KMFDM Says 'Adios'; Final Album Due April 13

01/22/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(1/22/99, 1 p.m. PST) - Industrial rock veterans KMFDM have apparently decided to call it quits. In a tersely worded statement released this morning, the group's founder and mastermind Sascha Konietzko says, "KMFDM is dead."

The statement goes on to say that release of the group's last album, appropriately titled Adios, is on hold, as the group recently ended its deal with longtime label home Wax Trax.

However, a spokesperson for TVT Records, which owns Wax Trax, says that the label plans to release Adios on April 13. "KMFDM as we know them are no longer," the spokesperson confirmed. "Adios will be their last record for TVT, but we don't know whether or not they plan a record under a different name for another label or do solo projects." The spokesperson adds that fans and some radio stations have already begun to plan wakes to commemorate the band's end.

Those hoping for any further insight into the apparent demise of the group are bound to be disappointed, since the Seattle-based Konietzko, who issued the statement through his publicist, would not elaborate on the statement, except to say, "We have also issued a media blackout until March 1."

Perhaps coincidentally, that date would have marked the group's 15th anniversary. Over its career, the group has issued nine albums, which, according to the statement, have collectively sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S.

The announcement of the band's breakup is also posted on its website (www.KMFDM.net), which also sports the message, "webmaster: gone fishin'."

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@mylaunch.com.