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Einstürzende Neubauten
Dec. 18th, 1998 08:00 pmIn the great alternative wave of the early and mid-nineties, there were industrial rock bands. And when you heard about them and their histories, you heard about Einstürzende Neubauten. They were one of early industrial bands, and described as the most industrial of the industrial bands. I had no idea what they really sounded like, but I felt I needed to hear them.
I heard they were coming to town, and wondered if I should go. If I'd wanted to find out what they sounded like, I could have just bought a CD, but if I went to the concert, I'd hear a greater cross-section of their work. And concerts were generally more interesting than records. But after the record is done playing, you still have it. In the end, the concert was cheaper than a CD - $10 - so off I went to the show.
It was not what I expected. "Most industrial" kindof implies they were heavy. There were not. They were not hard rock, they were avant-garde. They were experimental. The only purpose-built instruments onstage were guitar, bass, keyboards and a bass drum. They had a couple of percussionist who all played what were pretty much just found objects. Steel sheets, plastic barrels, pipes, wrenches, grinders, drills, etc. Gravel falling on steel, a closely mic'd torch.
They had (and have) quite a varied repertoire of sounds. Heavy rhythm, minimalism, avant-garde, chanting, shrieking (both guitar and vocals), barely melodic singing - if you want to hear something different, this is your band. Not necessarily pleasant, or even fun, but interesting.
Vocalist Blixa Bargeld in a black three-piece suit with a teal shirt, well-dressed guitarist Jochen Arbeit, long-haired shirtless barefoot bassist Alexander Hacke, percussionists N.U. Unruh and Rudi Moser, and keyboard/synth player and sometimes-percussionist Ash Wednesday.
The show was definitely worth it. I can't say I ended up a big fan, but they still come around on the CD player now and then.
I heard they were coming to town, and wondered if I should go. If I'd wanted to find out what they sounded like, I could have just bought a CD, but if I went to the concert, I'd hear a greater cross-section of their work. And concerts were generally more interesting than records. But after the record is done playing, you still have it. In the end, the concert was cheaper than a CD - $10 - so off I went to the show.
It was not what I expected. "Most industrial" kindof implies they were heavy. There were not. They were not hard rock, they were avant-garde. They were experimental. The only purpose-built instruments onstage were guitar, bass, keyboards and a bass drum. They had a couple of percussionist who all played what were pretty much just found objects. Steel sheets, plastic barrels, pipes, wrenches, grinders, drills, etc. Gravel falling on steel, a closely mic'd torch.
They had (and have) quite a varied repertoire of sounds. Heavy rhythm, minimalism, avant-garde, chanting, shrieking (both guitar and vocals), barely melodic singing - if you want to hear something different, this is your band. Not necessarily pleasant, or even fun, but interesting.
Vocalist Blixa Bargeld in a black three-piece suit with a teal shirt, well-dressed guitarist Jochen Arbeit, long-haired shirtless barefoot bassist Alexander Hacke, percussionists N.U. Unruh and Rudi Moser, and keyboard/synth player and sometimes-percussionist Ash Wednesday.
The show was definitely worth it. I can't say I ended up a big fan, but they still come around on the CD player now and then.
