Blitz is German industrial rock group KMFDM's sixteenth studio album, released on March 24, 2009, on KMFDM Records and Metropolis Records. It also marks the first use of five letter song titles and a five letter album title since WWIII. The album charted after its release, as did the song "People of the Lie". Blitz had songs written in three different languages, and was moderately well received by critics. Most of its songs were remixed for the band's next release, Krieg.
| Blitz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 24, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Industrial rock, electro-industrial | |||
| Length | 52:26 | |||
| Label | Metropolis Records/KMFDM Records | |||
| Producer | KMFDM | |||
| KMFDM chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe symbol used for the first track, 
, is a variation of the astronomical symbol for the planet Uranus, 
. Sascha Konietzko, the band's founder, mentions the lyrics "Up Uranus" in his blog,[1] and at the place of the symbol in lyrics, "up Uranus" is sung. "Bait and Switch" contains lyrics from "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". The lyrics for "Davai" are Russian, while the lyrics for "Potz Blitz!" are German. The track "Me & My Gun" is a song loosely about the Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Release
editBlitz was released on March 24, 2009. It was on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums Chart for four weeks, and peaked at No. 9.[2] It reached No. 1 on the CMJ Loud Rock Select chart[3] and No. 15 on the FMQB Metal Detector chart. "People of the Lie" reached No. 1 for three weeks on CMJ's Loud Rock Select Tracks chart.[3]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [4] |
| PopMatters |   [5] |
| ReGen Magazine | [6] |
| Sputnikmusic | [7] |
Blitz received mixed to positive reviews.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | " (Up Uranus)" | Sascha Konietzko | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Bait & Switch" | Lucia Cifarelli, Konietzko | 5:56 |
| 3. | "Davai" | Konietzko | 4:30 |
| 4. | "Never Say Never" | Cifarelli, Jules Hodgson, Konietzko | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Potz Blitz!" | Hodgson, Konietzko | 4:23 |
| 6. | "People of the Lie" | Cifarelli, Konietzko | 4:53 |
| 7. | "Being Boiled" (The Human League cover) | Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, Philip Oakey | 4:07 |
| 8. | "Strut" | Cifarelli, Konietzko, Andy Selway | 5:30 |
| 9. | "Bitches" | Konietzko | 4:23 |
| 10. | "Me & My Gun" | Cifarelli, Konietzko | 3:30 |
| 11. | "Take'm Out" | Konietzko | 6:51 |
| Total length: | 52:26 | ||
Personnel
editAll information from 2009 liner notes.[8]
Musicians
edit- Lucia Cifarelli – vocals (1, 2, 4–6, 8, 10)
- Jules Hodgson – guitar (1–4, 6–10), drum programming (4), drum enhancement (9, 10), all instruments (5), production (1–10), mixing
- Sascha Konietzko – vocals (1–7, 9–11), analog synthesizers (1–4, 6–10), drum programming (1–4, 6–10), sitar (4), loops (7), P-Funk bass (8), all instruments (11), production, mixing
- Tim Skold – bass (1, 9), cymbals and hi-hats (1–4, 6, 9, 10), drum enhancement (1, 4, 8), drum sound design (2, 3, 6, 9, 10), Soviet synth (6, 8, 9), production (1–4, 6, 8–10)
Additional personnel
edit- Anna Koudriachova – countup (3)
- Andy Selway – digital synthesizers (8), drum programming (8)
- Steve White – guitar (8)
- Cheryl Wilson – vocals (8)
Production
edit- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Brute! – cover art
- Justin Gammon – layout
- Kirk Edward Mitchell – photography
- Vibrent Management – post production coordination
References
edit- ^ "Kaptain's Korner". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- ^ "KMFDM Dance/Electronic Albums Chart". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- ^ a b Madison, Tjames (June 22, 2009). "KMFDM Prepares to 'Blitz' US Stages". SoundSpike. Retrieved July 14, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Jeffries, David (March 24, 2009). "Blitz Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ Schiller, Mike. "KMFDM: Blitz". PopMatters. Popmatters.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived February 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Spencer, Trey (March 25, 2009). "KMFDM - Blitz (staff review)". Sputnukmusic. Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ Blitz (CD booklet). KMFDM. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Metropolis Records. 2009.
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