Einstürzende Neubauten — Strategies Against Architecture 80-83

• Artist: Einstürzende Neubauten
• Title: Strategies Against Architecture 80-83
• Year: 1984
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary?
• Acquired: ?
• Keeper: Yes

I have the perfect Halloween soundtrack for you: Einstürzende Neubauten’s Strategies Against Architecture 80-83. These guys are the uncrowned kings of noise and experimental music. This early compilation is particularly eerie, and metallic, in the literal sense of the word. Typical “instruments” listed for each song include “hollow metal object”, “metal plates”, “scratching metal”, “air conditioning duct” and so on. What vocals are there, are, how you say… distressed? And check out a few of these Halloween-ready titles: “Tanz Debil (A Dance of Mental Illness)”, “Schmerzen Hören (Listen with Pain)”, “Draußen ist Feindlich (Outside is Hostile).”

Of course, the band expanded beyond this type of music over the years. And they have put on some noteworthy live performances in their time. I have never seen them in person, but I did get to see leader Blixa Bargeld once with Nick Cave.

They have a MySpace page. The two songs there are very pretty, and not at all like what this album is like.

You should read this Wikipedia article about Einstürzende Neubauten. No self-respecting art school student should be without some of their music.