Review Summary: Ups and downs.
Brand new KMFDM albums arrive like clockwork even forty-two years into their career. It is an impressive pace for the veteran industrial metal act, although they have been a tad inconsistent lately. Similar to the previous two LPs released this decade,
Enemy features bits of everything they tried over the years. On the upside, the grittier guitars returned, especially during the first half, which contains the highlights as well. Tidor Nieddu was brought in to provide extra muscle to the tunes, something at times missed on
Hyena or
Let Go. The pumping title track opens the record with smooth Americana licks and slides, fusing very well with Sascha’s manifesto type lyrics. Meanwhile, “L’Etat” feels like KMFDM’s take on Pantera’s “Walk” riff, automatically becoming the heaviest number here. Despite the similarities, it is ultimately a fun, engaging song. They were always vocal about political issues and it seems recent worldwide tensions energized them to crank the volume up once more. Lucia steps in with a round of screams over the catchy grooves of “Vampyr”, as well as smoothly crooning on the first single, “Oubliette”, one of the band’s classic techno infused style bangers. Meanwhile, a welcome surprise comes from Konietzko’s daughter, Annabella, who makes her debut singing lead vocals on “You”. Her soft voice brings a warmer touch to the ultra-heavy beats. “Outernational Interventions” follows, dialling up the aggression again, complete with wonky synth leads, complementing the humorous lyrics describing galactic armies and alien encounters.
Unfortunately, the second half quickly loses momentum. “A Okay” is a decent playful synth pop number, whereas “Stray Bullet 2.0” is an unnecessary dub/reggae remake of their 1997 track. Towards the end, “Gun Quarter Sue” comes across as a Buckethead style instrumental with shredding guitar solos and a blend of heavy progressions and melodic moments. However, some powerful vocals would have augmented the tune’s impact. Closing number, “The Second Coming” is a rather cinematic, industrial slow burner, over which Sascha paints a dystopian, apocalyptic scenario. Closer to Front Line Assembly’s aesthetics, it is nevertheless an interesting experiment that could lead to a moodier sonic direction in the future. Overall,
Enemy boasts the features long-time fans will be happy to hear again. Still, if they could take a bit more time on their next project, they could craft another tight album from start to finish.
