Mein ears are bleeding! Einstürzende Neubauten’s 50 year boundary pushing legacy

By Bridget Holt 

Music Journalist 

Industrial pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten (translating to “collapsing new buildings”) have been on the cutting edge of music since their conception in the late 1970’s; taking a literal approach to the genre with the help of some sheet metal, power drills, jackhammers, and, of course, chainsaws. Provoked by the almost three-decade long division of Germany by the Berlin wall, the West Berlin based outfit pummeled into the underground punk scene with an unapologetic philosophy: to rebuild a city, it must first be clobbered to rubble.  

Einstürzende Neubauten debuted their first studio album, Kollaps, in July of 1981– gaining instant recognition with their very avant-garde, state-of-the-art performances both in and out of the studio. Frontman Blixa Bargeld– whom, alongside Nick Cave, would later become a founding member of “Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds”— could often be seen prowling the stage in his best leatherette; compulsively burning cigarettes and subjecting audiences to only the most perverse of vocal abstractions. Backing members N.U Unruh and F.M Einheit would conduct a chaotic symphony of one-of-a-kind musical contraptions made from junk and other

scrap-metal; along with jackhammering concrete, starting fires, and percussively battering shopping carts (or anything else they could get their hands on) with iron rods in place of drumsticks. The band’s earliest years were unequivocally rowdy— almost dangerous— but their provocative performances only helped them garner an elusive, punk-rock reputation and an ever-growing, cult-like following.

Einstürzende Neubauten – Sehnsucht (Official Video) 

Kollaps itself was soon to be recognized as a trailblazer in punk, electronic, and industrial music, with Einsturzende Neubauten bringing the abrasive on-stage antics into the recording studio. Their dark, unrelenting sound consisting of power tools, construction equipment, and other unorthodox DIY instruments would set them apart from the domination of punk and post-punk bands at the time; launching them into the ranks of other groundbreaking, experimental acts such as Cabaret Voltaire and The Birthday Party– both of which they would eventually perform with. 

The band would release the studio albums Halber Mensch [half-man] in ‘85, Fünf Auf Der Nach Oben Offenen Richterskala [five on the open-ended Richter scale] in ‘87, and later, Haus Der Luge [House of Lies] in ‘89, in which they would incorporate greater elements of electronics and power electronics into their sound— staying true to their reputation of toeing the line between music and ear-splintering noise. Einsturzende Neubauten would break into the 90’s achieved with what some would call “legend status”, and they released their fifth studio album Tabula Rasa in 1993. 

The band’s impact was imminent, and they would prove to have laid the groundwork for other soon-to-be industrial acts such as Ministry, Swans, and KMFDM– all of which taking notable influence from their sound. Nine Inch Nails founder, Trent Reznor, would release Neubauten’s seventh full-length album, Ende Neu [ending new], in 97’ on his Nothing Records label, and he even cites the group as a notable influence in an interview with NME. Spoken word artist and Black Flag frontman, Henry Rollins, could be spotted sporting a tattoo of the Neubauten symbol on his right bicep, and much like Reznor, is a self–proclaimed fan of the band. Their music would be incorporated into box office movies, most notably with their song, Armenia, in the ‘95 film, “Heat”, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, heightening the groups already international fame. 

Armenia 

Einstürzende Neubauten has since leaned into a much more accessible sonic output, marked by the release of the hauntingly stripped back Silence is Sexy in 2000, and Alles Wieder Offen [everything open again] in 2007; both of which consisting of some of Neubauten’s most irresistible ear-worms that prompt listeners like myself to butcher German in singing along. The band returned with their eleventh studio album, Lament, in 2014 after a brief hiatus, and they released their twelfth studio album, Alles in Allem [all in all], in 2020. 

 The group continues to diversify their already extensive discography, plundering on with their release of Rampen (apm: alien pop music) in April of 2024, in which they explore an eerily sophisticated and dramatic sound through a collection of in-studio live recordings. The album itself is nothing short of a monument for Einstürzende Neubauten, who proceeds to challenge the unwritten laws of commercial music through their unrequited, industrial rhapsodies. Their legacy precedes them as a testament to the group’s almost half-century of unparalleled creative servitude, beaconing unadulterated authenticity and inspiration for promising artists globally.

References:  

From The Archives -Einstürzende Neubauten- Concert Chronology / Gigography (I). (n.d.). https://fromthearchives.com/en/chronology1.html 

Fitzpatrick, R. (2013, July 3). The roots of… nine inch nails. NME. https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-roots-of-nine-inch-nails-767897