CD, Vendetta Music, 2010
www.ttx-net.sk/kifoth
Kifoth (a cunning anagram of “Kneel in Front of the Executioner”) deliver, on “Violence Corporation”, pretty standard fare in the realm of electro-industrial, calling to mind acts like KiEw, Suicide Commando and Pierrepoint. This is not to say that it’s more of the same formulaic harsh dance music – on the contrary, Kifoth manage, despite the sonically limited nature of their chosen medium/genre, to offer up, in varying degrees, doses of aggression, socio-political commentary and, believe it or not, fun. All in all, everything you might desire in a quasi-industrial record! They also, in their sound, pay homage to acts of years gone by, recalling such greats as Front Line Assembly (in their heavily layered, complex arrangements), Leaetherstrip (in their confrontational approach) and Nitzer Ebb (in their powerful percussive processes). While I laud this respectful nod given to the past (even though it has to be taken into account that Kifoth have been producing music within this genre for about eighteen years, so it could just be a case of sticking to what you know), some may see this as just another case of repeating history. I disagree – “Violence Corporation” is a fresh, powerful kick in the teeth for the industrial and harsh EBM scenes.
Having graduated from the School of Harsh EBM, I find myself moving in my personal tastes from pure dance-driven acts toward the more melodic, and despite the common-time blasts on tracks like “Jihad”, Kifoth also supply some more introspective, downtempo stuff, typified by the track “Egotism”. Although it’s almost traditional – expected, even – for albums like this to contain at least one gloomy track as a break from the continuous punishing bass lines, Kifoth manage to slip this gem past you without it standing out in total counterpoise to the rest of the disc.
To sum up: positive points include its old school sensibilities, clever sequencing and no-holds-barred social critique. Negative aspects would be its repetition of what has gone before and the overly serious nature – a very limiting factor when attracting a new audience that doesn’t know what to do when confronted with ’90s industrial attitude… Personally, I find the pros outweigh the cons, but I’m always impressed when music returns me to my youth, so I may not be the most objective judge here.
[7.5/10]
— David van der Merwe