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German electronic music band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Armageddon Dildos is a German electro-industrial-duo originally consisting of Uwe Kanka (vocals) and Dirk Krause (synthesizer).[1] The act was formed in 1988 in Kassel Germany, and the name comes from the slang term for intercontinental ballistic missiles. They perform songs in both German and English.
The Armageddon Dildos have been popular within their native Germany. Outside of Germany they have a cult following among industrial music lovers. In the United States their music has had some airtime on experimental music radio stations. They have been compared to bands like Rammstein, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Coil.
Uwe Kanka and Dirk Krause met and began working together as early as 1986 in Kassel, Germany. The pair met in a shared rehearsal space where Krause was working with a synthpop band and Kanka was with a new wave band called Beat The Beat.[2] It soon became clear that the duo wanted to work together on music that was more electronic and aggressive, which eventually led them to Music Research and Talla 2XLC (Andreas Tomalla). Armageddon Dildos were one of the first acts on the Music research imprint Zoth Ommog Records, alongside other significant acts such as Leæther Strip, X Marks the Pedwalk, and Tomalla's own band, Bigod 20.[3]
In 1990, the band released their first single, "East West," followed in 1991 by their first album That's Armageddon.[4] These were followed by album singles "Never Mind" and "Resist." In 1993, the band released the single "Homicidal Maniac" which added a layer of guitar to their otherwise all-electronic sound.[3]
Prior to 1993, Tomalla's band Bigod 20 had scored a hit with the track "The Bog," which led to a major label deal with Sire Records. In 1993, Tomalla used this relationship to arrange a deal with Sire for Armageddon Dildos.[5] Sire released "Homicidal Maniac" in the US as a prelude to their next album Homicidal Dolls.
In 1994, the band covered fellow Sire artist Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday," released as the maxi-single, Come Armageddon.[3] The cover was suggested by the label as a tongue-in-cheek take on the song's lyric, "come, armageddon, come."[6]
By this point, the band had toured across Europe, including Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Spain, Holland, Italy, and France, and two shows in the US at the New Music Seminar in New York City.[6][3]
In May 1994, the band went to Chicago to record the album Lost with producer Keith "Fluffy" Auerbach. The album featured guitar work by Skatenigs guitarist Mat Mitchell and percussion by Felix Miklik of Hip Deep Trilogy and Drag. Commenting on the Chicago recording session, Kanka said "we got what we came for, an American sound."[3] The album made an appearance on the CMJ RPM charts, peaking at #21.[7] Lost and the album single "Too Far To Suicide" would be the band's last releases on Sire.
The band released a couple of singles, "Unite" and "We Are What We Are," before landing a deal with Bertelsmann Music Group in 1997. Under BMG, the group released a new album, Speed, and two singles. The duo closed out the 1990s with the album Re:Match and a remix maxi of "East West" as Eastwest 2000, both released by Zoth Ommog.
In 2000, Krause left the group leaving Kanka to continue on his own.[2] In the early 2000s, Kanka released a pair of Armageddon Dildos albums on Ausfahrt/Electric Blue, Morgengrauen in 2003 and Sangreal in 2005.
In April 2007 the band embarked on a US tour, marking the band's first live dates in North America in more than a decade.[8]
In 2011, Armageddon Dildos signed with Alfa Matrix[9] and released their first album in six years: Untergrund.[10] On Untergrund, Kanka worked with producer Mattias Black, as well as musicians Rene Nowotny and Ulf Häusgen and Kanka's daughter Denise (aka Malin) on guest vocals.[2]
After several more years, the band released the single "Herbstzeitlose" in 2018,[9] followed by the single "Heut Nacht" and album Dystopia in 2020.[11][2]
In 2021, the band joined former label mates, Orange Sector, to co-release a single, "War of the Religions".[12] "War of the Religions" reached #8 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC).[13]
In 2022, Kanka joined with Martin Bodewell of Orange Sector to form a side project named Kanka Bodewell. The duo released two albums, Herzblut in 2022 and Stroboscope in 2024.[14]
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