Nihil

Nihil
Studio album by KMFDM
Released April 4, 1995
Recorded 1994[1]
Genre Industrial rock, industrial metal, industrial dance
Length 49:03
Label Wax Trax!/TVT, Metropolis
Producer Sascha Konietzko
Chris Shepard
KMFDM chronology
Angst
(1993)
Nihil
(1995)
Xtort
(1996)
Singles from Nihil
  1. "Juke Joint Jezebel"
    Released: February 28, 1995
  2. "Juke Joint Jezebel - The Giorgio Moroder Mixes"
    Released: May 30, 1995
  3. "Brute"
    Released: October 31, 1995
  4. "Trust/Juke Joint Jezebel"
    Released: October 31, 1995

Nihil is the eighth album by the German industrial rock band KMFDM, released in 1995. It was recorded in Seattle, Washington. It sold over 120,000 copies.[2]

Nihil is one of only two KMFDM studio albums (Opium being the other) that does not feature cover artwork by pop-artist Brute!. Instead, the cover was designed by Francesca Sundsten, wife of drummer Bill Rieflin. The band would return to using Brute!'s work on the next album, Xtort.

A digitally remastered re-release of Nihil was released on March 6, 2007, along with Xtort.

Contents

History

KMFDM had finished their "Angstfest" tour in support of Angst in 1994.[1] Sascha Konietzko and Günter Schulz worked with former KMFDM member Raymond "Pig" Watts on an EP entitled Sin Sex & Salvation, and Watts stayed with the group to begin work on Nihil.

Production

Nihil featured a core group of Sascha Konietzko, Günter Schulz, Raymond Watts, and En Esch, along with some input from Mark Durante and Bill Rieflin. A handful of other studio musicians were brought in to help in a very limited capacity. Konietzko stated that the band overused guitars on their previous album, Angst, and that for Nihil, the guitars were mixed in last.[3] He also described the album as being entirely foreplay, without any resolution.[4]

Critical reception

Nihil received very favorable reviews. Heidi MacDonald of CMJ New Music Monthly calls Nihil "a superb album that takes no prisoners from beginning to end,"[5] saying that the first three tracks are "nearly flawless"[5] and calling "Disobedience" a "real standout."[5] Andy Hinds of Allmusic also praised the album, calling "Juke-Joint Jezebel" "an enduring and indispensable dancefloor favorite at goth/industrial clubs around the world."[6] He further said that the production on Nihil was "state of the art"[6] and that KMFDM's sound was "quite polished and tight."[6] Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post said the album "manages to stay fresh through the use of assorted sonic spices,"[7] adding that the album has "some canny accents."[7]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Ultra"   Mark Durante, En Esch, Sascha Konietzko, Günter Schulz, Chris Shepard, Raymond Watts 4:34
2. "Juke Joint Jezebel"   Esch, Konietzko, Schulz, Watts 5:40
3. "Flesh"   Esch, Konietzko, Schulz, Watts 5:02
4. "Beast"   Konietzko, Schulz 5:06
5. "Terror"   Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz, Shepard, Watts 4:50
6. "Search & Destroy"   Esch, Konietzko, Schulz 3:26
7. "Disobedience"   Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz, Shepard, Watts 4:43
8. "Revolution"   Esch, Konietzko, Schulz 4:27
9. "Brute"   Esch, Konietzko, Schulz, Watts 4:25
10. "Trust"   Konietzko, Schulz 3:43
11. "Nihil" (hidden at the end of "Trust" on the Wax Trax!/TVT release) Konietzko 2:04
Total length:
48:00

Personnel

Musicians

Additional personnel

Production

In pop culture

References

  1. ^ a b "KMFDM History on April 4, 1997 from archive.org". KMFDM.net. Archived from the original on April 8, 1997. http://web.archive.org/web/19970408173452/http://www.kmfdm.net/history.html. Retrieved March 15, 2010. 
  2. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (August 8, 1996). "KMFDM make industrial music the old-fashioned way. They trash their hardware.". Rolling Stone (Jann S. Wenner) (740): p. 24. http://www.waste.org/~alone/kmfdm/rsinterview.html. Retrieved March 22, 2010. 
  3. ^ Roberts, Jamie (1995). "Interview: KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko". http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/April19.1995/revkmfdm.html. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
  4. ^ Powell, Eric (1995). "KMFDM". Hypno Magazine. http://my.inil.com/~cwphish/EPOWELL_.HTM. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c MacDonald, Heidi (May 1995). Best New Music: KMFDM Nihil. Robert K. Haber. p. 15. http://books.google.com/books?id=LC0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved March 10, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c Hinds, Andy. "Nihil Review". Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r210002. Retrieved March 10, 2010. 
  7. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (May 19, 1995). "KMFDM Keeps Industrial Fresh". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-834134.html. Retrieved March 19, 2010.