M'Lou Elkins
Industrial rock titans KMFDM have reissued their 2005 powerhouse HAU RUCK in a newly remixed and remastered edition to celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary. Titled HAU RUCK 2025, this definitive edition revives the band’s fourteenth studio release, originally recorded in Seattle and issued by Metropolis Records, with fresh sonic intensity.
Following the aggressive energy of 2003’s WWIII, KMFDM emerged as a tighter, more unified force, eager to evolve. “What we can all agree on, and I’m not saying we disagree on any other things, but everybody was pointing out that it should be really different,” recalled founder Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko when discussing the band’s creative direction. With that in mind, they leaned into the chaos, embracing the military slang FUBAR (“Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition/Repair”) as a guiding ethos, pushing for a sound that was more electronic, more danceable, noisier, and less reliant on traditional rock tropes.
The result? Anything but FUBAR.
HAU RUCK emerged as one of KMFDM’s most refined, hard-hitting statements, a visceral blend of sonic experimentation and political commentary. From the insurgent chants of “Free Your Hate” and “New American Century”, to the dark groove of “Real Thing”, the venomous stomp of “Professional Killer”, and the ironic swagger of “Feed Our Fame”, the album bristles with rage, wit, and conviction. A cover of Jacques Dutronc’s “Mini Mini Mini” adds a wild, unexpected twist, while the title track drives home the band’s message with the sheer force of its German namesake: “HAU RUCK,” meaning heave-ho, a battle cry of effort and unity.
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HAU RUCK 2025 – Tracklist
1.FREE YOUR HATE
2.HAU RUCK
3.YOU’RE NO GOOD
4.NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
5.REAL THING
6.EVERY DAY’S A GOOD DAY
7.MINI MINI MINI
8.PROFESSIONAL KILLER
9.FEED OUR FAME
10.READY TO BLOW
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Formed in 1984 by Sascha Konietzko, KMFDM (originally based in Hamburg) has blazed a trail through the industrial rock landscape with a fearless blend of electronic aggression, socio-political commentary, and sonic innovation. The band gained widespread recognition in the 1990s with hits like “Juke Joint Jezebel”, which cracked the Billboard charts and landed on soundtracks for Bad Boys, Mortal Kombat, and more.
After a brief hiatus in 1999, Konietzko resurrected KMFDM in 2002, joining forces with American vocalist Lucia Cifarelli (formerly of Drill) and guitarist/bassist Tim Skold (later of Marilyn Manson). Signing with Metropolis Records, the reinvigorated KMFDM continued their relentless output, recording and touring around the world. In 2008, Konietzko and Cifarelli returned to Germany, where they remain based today.
Now, with 2024’s LET GO marking the band’s 40th anniversary, HAU RUCK 2025 stands as both a celebration and a reaffirmation…a blast from the past, rebuilt for the future.
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