Halber Mensch

For the film by Sogo Ishii with Einstürzende Neubauten, see Halber Mensch (film).

Halber Mensch (or ⁠1/2⁠ Mensch; English: Half Person) is the third studio album by German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, released on 2 September 1985 by Some Bizzare Records in the U.K. and by What's So Funny About GmbH in Germany. In the U.S., the album was distributed by Rough Trade Records.^[1]

Halber Mensch
Studio album by Einstürzende Neubauten
Released	2 September 1985
Recorded	1983–1985
Genre	Industrial industrial rock experimental rock
Length	35:32
Label	Some Bizarre
Producer	Gareth Jones, Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten chronology
Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. (1983) Halber Mensch (1985) Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala (1987)

Background

Halber Mensch shows a wider artistic range for the group, incorporating elements of electronic dance music in "Yü-Gung (Fütter mein Ego)" and performing the title track nearly a cappella. The group also expands their dynamic range; Blixa Bargeld's voice in "Seele Brennt" suddenly switches from a barely audible whisper to a high-pitched scream, while quiet bass guitar overtones float over relatively restrained percussion in "Letztes Biest (am Himmel)".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Alternative Rock	8/10[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography	5/10[5]
Laut.de	[6]
MusicHound Rock	[7]
OndaRock	8.5/10[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10[9]

Trouser Press described Halber Mensch as Einstürzende Neubauten's "strongest record" and "truly remarkable".^[10] AllMusic called it "an excellent feat of industrial music".^[2] In a 2019 feature, Pitchfork named it the second-best industrial album of all time.^[11]

Reissue

In 2002, after a continuous conflict with Some Bizzare Records,^{[citation needed]} the band released a remastered reissue of the album through their own label Potomak, with a slight variation of the cover image.^[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Einstürzende Neubauten, except as noted.

Side A

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Halber Mensch" ("Half Person")	Blixa Bargeld	Alexander Hacke, Bargeld, F.M. Einheit, Mark Chung, N.U. Unruh, Nikkolai Weidemann	4:13
2.	"Yü-Gung (Fütter Mein Ego)" ("Yugong (Feed My Ego)")			7:14
3.	"Trinklied" ("Drinking Song")			1:15
4.	"Z.N.S." ("C.N.S.")			5:40

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Seele Brennt" ("Soul Is Burning")	4:05
2.	"Sehnsucht (Zitternd)" ("Desire (Trembling)")	2:55
3.	"Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy" ("Death Is a Dandy")	6:41
4.	"Letztes Biest (Am Himmel)" ("Last Beast (In the Sky)")	3:28

CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Sand" (Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra cover)	Hazlewood	3:30
10.	"Yü-Gung (Adrian Sherwood Remix)"		7:28
11.	"Das Schaben" ("The Rasping")		9:22

Personnel

Einstürzende Neubauten Blixa Bargeld – production Mark Chung – production Alexander Hacke – production N.U. Unruh – production F.M. Einheit – production

Additional personnel Ma Gita – vocals Monika – vocals Sabrine – vocals Verena – vocals

Technical Gareth Jones – production, recording and mixing on all tracks except "Seele Brent" Nainz Watts – engineering Thomas Stern – engineering Michael Zimmerling – recording and mixing on "Seele Brennt" Tim Young – mastering Animal House – sleeve design Vincent Huang – sleeve photography