List | D | Die Krupps | 'Metall Maschinen Musik' CD 1991

'91-81 Past Forward'

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Germaniac No-human-contact-mix	6:33
2.	The Machineries Of Joy	6:33
3.	Gladiators	5:33
4.	Risk Operatic Intro	9:33
5.	Your Voice	4:58
6.	Goldfinger	2:12
7.	2 Herzen 1 Rhythmus	3:26
8.	Tod & Teufel	2:50
9.	Wahre Arbeit, Wahre Lohn	5:34
10.	Stahlwerksymphony	13:43
	Total	60:55

Comments:

Once upon a time, a long time ago, German band Die Krupps was an industrial band. They were very industrial. Not the guitar crossover noise Metallica wannabes they are now, but "industrial" as in "sounds like it was played on random metallic thingies found in your local industry or factory". That, mixed with a healthy dose of DAF-ish EBM. The metallic edge mostly came from one of the coolest intruments ever made, the Stahl-O-Phon ('Steel-O-Phone') invented by vocalist Jürgen Engler. Basically, it was like a xylophone, but with metal pipes instead of wood. Great for that noisy klonk sound, especially dominant on old tracks like 'Wahre Arbeit, Wahre Lohn'.

Apart from the frontman Engler, Ralf Dörper deserves a mention. He left the band to create the excellent synth pop band Propaganda (who released two rather different albums), but returned later to this band.

This compilation works backwards, from the "present" (i.e. 1991, when this compilation was released) back to the early works of 1981. 'Germaniac' is a great early 90:s EBM track with excellently inserted vocal samples about how evil and nasty Germans are by nature. 'Machineries Of Joy' is in fact a remake of the old 'Wahre Arbeit, Wahre Lohn' remixed by fellow EBM band Nitzer Ebb. It's good, but sadly a bit weaker than the old original version. 'Gladiators' is also a great EBM track with metal klonks, about the hard life of... uh... gladiators (or am I missing the point?). 'Risk' starts off with a (you guessed it) opera-style intro, with lots of powerful choirs and chords, and then it turns into a brilliant EBM track about taking chances (yeah, really). 'Your Voice' is a slower, dark-synth track about speaking out and standing for your opinions ("Words are your breath - how can you hold it?"). 'Goldfinger' sounds distinctly older and rougher in production; it's still EBM, quite fast and minimalistic, a bit like DAF, about greed and power and such unpleasentries. Sounding even older is '2 Herzen 1 Rhythmus', which is quite slow and somewhat whiney; since my German isn't that good I can only guess the lyrics, but the title is something like '2 Hearts 1 Rhythm' in English. Back to the world of early EBM with 'Tod & Teufel' ('Death & Devil'), also quite minimalistic and simple. Then, finally, to the highlight of the album: 'Wahre Arbeit, Wahre Lohn' ('Let There Be Work, Let There Be Pay'?), a fast arpeggiated EBM bassline with angstful vocals and lots of lovely metal klonks from the Stahl-O-Phon. Ending the compilation is a short version of the in original 30+ minute long 'Stahlwerksymphony', which actually sounds less like industrial than the previous track and more like a chaotic big band session, with lots of different instruments playing many disharmonic tunes at the same time. An extension of 'Krautrock' perhaps?

After the release of this compilation, Die Krupps had a few more years of releasing great material before they ended up sucking really bad. The guitars took over, making this once great band into a pathetic has-been wannabe 'industrial crossover' (the guitar-heavy '90:s definition) band. Not that I'm against heavy guitars (or mixing guitars and machines), it's just that I feel Die Krupps have lost it and don't do it very well anymore. Well, as long as they're happy with their work, I guess.

I suppose this compilation fulfills its purpose very well; after listening to it I want to go out and buy all those old great Die Krupps albums. I just wish I could afford it. I guess this will have to do until then.

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