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With WWIII being the band's strongest release in many years, KMFDM pursues a musical roots carnival of their own creation while posing an interesting philosophical dilemma: Which will be more horrific to endure, the watchful tyranny of totalitarianism, or the anarchy which shall endure once the evil neo-communist/neo-fascist two-headed monster is eventually bought to its knees? While the classic Hegelian dialectic has been used quite successfully to control the useful idiot couch philosophers via soulless corporate media manipulation, the demise of the world has been a lengthy process and is surely close to fruition. At least it appears this way according to the lyrical content of this CD.
So can WWIII be thwarted, or urged on further, by the content on this CD? Not likely. Or is the music contained herein simply an artistic device used to provoke the imagination? Or is it a Nietzschean plea that God is dead and it is time to either leap into the abyss of despair or to take arms against this sea of troubles? Could the track 'Intro,' the last track on the CD, hint at a new beginning after the smoke clears? Is this new beginning going to be nothing more than an apocalyptic landscape where sustenance must again be cultivated from contaminated soil? Or a subterranean existence of forced refuge in forgotten caves, tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts? And what music will be played then? Unless one possesses a solar-powered generator with a stereo system connected to it, the only music that will be heard will be the deafening silence of a civilization gone horribly wrong.
So philosophically speaking, the flavor du jour on this CD is strictly nihilistic. Does this nihilism provide a valid musical path for KMFDM to explore? WWIII can certainly hold its own against any selection from the band's discography, but it is not their best album. The opening track, 'WWIII,' starts with an acoustic blues intro that gets completely obliterated by an assault of automatic guitar-fire and Raymond Watts' eternal screaming self. 'From Here On Out' shifts gears a bit, with Lucia Cifarelli taking over the vocals. A dance track such as 'Blackball' shares the stage with the stereotypical KMFDM death disco guitar trip found on most of the tracks. But this album provides more questions then it does answers. For instance, where shall the band go from here if the apocalyptic script does not play itself out? This I do not know: A gospel album perhaps?
To effectively debunk empty ideology, one cannot simply confront that ideology with another. This is akin to encouraging two drunken idiots to fight for one's voyeuristic amusement. To quote from their song, 'Intro:' "This is the biscuit's crux, solid rock against the flux, ultra-heavy beat deluxe, KMFDM forever sucks." I guess only time will tell if this statement is true or not.
RATING: 8
Artist Link: http://www.kmfdm.com
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