Though it's a bit less intentionally noisy than previous
Neubaten
material,
½ Mensch
is, in a way, the group's masterpiece. The inspired use of such "traditional" instruments as a grand piano alongside the band's characteristic blazing percussion make for a record similar more to their compositional influences like Stockhausen than their nearest contemporaries,
Throbbing Gristle
or
Cabaret Voltaire
. The record that showed
Einstuerzende Neubaten
could rise above the concept of noise for its own sake to reach another level of noise-oriented post-punk music,
is an excellent feat of industrial music. ~ John Bush