now.
"Treponem Pal" CD (1989) - This raw debut was produced by Young Gods vocalist Franz Treichler, and indeed, it does echo that group's gutteral, explosive rock vibe. Vocalist Marco Neves' vocals are even a similar tone to Franz's. Nonetheless, the band's penchant for SWANS-style slow-burn grooves are obvious, as well as their prog-rock ala Voivod elements. Listen to "Slow Man" and hear for yourself their SWANS fixation in full effect. If you can get past some rather silly lyrics (who can forget the album's closer, "Soft Mouth Vagina"?), you may be surprised that this album holds up fairly well today.
"Aggravation" CD (1991) - My initial introduction to this smoldering aggro-metal act, "Aggravation" boasts production by former SWANS drummer Roli Mossimann. It's denser, heavier, and more guitar-heavy than it's predecessor. "Rest Is A War" is all-out war indeed, while the thrashy "Fugitive Soul" throws in some killer guitar samplings among the live instruments. Here is where the group really picks up some steam. There are still some slower grinding moments, but the band goes more metal here, with slicing guitars and thumping grooves. "TV Matic" is Voivod meets Young Gods, and works nicely that way, thank you very much. Their cover of Kraftwerk's immortal "Radioactivity" works surprisingly well, too. The start of something great.
"Excess And Overdrive" CD (1993) - With Treichler returning to the producer's chair, this remains the band's tour-de-force. I spent a lot of time in the 90's listening to post-Wax Trax! industrial rock and metal, and this album rates very highly, indeed. A shame it's been mostly ignored and unheard by many of those who would've made T.Pal major stars back in the day. "Out Of Reach" is a scalding, hot anthem of electronic-tinged metal. Every bit as powerful as Ministry ever were, the single, "Pushing You Too Far" is catchy, omnipotent, and combines the group's influences the most cohesively. It's simultaneously slow and brooding, then bombastic and grinding. It's no wonder Al Jourgensen drafted guitarist Michel Bassin for a Ministry tour during this era. The title track is a massive SWANS slave-grind, and "Sometimes" lashes this dissonant sludginess to a stomping metal groove. From start to finish, this is a stomping monolith of crushing mecha-metal madness, with a furious sense of urgency and swollen aggression. One of my personal favorite industrial-metal albums of all-time, seriously.
"Higher" CD" (1997) - The band was on a roll with "Excess", but for some reason, it took 4 years for this one to finally see release, and on a major label, no less. Well, this is where the band's momentum stopped abruptly. I blame part of that on the weak production of KMFDM's Sasha Konietzko, which managed to completely subdue and neuter Treponem Pal's hard-driving sound. "Higher" as an album sounds plastic, puerile, and like KMFDM with a different vocalist. The dubby-reggae sounds of "Panorama" or "Freetribe" are likely the doing of vocalist Neves, who went on, after this album, to work as dub project Elephant System, but the KMFDM production makes it all sound flat and bland. And we won't discuss their cover of "Funky Town". Sad to see the band fall so far.
"Weird Machine" CD (2008) - After 11 years away, Neves returns, with a new lineup, bolstered by the addition of some genre heavyweights -- bassist Paul Raven (Killing Joke, Prong, etc., who, sadly, passed away while recording for this album) and drummer Ted Parsons (SWANS, Godflesh). This is the group's strongest showing since "Excess And Overdrive", with songs like "Planet Crash" returning to the band's original heavy rock sound. "Hardcore Massive Soldier" recycles lyrics from past T.Pal songs, as well as referencing Sonic Youth, among others. "Mad Box" is a cover of the track "The Box" from the band's debut album, and there's more big rock songs like "Human Attack", which balance the group's "Excess"-era sounds with electronic underpinnings. Marco's vocals are appropriately gutteral and harsh, and this proves that Treponem Pal is back with a vengeance. "Weird Machine", though it's not seen release in the states at all, is certainly worth looking for if you've ever appreciated this band's past works.
Who would've thought that the finest electronic-rock (aka 'industrial') album in recent years would come from an almost-forgotten duo of producers/artists who've only released 2 albums in 14 years? Chicago's Die Warzau, consisting of programmer Van Christie and vocalist Jim Marcus here unleash a torrent of classic heavy funk-laced electro-stompers with finesse and a keen socio-political conscience. 'Vinyl88' is a kind of 'best of' set, but these mostly-90's-era dancefloor greats are remixed and remade, and wow, do they smoke! Beginning with the previously download-only 'Insect', which has some of the most stunning production I've heard on a track of this nature in many a year (this one is great to work out/test speakers with), Christie and Marcus prove they have the songwriting chops as well as production skills to spare (a necessity in this genre) . I can't forget to mention that 'Insect', while being ultra-aggressive and bruisingly heavy from start to finish, has a killer melody underlying it all - a superb and effective combination. The moldy oldie 'Land Of The Free', which was written in the late 80's, is here transformed into a thunderous and fearsome dance beast, while an obscure KMFDM remix of 'All Good Girls' (surely the band's melodic tour-de-force) is welcome, and certainly a must-hear. New track 'Glare' is a pop-oriented piece with accents of trip-hop and old jazz (check the wild and scratchy vinyl brass solo in the middle). The groovy remake of 'Funkopolis' forces you to shake that booty, and 'Kleen', another new track, is one of the smartest and catchiest slices of electronic pop you're likely to hear anytime soon. 'Smackdown' (reprised from an old vinyl-only 12") includes vocals by the always classy and stylish Scot Chris Connelly (of Revolting Cocks and solo fame). And speaking of guest vocals, how about George Clinton himself on the album's closer, 'Hitler's Brain'? Die Warzau 2008, where have you been? A mammoth, massive, and unmistakeable success. (Rosehip/Pulseblack Records)
Being a longtime fan & longtime-ago Invisible/Pigface Field Rep myself, I've seen (and heard) my fair share of Pigface shows. I had sort of lost interest over the years as releases became far too redundant (remixes of remixes of remasterings, re-hashings, bleeding 'Suck' dry, etc.). Anyhow, this release makes me like the 'new' group more, believe it or not. Their earlier videos/DVDs were chiefly live footage, but this one reveals the numerous behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations behind touring - with a wide array of people from all over the world, and in the same bus. It's engrossing, interesting, and a fascinating look at what life was like for this assemblage (instigator Atkins, Charles Levi (Thrill Kill Kult), Hanin Elias (Atari Teenage Riot), En Esch (KMFDM/Slick Idiot), Lee Frazier (Sheep On Drugs), Kryztoff (Bile), Lacey Conner (Nocturne), Curse Mackey (Evil Mothers/Grim Faeries), the Enigma (Jim Rose Circus Sideshow), and the many others who accompanied the band on stage and off. From inter-band arguments to firings, hirings, bus troubles, ego-clashes, rabid (and naked) fans, club issues, crew issues, disagreements, sword swallowing, fire-eating, broken spines, new friendships, and, in-between it all, some fun music, 'Free For All' tells all. The interviews are candid and honest, and the whole documentary flows well. To director Clint Seiloff, nice work. And to Atkins/Invisible/Pigface, thanks for the years of interesting (if not always particularly memorable) music. (Invisible/Underground Inc/MVD Visual)
Compiling tons of vinyl and CD-singles from their classic Wax Trax! Records heyday (1986-1992), this set shows the German-American industrial rock group's quick progression and growth as they stormed the states on a huge tour with Ministry in their prime (1989-90). Beginning with the early raw electronic-beats of stuff like 'Don't Blow Your Top' (featured here in a superb Adrian Sherwood remix), 'Extra' follows the group into a dancier, clubby realm ('Naive', here remixed a couple of times by Chicago sleaze-disco act Thrill Kill Kult), some trippy psycho-dub ('Virus', 'M+F 244'), and finally, their now-trademark electro-rock. One of the band's definitive cuts, 'Godlike', is reprised here, and this Slayer sampling club track can still melt dancefloors while appealing to the longhairs and headbangers at the same time. Very fun. And disc 2 has even more! KMFDM have always been masters of the anthemic, and 'Go To Hell', 'Split', and 'Money' all feature this second disc, often in multiple mixes. The remastered sound here makes it all go 'boom' in the car, as well, so that's always a plus. Overall, 'Extra' is a great collection of now-unavailable mixes and versions for the hardcore KMFDM fan, and also a fitting starting point for anyone curious about this band's extensive 22-year history. (Metropolis)
Cool electro-rock from former KMFDM wildman
