The band's earliest incarnation included German drummer En Esch and British vocalist Raymond Watts, the latter of whom left and rejoined the group several times over its history.

Members, independently or working together and with other musicians, have recorded under many other names, primarily Watts' Pig, Konietzko's Excessive Force, and Esch and Schulz's Slick Idiot.

[9] Sturm left early on,[10] but Konietzko continued performing, at one point having twenty people in his troupe, which by then was engaged in antics such as fire eating and throwing entrails at audiences.

Although the group did some live performances,[10] Konietzko and Esch dropped out of Missing Foundation before any recordings were made and went back to work as KMFDM,[2] collaborating with Hamburg-based studio owner Raymond Watts.

Skysaw Records gave the album a second UK release in 1987 and introduced the band to visual artist Aidan Hughes, usually credited as Brute!

[13] After working the Hamburg underground music scene and releasing albums on European labels, the band began its long-standing relationship with Wax Trax!

[14] KMFDM recorded and released its third album, UAIOE, in early 1989 for distribution in both the U.S. and Europe,[1] arrived in America for the first time on December 16,[16] and commenced touring the U.S. with Ministry.

[10] During KMFDM's first US tour, band members started using the phrase "Kill Motherfucking Depeche Mode" for the initialism to tease journalists who did not understand German.

KMFDM quickly became a part of the Chicago industrial music scene that included Ministry, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and Revolting Cocks.

[17] During 1991, Konietzko collaborated with Buzz McCoy of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult to record an album under the name Excessive Force titled Conquer Your World.

[17] After touring in 1992 with drummer Chris Vrenna,[22] the then-core of KMFDM (Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, and second guitarist Mark Durante) returned to Chicago and found that Wax Trax!

"[24] After the release of Angst, Wax Trax!/TVT Records launched a promotion in which fans were encouraged to devise as many alternate meanings for KMFDM as possible, with more than a thousand submissions resulting.

was saved from bankruptcy by an infusion of funds from TVT Records,[1][2] and in March 1994 announced plans to release the compilation set Black Box – Wax Trax!

Nihil featured KMFDM's most widely known song, "Juke Joint Jezebel", versions of which appeared on both the Bad Boys and Mortal Kombat soundtracks, the latter of which peaked at No.

[57] Some journalists were quick to jump on the possibility that the actions of Harris and the other shooter, Dylan Klebold, were inspired by the violent entertainment and Nazism,[58] though one wrote, "Lyrically, the band has written some songs that could easily be misconstrued by anyone lacking an ear for irony and looking for an excuse to commit violence.

[64] After being released from his contract with Universal due to a disagreement over who would produce the next album, Konietzko said he called Metropolis Records and asked if they'd be interested in signing KMFDM.

[9] Following the Finnish school shootings of 2007 and 2008, media reports again attempted to draw a connection between the shooters and KMFDM, and noted that both listed the band among their favorites.

"One of my biggest concerns immediately following this incident [the Columbine shooting] was that there would be copycats repeating such things in the future, as there often are when people commit heinous crimes and acts of violence.

[83] KMFDM's sixteenth studio album, Blitz, released in March 2009, showcased further collaboration with Skold, but less input from the band members not living in Germany.

in April 2011, featuring what Konietzko called "a slew of guest musicians"[95] including Rieflin, Koichi Fukuda, Free Dominguez, and William Wilson.

Harms, along with Lord of the Lost bandmates Pi (guitar) and Gared Dirge (keyboards), had been slated to perform as the live band for KMFDM's late 2017 tour.

[109] KMFDM's earliest output was performance art,[88] as Konietzko incorporated not only visuals such as burning beds and exploding televisions,[11] but also non-musical devices used as instruments, e.g. vacuum cleaners.

[114] While recognized along with Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy as pioneers in introducing industrial music to mainstream audiences,[14] KMFDM describes its sound as "The Ultra-Heavy Beat".

[115][120] Michael Saunders of the Boston Globe said of the band: "It's a small field, but KMFDM is tops in it: makers of dense, danceable, post-industrial torrents of noise.

"[130] MacDonald said in 1996, "With Ministry gone grindcore, Skinny Puppy just gone, and Nine Inch Nails a brand name, KMFDM is now the standard bearer of industrial",[40] though Erlewine and Hinds felt the band was losing some steam towards the end of the decade.

[131][132] Greg Rule declared in 1999, after its temporary disbandment, that KMFDM had "produced nine high-impact records that have earned them a large, loyal fanbase strewn across the planet.

KMFDM launched "Horde" in 2002, an exclusive fan club which gave members the opportunity to attend a private meet-and-greet with the band before every show, and allowed access to members-only music and footage online.

[137] In the 2004 Fankam project, an audience member was selected at each concert to record that night's show, as well as some back-stage antics, with a hand-held digital video camera.

The resulting footage was incorporated into the following year's 20th Anniversary World Tour DVD, which included fan photos submitted to the KMFDM official website.

[153] Konietzko gave him more freedom to use whatever themes he wished, resulting in the cover to Money, which Hughes said "was based upon my disillusionment with the street lifestyle I was experiencing at the time, and the art carries with it the implication that no matter what temptation lies in your path, you still gotta pay!