[.ca] Halber

Fantastic album, but order it direct:
This is a brilliant album - one of my all-time favorites. Before you buy it, though, you should be aware that EN has had an unhappy history with Some Bizarre, the distributor of this album. EN claims to have never received any money from Some Bizarre for the four greatest albums in their collection: Drawings of Patient O.T., Halber-Mensch, Five on the Open-Ended Richter Scale, and Haus der Luege. If you order those albums directly from Blixa's official website, the band will receive profits.

meine Sehnsucht......:
Track 9 of this album has been my musical awakening. "Das Schaben" is the most powerfull track made by any musician in all history. Its timbrical qualities are highly superior than any contemporary art composer (i.e. Xenakis, Lachenmann, Scelsi, Murail or whoever) or any noise artist (Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse, Merzbow or Masonna). The power to generate all kind of feelings and emotions is really amazing. Ten minutes of love. Ten minutes of hate. Ten minutes of destruction. Ten minutes of peace. Ten minutes of supremacy..... "Halber Mensch" is an important moment in EN career cause is the perfect interaction between the free form and chaos of early EN (albums as "Kollaps" for instance) with the relaxed state of nowadays EN. Tracks of this album show it. Some "pop" and mainstream -like songs such as "Z.N.S" faced to real wild and chaotic tracks such as "Das Schaben" or "Der Todd ist ein Dandy", the primitive "Halber Mensch" and semi-gothic "Letztes Biest". This album is really an actual and modern act of intelligent experimental attitude. High and highly highly recommended.

and a half stars -- kitchen utensil sounds:
Imagine letting loose a bunch of monkeys that had just smoked pot and had 6 shots of tequila inside a kitchen full of stainless steel utensils. If you record it, how would it sound? I'll bet it would be better than Halber Mensch. I tried to keep a straight face while listening to this CD. When I heard the lead singer emit a shriek that sounded like a Victorian lady who just found out that she had been violated by an orang utan, I couldn't control myself. I was giggling for the rest of the CD. After hearing this CD, I had an uncontrollable urge to record the sounds of flushing my toilet, mopping my kitchen floor and scrubbing my bath tub. Who knows! It would become a hit!!! The 1 and 1/2 stars are for Adrian Sherwood's remix.

Ungottlich:
At times haunting, and at times haunted. That is the only way one can describe E.N.'s work from this period. Previously, their music verged on avant-punk; later, it took on a more (gasp) pop-like quality (though it still has that edge to keep it just out of reach of American radio). Here, they are at their bleakest, and Berlin never sounded so damn good.

Great Album, Bad Record Company:
If you plan to buy this album, please don't buy the version distributed by Thirsty Ear/Some Bizarre Records. The company has never paid the band for its recordings, and NONE of your purchase price will go to the creators of this exceptional music. Another version is available through Indigo Records, and the group does get paid for those copies.

• Haber Mensch
• Yu-Gung (Futter Mein Ego)
• Trinklied
• Z.N.S.
• Seele Brennt
• Sehnsucht (Zitternd)
• Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy
• Letztes Biest (Am Himmel)
• Das Schaben
• Sand
• Yu Gung (Adrian Sherwood Remix)