| Halber Mensch | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Einstürzende Neubauten |
| Cover: | HalberMenschAlbumCover.jpg |
| Released: | 2 September 1985 |
| Recorded: | 1983–1985 |
| Length: | 35:32 |
| Label: | Some Bizarre |
| Producer: | Gareth Jones, Einstürzende Neubauten |
| Prev Title: | Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. |
| Prev Year: | 1983 |
| Next Title: | Fünf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala |
| Next Year: | 1987 |
Halber Mensch (or 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 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)".
Trouser Press described Halber Mensch as Einstürzende Neubauten's "strongest record" and "truly remarkable."[2] AllMusic called it "an excellent feat of industrial music." In a 2019 feature, Pitchfork named it the second-best industrial album of all time.[3]
In 2002, after a continuous conflict with Some Bizzare Records, the band released a remastered reissue of the album through their own label Potomak, with a slight variation of the cover image.[4]