Paradise

Taking the sociopolitical angst of Hell Yeah one step further, industrial mainstays KMFDM spew a healthy amount of angst and fury all over those who are destroying the world with greed and hate on their sardonically titled Paradise. Their 21st full-length, Paradise is intensely political and not very subtle, which is extremely cathartic for kindred spirits. Tapping into bubbling social rage with their typical club-friendly beats and corrosive metal power, the set is openly anti-fascist, anti-bigot, and anti-Trump, a righteous call-to-arms to those furious with the state of the U.S. and the world at large. From the title track (This planet is a paradise/A paradise for assholes) to the Trump-sampling opener K-M-F (which plays with the false rumored meaning of the first three letters in the bands name), core members Sascha Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli deliver anthem after anthem of simplistic-yet-direct singalongs fit to soundtrack a global uprising. Calling out discrimination, nepotism, false piety, corruption, capitalism, and the crooked police state, their message is as subtle as a boot to the teeth. Momentarily forgetting the actual anxiety-provoking connections to reality in 2019, Paradise is a blast. Throwbacks to their peak 90s days can be heard on pulsing gems WDYWB -- featuring diva vocalist Cheryl Wilson, who fans will remember from 1996s XTORT -- and Megalo, an amped-up reworking of 1997s Symbols/Mortal Kombat: Annihilation club hit Megalomaniac. The most rewarding, fan-service callback to their legacy arrives on the mecha-horror Binge Boil & Blow (not, ironically, Piggy), which marks the return of longtime fixture Raymond Watts, his first appearance with KMFDM since 2003s WWIII. Other highlights include Oh My Goth, a slinky cut fronted by Cifarelli that sounds like Toni Halliday and Donita Sparks dragged through a Rob Zombie spookshow, and the pulsing Disturb the Peace, another thematic centerpiece to the album that declares the Commander in Chief...is a clown and a thief! Without a wasted moment on the album -- even the dubby outro to Paradise and expansive closer No God are welcome moments of rest -- Paradise is one of KMFDMs stronger late-era efforts, elevated by real-world dread and urgency that begs to be transformed into action. ~ Neil Z. Yeung