Steel mill symphonists (did I hear something about a possible Stahlwerksinfonie tour?) and Industrial Metal veterans, DIE KRUPPS, are back with a brand new album. The new effort, entitled V – Metal Machine Music (released on August 28 via SPV), is more guitar-driven and heavier than previous releases, perfectly made to let the dance floors vibrate. And DIE KRUPPS waste no time to get their new album live on stage. During the entire September the band tours through Europe, so don't miss them!

:: pics ::

This Sunday marks the official beginning of the tour (if you leave the previous two festival appearances on the weekend aside). The tour package includes 3 bands, with JANOSCH MOLDAU and THE RED PAINTINGS sharing the stage. As for that, the evening starts quite late at the • FZW Club • in Dortmund. A bothersome ticket seller leads to speculations the show might be sold out. Looking down the queue I assume the show will take place in the club, not in the bigger hall. And so it happened: a sold out show in the club. A cuddly and sweaty matter this evening ;)

Due to magazine related work I already heard of :: JANOSCH MOLDAU :: and kept his beautiful voice in mind, which, at times, even sounds sacral. To add this band to this tour package is an interesting but adventurous approach in my opinion. Clever idea regarding variety and dynamics, but JANOSCH MOLDAU indeed had a tough position. The majority of fans wanted to see Die Krupps and had its difficulties with the melancholic electro sound. No jumping and clapping could activate the crowd, response and feedback was unfortunately quite lame. The room on stage was limited but that did not stop singer Janosch to express his emotions with spacious moves. Doing so he supposedly kicked his tech-bag every now and then, what led to some sound breaks. Ok, never mind.
JANOSCH MOLDAU presented almost the entire new album, Minor (released in May), added by two tracks from the previous one, Lovestar. The set was a bit lengthy but I liked it.
Setlist: Done Wrong, My Love, The Other Side, Bleed On, Leave And Go, State Of Hurt, The Harbour, In Another World, Shiner, Jesus Denies, We Both Feel Minor

From a musical point of view there is no need to introduce :: DIE KRUPPS ::. The band is in high spirits and frontman Jürgen Engler seems to have the fun of his life this evening. He laughs, jokes, jumps and dances as if there is no tomorrow. And doing so he is extremely infective ;) Again some technical issues approach: the band can't hear itself, for the crowd it is too quiet and for the band it is too dark on stage (see!). Didn't bother or narrow the mood any bit, much more it paved ground for some witty crosstalk. DIE KRUPPS of course focused on their new record V – Metal Machine Music, but also played many other songs, old and new, across the band's history. The crowd acted as lively and jolly as the band did what immediately caused a lack of oxygen and streams of sweat. Well, it at least should have benefited the bar. Great tour kick-off and a fantastic evening (except the issue with my car battery at 1:30am and the alarm set for 4:30am – was a short night I tell ya)!
Setlist: Crossfire, The Dawning Of Doom, Isolation, Risikofaktor, Kaltes Herz, Battle Extreme, Odyssey Of The Mind, Scent, Alive In A Glass Cage, Road Rage Warrior, Black Beauty White Heat, Fly Martyrs Fly, Nazis auf Speed, Metal Machine Music, Robo Sapien, To The Hilt, Fatherland // Machineries Of Joy, Bloodsuckers

story & pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography