Let's review a CD, shall we?

Naïve from KMFDM was released in 1990 and was withdrawn from release, edited, and re-released due to a copyright hassle involving an apparently unauthorized audio sample used in one track. Later versions of this disk lack the offending sample, but I'm proud to say that my copy is the original, un-edited version! Apparently, KMFDM fans are passionate enough that the used disk commands a nice premium in the used market, so if you think you have an original, don't sell it without checking the value first.

KMFDM is a good example of what was called industrial music back in 1990, with metal-tinged guitars merging with sampled sounds, drum loops, and drum machines. The grooves are danceable but not nimble, and the singing is typically guttural growling while the songs explore ugliness and brutality in a fashion that might disturb more delicate listeners (especially those who might find fascist imagery disturbing in a German band--but they clearly revel in things that are completely antithetical to that movement, so don't go making accusations). Even the cover art, by Brute, reflects this unholy melange of force, anti-authoritarianism, and sex (I store this face-down at the office). How dark, yet playful does this get? A favorite track of mine features the refrain, "I want to go to hell," while another revels in the sheer sonic glory of a machine-tinged wall of guitars to exult, "you'll be god-like!"

I have often found the Cookie Monster-stylings of metal and industrial singers not so much off-putting as kind of goofy and cartoonish, but singer Sascha colors his singing with enough real feeling and melody to give KMFDM a beautifully ugly kind of melodiousness that suits the sound of the grinding, chugging guitars and thumping bass notes accompanying him. He sounds especially good in his native German, although the lyrics in both English and German have a feral simplicity--goth kids looking for their Romantic poetry should look elsewhere. This is an album that won't make you angry; it'll make you realize you're glad you're angry.

9 out of 10

CDs listened to today:

• William Schuman: Symphony No. 9
• Edvard Grieg: From Holberg's Time
• KMFDM: Naïve
• Bill Frisell Quartet: (eponymous)
• Fats Navarro: The Fats Navarro Story, disk 2
• Bill Watrous: Manhattan Wildlife Refuge
• William Schuman: Symphony No. 10 (Gerard Schwarz conducting)
• Juraj Filas: Sonata For Trombone And Piano (At the end of the century)