When we start talking about KMFDM, we always end up saying more or less the same thing: the machine led by Sascha Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli runs with the same regularity. About every two years, we find a new album with an artwork by Aidan Hughes, alias Brute!, a title consisting of a single word with just a few letters, a dozen tracks on which Konietzko and Cifarelli take turns on the mic, and where we expect to find ultra-heavy beats, dub influences, a mix of aggression and nonchalance, an update of an old track, and probably a song in a language unusual for the band. They've been doing this for over forty years, and we're not listening to KMFDM in 2026 to discover something totally new. So we dive into ENEMY with the certainty of hearing a new, well-crafted ensemble.
KMFDM has always commented on the times in which the project has existed. It is difficult not to think, for example, of WWIII, released in 2003, and its virulent criticism of Bush Jr's policies and his bellicose impulses (the band proved prophetic by updating the track WWIII on their previous album, LET GO). With ENEMY, the band warns us: society is in shambles, fascism is in fashion, and in this context where otherness is persecuted and designated as an enemy to be defeated, KMFDM proudly takes on the role of opposing authoritarian, freedom-destroying and discriminatory regimes. The result, at the beginning of the album, is a climate determined to stand up against oppression: as is often the case, we start with the title track, a protest anthem that brings people together. Konietzko chants, the beats bring us into line, and Tidor Nieddu's guitar brings both bite and a hallucinatory groove.
The atmosphere remains martial as Lucia Cifarelli's vocals bring melancholy to OUBLIETTE's riffs. The sense of efficiency, of the catchy tune that sticks in your head, of heads bobbing along. We've heard it all before, but it still works. It's with L'ETAT that ENEMY's message strikes us most forcefully, with its relentless rhythm and lyrics chanted in French by Konietzko (which obviously helps us understand the words). 'L’État, c'est moi, je suis la loi, le droit, le roi... embrasse la norme et ferme ta gueule !'(I am the state, I am the law, the king... embrace the norm and shut your mouth!), industrial heaviness and a little harpsichord with which KMFDM seem to tease the royalist impulses of us frog-eaters!
After such a first part, ENEMY slows down the pace. KMFDM follows its own recipe, at the risk of losing us in a somewhat predictable routine. However, our interest is regularly rekindled: Annabella Konietzko, who has been associated with the band for some time (particularly on stage), wrote her first track with YOÜ, to which her pop vocals lend a dynamic energy and nuanced emotions. KMFDM is a multi-headed entity, and this is a sign that the formula could last another forty years! Another key moment on the album, OUTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION mixes UFOs and geopolitics, while theremin sounds straight out of a 1960s sci-fi film fly over a lively punk energy. Fun, irony, punch.
Over the years, it has become common knowledge that KMFDM tends to rest on its laurels. However, this preconceived notion continues to be challenged by the collective, which occasionally develops a form of strangeness within its own formula. Admittedly, the reggae/dub reinterpretation trick is starting to become familiar (here, it's Stray Bullets' turn to be dusted off), but in its final section, ENEMY mutates once again and embarks on a surprising conclusion. First there is the incisive instrumental track GUN QUARTER SUE, which goes in all directions, between industrial metal and blues, then the chilling THE SECOND COMING, a sinister and atmospheric conclusion with techno-mystical contours. In these final moments, ENEMY offers us one last industrial and oppressive highlight. Earlier, we said that KMFDM could go on for another forty years. Now, we're inclined to think that with this apocalyptic, prophetic finale, they could just as well bring down the curtain on a chilling final note and that it would also be fine.
When we stop talking about a KMFDM album, we always end up saying more or less the same thing! Once again, ENEMY is immediately familiar, which doesn't detract from its effectiveness or a few bizarre moments: KMFDM does KMFDM, which is normal, because they're KMFDM, but always does so with freedom. Haunted by an omnipresent and immediate threat, the album seems to let bitterness and melancholy take precedence over ironic coolness. The album is as enjoyable to listen to as ever, with its usual variety and dynamism. A few tracks will stick in our minds for longer, and we hope to be able to say the same thing again in two years' time. Let's keep in mind that this constant in our lives will one day come to an end, so let's savour things while they exist!
