To commemorate the successful return of KMFDM, Metropolis Records is pleased to announce the release of the first KMFDM live album and DVD ever! Sturm & Drang 2002 was recorded live at four stops on the US Tour. Each track was compiled by Sascha Konietzko. himself. Sturm&Drang 2002 represents the triumph of KMFDM!

"Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid" is back once again as KMFDM! Bow to the Warriors!

Even if you were one of the many fans to get into any of the SOLD OUT performances, you still ain't seen nuthin' yet!

The KMFDM "STURM & DRANG" TOUR 2002 DVD (playing NOW on my living room tube!) features nearly 2 full hours of film. We're talking high-quality editing of 31 shows over 34 days on the tour. plus plenty of out takes (more than 35 minutes of outtakes from the road and back stage).. but really, about a third of this dvd is devoted to the fans! sharp quality imaging, really personal schtuff. And, Lucia, my GOD! If the commerical powers that be were to make a cyber-industrial Barbie Doll, they'd have to model it after Lucia Cifarelli!

I see a lot of eye candy take the stage.. Lucia REALLY carries herself marvelously. She's not a wall flower. she's not a dancing puppet playing to a choreography ... she's got a powerful stage presence, and she's so wonderful with the fans.

Lucia Cifarelli has a new album coming out soon.

I do believe that I saw Lucia signing a fans's bra during the filming of this dvd. And yes, the bra-owner was still wearing it at the time.

Raymond "PIG" Watts! Ladies, be prepared to drool just a little as you begin to get up close and personal with that sweaty hunka man-flesh!

And Sascha Konietzko, of course, is just so fucking kewl! From the video footage shown on this tape, it appears that a great many, many fans alojng the route of this tour were afforded plenty of opportunities to hang-out with the legendary KMFDM!

Here's a brief re-cap on our story: Photographer Sean Strauss, and myself arrived early-on to wait for members of KMFDM to find a few moments for an interview prior to the opening of the doors June 01, 2002 at The ROSELAND THEATRE in downtown Portland, Oregon. The time allotted for the interview by one of the staff was quoted at "15 minutes!" For whatever reasons, we ended up chatting for nearly 90 minutes with Sascha K. Bill Rieflin, and other band mateson this tour, and then, Sascha apparently took an interest in finding any of the more cool places to shop and asked for our assistance. I was happy to recommend SPARTACUS LEATHERS, which is just a few blocks up from The ROSELAND THEATRE on Burnside in downtown Portland, Oregon. The Rose Festival parade was preparing itself to start marching and we narrowly made it up to Spartacus and back to The Roseland again before the momentum got underway... Meanwhile, much jovial fun and laughter was had by all. And then, realising that Sonya Brown was joining us, and that the economy is a bit tight, Sascha delivered for her an all access pass so that she wouldn't need to wait in line to get in, or part with cash that could be spent on getting a KMFDM STURM & DRANG TOUR 2002 tee shirt, which is exactly what MS. Sonya Brown ended up purchasing with the cash spared. Lucia Cifarrelli also joined us for the trek over to Spartacus Leathers, and with a few more in-tow, with Sascha K. marching on up the boulevard, it really felt like something of a punk-parade, as people stuck in traffic headed in either direction occassionally leaned out of windows to stare, and sometimes yell out some phrase of greeting, recognition... we heard nothing impolite. Portland is far too sophisticated a place to live for that sort of thing! All-in-all, I believe that we spent about 3 hours with Sascha prior to the opening of the doors at the ROSELAND THEATRE, JUNE 01, 2002.

And, so, returning once again to the DVD review...

I rather expected to find myself less than impressed with the DVD of the tour than I was the actual tour itself... Nothing compares to hanging out with Sascha K. in the flesh. And yet, this DVD certainly grips my attention from beginning to end - everytime! This DVD reflects the best compilation of tour video footage that I have ever had an opportunity to watch here at home. Both on stage, and off-stage, the energy levels run generous toward the fans.

This dvd will crack you up & keep you entertained for every moment.

We also got to see a few snippets of live interviews and stuff...

Plus at the very end of the DVD, there's the Tek-War type music video for the song "ATTAK!/Reload".

The *only* thing I would be critical about for this DVD is that I would like to see some sub-title stuff for when they were in a different city.

31 cities, though... that's a lot of freaking editing to do. Here we have about 2 hours of edited down footage... not just edited, but expertly arranged...

KMFDM band mates did try to let the audience know about "locations" verbally in conversations exhibited during the filming.

Views within several music venues is shown during each song performance.

All of the performances filmed are SYNC'd together digitally ... During any given song of the 14 tracks available, you will see 4 shows happening simultaneously in which the flow is uninterrupted... that's digital technology today. If you were'nt watching it, just listening, you wouldn't notice the changes in venue throughout the song.

LOTS of footage FROM the stage, rather than from the back of the house.

The live band shots are close - to - very close, rather than shot from 100 feet away. The crowds hanging on at the edge of the stages become *clearly* immortalised on film.

And, that's not even the thick of it... there's tons of footage of KMFDM clearly showing appreciation for their fans, roaming the streets, even engaging street bums in discussions of music ... a lot of convenience store antics and pre-stage discussions, in-store appearances, and sold out show lines shooting the fans, chatting with the fans, signing autographs on anything presented for signing.. a lot of candid moments...

Concert performances are delivered with 100% clarity from a multitude of angles that highlight the skills and talents of all band mates.

Excellent lighting displays, close ups of percussion, and every contribution to the show. Even the stage manager gets his moment of fame (heckled) in opening one of the shows...

It's a riot! I believe we see a keyboard die a prolonged and vicious death during one of the songs performed. It's delicious entertainment for any fan of underground music production, the best moments of touring with KMFDM... It's just wonderful!

So... maybe I won't get to see The Matrix sequel the day it comes out in local theatres. Maybe I don't see The Matrix sequel until it hits dvd.

I'll tell you what I WILL do...

I am going to rock out with the masters of cyberpunk: Sascha K. and the KMFDM "STURM & DRANG" TOUR 2002 DVD "for-ever"!

Killer Klowns From Outer Space: DVD [Rated R]

KMFDM: WWIII: Tour 2003

[Issue Sixty // May-June 2003]