Released:  April 4th, 1995

Recorded:  1994

Genre:  Industrial Rock/Metal, Electro-Industrial

Record Label:  Wax Trax! / TVT / Metropolis

Duration:  49:03

Producers:  Sascha Konietzko, Chris Shepard

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Nihil is One of My Favorites

KMFDM has released a staggering amount of material over the years, and there’s plenty of debate over which release is best.  Money?  Angst?  Nihil?  Honestly, I don’t know, because I’m not an expert when it comes to KMFDM’s catalog.  I picked up Nihil on the strength of “Juke Joint Jezebel” (from the Mortal Kombat OST, no less) when I was about 14 or 15, and although it’s remained a treasured piece of my collection, I never really ventured beyond its borders for some reason.  Most people tend to talk about KMFDM albums in terms of how widely used and prominent the guitars are, and the “catchiness” to a lesser extent.  For me, Nihil strikes an excellent balance between guitars and electronics, so I guess I haven’t had a reason to dig into an album that was more or less guitar-oriented.

In my teenage search for industrial and industrial metal that would appeal to me as much as Antichrist Superstar and The Downward Spiral, I inevitably ran into KMFDM fairly early on.  Combined with the fact that I already loved “Juke Joint Jezebel” from Mortal Kombat, I was more than happy to add Nihil to the ranks.  It strikes a pleasant balance between the straightforward rock and metal acts of NIN and friends and the experimental, more challenging work of groups like Ministry and Skinny Puppy.  Much of it is also quite danceable and club friendly.

“Ultra” kicks things off with a pounding bass and drum section accompanied by rapid riffing.  The vocals are sort of growled and whispered, and honestly I’ve never had a clue what these guys are saying on most of these tracks.  I love the way it pulses along and the mini-solo that we’re treated to.  “Juke Joint Jezebel” is the catchiest track.  Lots of little noises pop in and out of the mix to augment the beat while an unforgettable riff rolls through the chorus.  The darkly whispered vocals of the verses contrast with the female choir belting out the chorus.

“Flesh” is an awesome track that most captures the essence on industrial metal.  The distorted guitar crunches it way through the electronic rhythms and grows increasingly interesting and complex as the song wears on.  This is the sort of rhythmic churning that I absolutely can’t get enough of.  “Beast” is another track screaming for club play with its driving beat and the iconic “The kids just love it!” lyric.  “Terror” brings us to something that sounds like it came straight off of Ministry’s Psalm 69.  Between the abrupt and continual switch of focus from guitars to electronics and the constant use of samples, it would fit right in.

“Search & Destroy” changes things up with its thrash metal inspired guitar.  It’s a fast song with tiny, distorted guitar solos, sounding something like Slayer fused with a synthesizer.  “Disobedience” once again leans towards the electronic side; guitar riffs are used more like samples.  Notable about this track are the trumpets that pop in and out, an inspired addition if you ask me, even if it does make it sound a little like a TV theme song.  En Esch growls his way through “Revolution,” another piece featuring catching riffing over danceable electronic beats.

“Brute” is harsher and noisier than most cuts, focusing on sparse electronic elements during the verses while building up to a booming, crashing chorus.  Sascha and Watts play with the vocals in interesting ways here, at times turning them into fuzzy, distorted screams.  The beat that booms through once the song picks up speed is one of the best of the album.  “Trust” lands somewhere between the metallic “Search & Destroy” and the rhythmic “Flesh,” and the following hidden track “Nihil” is actually sort of cool in it’s own brief, noisy way.  I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess that these are sounds ultimately originating from a guitar.

There is a sort of “samey-ness” when trying to describe the tracks individual, but a better word is consistency.  The songs bounce between “more electronic” and “more metallic” but they never go too far in either direction.  The catchy beats and simple, listenable rhythms are a welcome departure from other forms of industrial.  There’s a refinement on Nihil, a certain level of cohesion, that is impossible to duplicate with industrial’s experimental sphere.  I wish I could understand the words better (and I haven’t even looked at the lyrics in ages; I know bits and pieces here and there but not enough to put together a complete picture) but there is a political angle tucked away somewhere in Nihil.  

Tracks like “Flesh” and “Brute” capture the sound that I’m always looking for almost completely and I’ll always have a spot for this album due to its deft mixture of guitars and synth.  The music is a little more sterile than what’s to be found in other popular acts, mainly due to the obvious looping of guitar riffs and use of drum machines.  These elements keep Nihil from truly feeling like a rock album; in other words it will always sound more like electronic music with guitars rather than rock/metal with electronic elements, but even so, it’s a hard hitting, fun listen and an excellent stepping stone on the road from the more commercialized versions of industrial towards less conventional approaches.

Written by The Cubist

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