''What Do You Know, Deutschland?'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by German industrial band

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial rock band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art proje ...

, released in December 1986 by Z and Skysaw Records.

Background

''What Do You Know, Deutschland?'' was recorded from 1983 to 1986, with some tracks recorded before

En Esch Nicklaus Schandelmaier, (born 23 March 1968) is a German musician, better known by his stage name En Esch, and has been a member of the bands KMFDM, Pigface, Slick Idiot, and . History En Esch, born near Frankfurt, is an orchestra percussio ...

had started working with KMFDM founders

Sascha Konietzko Sascha Kegel Konietzko (born 21 June 1961), also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the fat ...

and

Raymond Watts Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

, some even before the band officially formed in 1984.

Release

Originally released by Z Records in Germany in 1986 with different artwork, the album was re-released, including songs from the " Kickin' Ass" single, in 1987 by SkySaw Records in the United Kingdom. In 1991,

Wax Trax! Records Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...

released ''What Do You Know, Deutschland?'' in the United States without "Zip". "Zip" was later released on the compilation album Agogo. A remastered reissue of ''What Do You Know, Deutschland?'' was released September 12, 2006, featuring new liner notes and photos of the band. A new version of the track "Kickin' Ass" was released under Watts' musical project

PIG The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

in November 2020, featuring guitarwork by Esch.

Reception

Vincent Jeffries of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said many of the songs lack the "guitar fury" of later releases, but that the album as a whole "has enough industrial grit to keep KMFDM fans interested in, if not awed by its dark intentions".

Track listings

Z Records release (1986)

"Me I Funk" is a partial cover of T. Rex's "Ballrooms of Mars" from

The Slider ''The Slider'' is the seventh studio album by English rock band T. Rex, and the third since abbreviating their name from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on 21 July 1972 by record labels EMI and Reprise. Two number-one singles, "Telegram Sam ...

SkySaw Records release (1987)

This version was released by Wax Trax! in 1991 (without the track "Zip"), and remastered by Metropolis in 2006 (with "Zip" reinstated).

Personnel

*Sascha Konietzko –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

*En Esch – vocals, guitars, drums, programming *Raymond Watts – vocals, programming, engineering *Jr. Blackmale – vocals ("Itchy Bitchy", "Lufthans")

References

External links

*
KMFDM DØTKØM
''What Do You Know, Deutschland?'' lyrics at the official KMFDM website {{Authority control KMFDM albums 1986 debut albums Metropolis Records albums Wax Trax! Records albums