KMFDM

Live at The Regent Theater

Los Angeles, California

July 23rd, 2015

Review and Photos by Travis Baumann

For thirty-one years KMFDM has been performing the Industrial sound track to the Holy War. Still true to the original mentality and Ultra Heavy Beat that they started three decades ago in Deutschland, Sascha Konietzko and company sally forth once again to give the world a taste of their unique and powerful music.

KMFDM are world renowned for their blend of synthesizers, heavy guitar, and on-point lyrical analysis of the state of the globe. Their intelligent, rebellious anthems have been at the forefront of my music collection since the late '80s and this tour proves they are not about to slow down now.

Their latest offering, "Salvation" is an EP that focuses on the title track which is an extraction from the full-length album, "Our Time Will Come" and the focal point and name of the current tour.

I have seen KMFDM many times over the years but it has been a while since I saw them last, so I was not sure what the set list might include. They immediately grabbed the crowd with an old favorite, "Money".

The old adage, Industrial fans don't dance or move at shows was instantly laid to waste as a powerful mosh pit broke out in the dense crowd near the front.

Continuing with another hit from the past they played the awesome "Light". KMFDM have put out nearly 20 albums over the span of three decades so there was no shortage of material but I was already loving their choices for show-openers.

They went three for three, hitting another fan favorite right in a row with "Ultra". It was cool to hear Sascha sing the parts that Raymond Watts of PIG usually sings.

Lucia Cifarelli joined the other members on stage, rounding out the full group with Jules Hodgson and Steve White on guitars and Andy Selway on drums.

Lucia and Sascha had electronic instruments and controls on industrial podiums in front of each of them which they worked and tweaked, switching off to move about the stage with their mic's at points as well.

They played "Rebels in Kontrol" next which features Lucia more heavily on the vocals and was the first newer song of the night.

KMFDM started moving around the back catalog with the powerful "Tohuvabohu" followed by "Shake the Cage" and "Son of a Gun".

The next grouping of songs represented a selection of material from their last few releases with "Last Things", "Brainwashed", "Animal Out", and "Terror".

The tour's namesake was up next and "Salvation" is easily one of my favorite songs off their latest full length release and is fitting to get its own EP focusing on and remixing it.

Going back in time, for another favorite we got "Megalomaniac" which lead into the blasting "WWIII". They finished up the main set with "Amnesia" before exiting.

The theater was insane hot, everyone and everything was dripping sweat. Even so, the crowd was not done for the night and they cheered the band out for some more.

The encore began with one of my favorite songs, "Hau Ruck" which basically means Heave Ho! and then they played a song everyone had been waiting for, "A Drug Against War" from their pinnacle album, "Angst".

Leaving the stage once more, the crowd was still not going anywhere. Kaptain K. and Kompany returned after a beat to give us the final blows of the night. Their second encore included three more fan favorites with "Waste", "Adios", and finishing with a powerhouse of old-school awesomeness, "Godlike".

It was an amazing show, just like the good old days. The band is still raging strong with their one of a kind dark and heavy attitude. They have set the tone and the bar for nearly every Industrial band out there and have heavily influenced so many surrounding genres it is incredible.

They gave us twenty songs from all eras of the band's past and laid down one truly Ultra Heavy Beat.

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