Review by Matt Miller
Having witnessed the departure of several KMFDM contributors, the announcement of the lineup for Hau Ruck was met with considerable skepticism among a characteristically skeptical fanbase. The final track of the Hau Ruck’s predecessor, WWIII, introduces each member of the band in anticipation of KMFDM’s future, but Watts, who contributed the most to WWIII since 1995’s Nihil, would not grace the newest KMFDM release with his colorful (per)verses. For an entity that has constantly reinvented itself over 26 years, many of us have showed very little faith in this new stream-lineup, but a simple introduction by Sascha Konietzko leaves elaboration for the music... Ladies and gentlemen, Hau Ruck.
One of the heaviest tracks on the album, “Free Your Hate,” heaves listeners into a powerful persistence of the crunchy guitar-driven nukes dropped during WWIII. This degree of familiarity echoes in Lucia’s screams and the relatively straightforward beat. However, listeners are eased into the return to analog electronics, which punctuate and glide alongside the guitars rather than dominating as with some of the later tracks.
“Hau Ruck” drastically decelerates the rhythm, allowing for development rather more so than movement. The guitars establish a heavy baseline riff, but the electronic elements quickly challenge, envelope, and utterly dominate the song before giving ground back to the guitars with the chorus. Toward the end of the title track, the guitar and electronic elements begin to reflect each other and coalesce around the unfailing ultra-heavy beat.
Lucia’s singing voice returns in the verses of “You’re No Good” before being swept aside by a breakneck chorus of taunts by Sascha. This track is all about contrast: old vs. new, soft vs. hard, slow vs. fast. The slow portion foreshadows the dependence on Lucia’s singing (as opposed to screaming) later on the CD, while the fast part calls up the past with a flashback to an old favorite, “Son of a Gun.”
An electronic melody and beat reminiscent of “Megalomaniac” introduces “New American Century” and persists throughout the song in essentially the opposite of the previous track. It’s a moderately paced, fluid fusion of the contrasting elements established earlier that leads into the poppiest track on Hau Ruck, “Real Thing,” adding a whole new element of contrast as power returns in full force once again with “Every Day’s a Good Day.” Just compare the choruses... Gimme the real thing, give me the life, gimme a fresh start, like a new born child, gimme the real thing… vs …And everyday’s a good day to die, fucka, fucka, die, mutha fucka, bye-bye!
“Mini Mini Mini” introduces a broken chain of highly beat-driven tracks. A relatively sluggish beat overlaid with all different kinds of heavy characterizes Hau Ruck’s delightful cover. Having never heard the original version, I enjoy the ‘80’s element’ it adds to an already well-rounded album and how it leads into the faster dance beat of “Professional Killer,” my co-favorite track. Showcasing Lucia’s solo singing voice once more, the 8th track features a rhythm and movement with guitars that glide in the background before popping out with the chorus riff.
“Ready to Blow” complements “Professional Killer” as my other favorite track. Largely reflecting the draw of the latter in rhythm and theme, “Ready to Blow” swaps solo vocals for crafty exchanges between Sascha and Lucia. Sascha’s pelts with the chorus Static in my head, lines blur red, I’ve got my mind made up and my trigger finger ready to blow to Lucia’s taunting Finger on the trigger I’m the barrel of a gun. Hau Ruck’s anthem, “Feed Our Fame,” takes on a strictly raw, guitar-driven, ‘live’ feel that neatly splices two songs that might otherwise be too similar if they were placed side-by-side.
“Auf Wiederseh’n” wraps up the album in usual fashion with a level of ‘What the hell?!...that’s a little different, but it’s still good…’ In fact, I swear I heard R2D2 doing very brief guest vocals, adding a whole heap of questions, such as ‘What’s with all this no guest vocalists talk?’ and ‘why does R2 sound dazed?’