Nihil
| Nihil | ||||
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| 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 |
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| KMFDM chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nihil | ||||
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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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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 |
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Total length:
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48:00 | ||
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Musicians
- Sascha Konietzko – electronics, vocals (1-7, 9, 10), bass (6), drums (10)
- Günter Schulz – guitars, vocals (2, 6), bass (5)
- En Esch – vocals (1-3, 5-8), guitar (1, 3, 6), drums (6, 9), hi hat (2), cymbals (3), backing vocals (3, 5), harmonica (5)
- Raymond Watts – vocals (1-3, 5, 7, 9), bass (5), drum programming (5)
- Mark Durante – steel guitar (1, 7), guitars (5, 7, 9)
[edit] Additional personnel
- Dorona Alberti – vocals (4, 8, 10)
- Jim Christiansen – trombone (7)
- Jennifer Ginsberg – vocals (2)
- Jeff Olson – trumpet (7)
- Bill Rieflin – drums (1, 3, 7)
- Fritz Whitney – bari sax (7)
[edit] Production
- Producers – Sascha Konietzko, Chris Shepard
- Engineer – Chris Shepard
[edit] In pop culture
- "Ultra" was featured in the U.S. release of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, and was the theme song for Manga Entertainment's anime catalog trailer.
- "Juke Joint Jezebel" was featured in the film Bad Boys, and "Juke Joint Jezebel (Metropolis Mix)" was featured in the film Mortal Kombat.
[edit] References
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Roberts, Jamie (1995). "Interview: KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko". http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/April19.1995/revkmfdm.html. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ Powell, Eric (1995). "KMFDM". Hypno Magazine. http://my.inil.com/~cwphish/EPOWELL_.HTM. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Hinds, Andy. "Nihil Review". Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r210002. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ 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.
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