Die Krupps issue politically loaded ‘Will nicht – MUSS! / On Collision Course’ single
Die Krupps issue 'Will nicht - MUSS! / On Collision Course' single
The Düsseldorf EBM/industrial metal act Die Krupps has released the EP “Will nicht – MUSS! / On Collision Course” on Dependent Records. The EP is available as a 45th anniversary gatefold vinyl edition, with “petrol liquid vinyl” and a “petrol colored vinyl” variant.
The 6-track EP holds the tracks “Will nicht – MUSS!”, “On Collision Course” and 4 remixes. “Schattenzeit” was remixed by Mark Thwaite, “On Collision Course” by John Bechdel of Ministry, “Will nicht – MUSS!” by Jürgen Engler & Chris Lietz) and “I Am the Storm” by Cesar Soto of Ministry).
A video was also released for “Will nicht – MUSS!”.
What does the cover of the single mean?
This single is by far the most politically inspired one from Die Krupps. The single’s cover shows Donald Trump in profile. A small white Die Krupps logo sits on his upper arm. In the lower-left foreground, a girl in a red coat looks up, her face lit against the dark scene.
The title “Will nicht – MUSS!” translates as “Don’t want to — must!” It frames the image around pressure and forced compliance. In this context, it points to hardline executive action in the United States, with immigration enforcement as the clearest reference.
The rain, the stark silhouette, and the arm detail create the visual language of security and control. That matches the current U.S. debate around stepped-up border enforcement, including the militarized-zone approach and deployments tied to immigration policy.
The blurred figure in the background and the layered composition also suggest surveillance and public unrest. Read that as a reference to protest policing and the ongoing clash between public safety arguments and civil-liberties concerns.
About Die Krupps
Die Krupps are a Düsseldorf, Germany-based EBM and industrial metal band formed in 1980. Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka started the project with Ralf Dörper, and also Eva-Maria Gößling. The band’s name references the Krupp industrial dynasty, and the early sound combined electronics with metal percussion, including the “Stahlofon.”
The first release phase ran from 1980 to 1985. The debut “Stahlwerksynfonie” arrived in 1981 via Zickzack, recorded at Can’s Inner Space Studio on March 20, 1981 and mixed at Conny Plank Studio on March 28, 1981. Die Krupps followed with the EP/single “Wahre Arbeit, wahrer Lohn” (1981) and the album “Volle Kraft voraus!” (1982), alongside “Goldfinger” (1982). They then released “Entering the Arena” (1985) and the single “Risk” (1985).
The single “Machineries of Joy” (1989) preceded “Germaniac” (1990) and the anthology “Metall Maschinen Musik 91-81 Past Forward” (1991). In the 1990s, Die Krupps shifted toward guitar-driven industrial metal on the studio albums “I” (1992), “II – The Final Option” (1993), “III – Odyssey of the Mind” (1995), and “Paradise Now” (1997). Key related releases from that period include “Metal Machine Music” (1992), “The Power” (1992), “A Tribute to Metallica” (1992), “Fatherland” (1993), “To the Hilt” (1994), “Crossfire” (1994), “Bloodsuckers” (1994), “Isolation” (1995), “Scent” (1995), and the collaborative remix set “Remix Wars Strike 2: Die Krupps vs. Front Line Assembly” (1996). Other releases included the anthologies “The Final Remixes” (1994), “Rings of Steel” (1995), plus “Metalmorphosis of Die Krupps” (1997) and “Foundation” (1997).
The band reactivated in 2005 and included “Wahre Arbeit, wahrer Lohn / Der Amboss” (2005) and the anthology series “Too Much History. The Electro Years (Vol. 1)” (2007) and “Too Much History. The Metal Years (Vol. 2)” (2007), also issued as a limited double-CD set. The remix album “Volle Kraft Null Acht” (2009) was followed by the EP “Als wären wir für immer” (2010).
From 2013 onward, the studio album run continued with “The Machinists of Joy” (2013) and “V – Metal Machine Music” (2015). Later singles included “Risikofaktor” (2013), “Nazis on Speed” (2013), “Robo Sapien” (2014), “Battle Extreme” / “Fly Martyrs Fly” (2015), “Kaltes Herz” (2015), “Alive in a Glass Cage” (2016), “F*ck You” (2018), “Vision 2020 Vision” (2019), and “Welcome to the Blackout” (2019). These were followed by a series cover singles connected to the 2021 covers album.
In 2016, Die Krupps also issued “Stahlwerkrequiem” as a re-recorded album, plus the live release “Live im Schatten der Ringe” (2016). In 2021, a 1981 live recording surfaced as “6. 6. 1981 The Big Industrial Bang – The Yuzuru Agi Tapes,” documented as recorded at Haus Blumenthal in Krefeld on June 6, 1981 and released decades later.
The recent catalog includes the concept album “Vision 2020 Vision” (2019) and the covers album “Songs from the Dark Side of Heaven” (2021). In August 2025, the band announced a multi-album deal with Dependent Records and set a new studio album for 2026, while also announcing digital and physical reissues of a large part of the catalog.
The most recent release in this cycle is the EP “Will nicht – MUSS! / On Collision Course.”
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