Customer Reviews

Strategies Against Architecture III: 1991-2001

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Einsturzende comes through again with their latest musical masterpiece. Even though this, their latest release is highly experimental, their are many shining moments here that even people unfarmiliar with Einsturzende will enjoy. The earlier albums were more primal and grinding, whereas this addition is more solemn, deep, and haunting. There is still music here that is "heavy," but the mechanics of ambient sound are much cleaner and in control here, as opposed to early albums which have a experimental, disconnected feel. Their music here, still stretches limitations, though the lyrics are not as abrasive, the orechstration of real industrial sound is even more intelligent than before. Some of the songs seem spacious at first, but upon familiarizing with them the roaming background effects become an emulsion of sheer beauty and magnificence. This is evidenced in songs like "Architektur ist Geiselnahme(alt)" and "Alles Was Iregendwie Nutzt(new)," which begin gradually as the gathering of the ocean tides, then crescendo to a brilliant conclusion of grandeur. It is as though something greater than comprehension like a devine being has arisen from between the notes of music. For the fans of Einsturzende, there are many great live versions of previous songs here, like "Ende Neu," "Redukt," and "Alles Was Irgendwie Nutzt." Yet, there is something for everyone here, from the techno-industrial beat of "12305TE NACHT" and "Die Interimsleibenden," to the sleepy harmonic hum of "The Garden" and "Bili Rubin," and to the utter rhythmically, metallic percussion of "Drachen" and "Was Ist Ist" Strategies Against Architecture III aims to please. Yet, if you are unfamiliar with this German industrial band, I recommend starting with Strategies I or II, or Ende Neu.

Admittedly I was new to the game when I bought this . I had heard of them but I didn't know what they sounded like . I bought this and I haven't regretted it . This is something that is impossible to describe in words . If anything the music is incredible ( OK it has drills and the bleeps of mobile phones but all credit for experimentation - let it continue ).

If you are intrigued by this band - I would suggest you buy this straight away . If the sound of drills and such like isn't for you then that's OK - whatever you are into is of your own concern .

I just recently bought this record, and living in finland, Einsturzende Neubauten records are hard to come by.
Therefore, it is my first EN record. I am a fan of noisy, experimental sound in music, and having heard of EN, i knew they were a band i would like.
What i liked in their music, was the lack of synthezisers.
They have a very unique sound to their music. Blixa Bargeld is a fitting singer for the band, and in my opinion, is able to bring out emotion nicely.
Especially the live versions of the songs have lot of energy, the spontaneus pieces are very coherent, not degenerating into uncomprehensible rabble.
Some of the songs in there are quite unusual, silent and ambientish, while some are rough rides.
I liked it very much, and i believe if anyone fancies experimental, industrial music he should grab this one.

get a good idea of what these guys are all about
(vol 2 of this is even better

This 2-cd set of rare & previously unreleased music they did in the 90's shows some sides of Neubauten we hadn't seen before & offers more of what we knew. It has angular noise, futuristic minimalism that changes in increments over a vast fabric of repetition. Jarring ambience. There are some live versions of songs from 90's EN albums. They sound different live. It gets 4 stars because the music is so great. I can't give it more because the music is so uneven that it can be kind of hard to listen to sometimes. But I also feel like since this was released almost simultaneously with Berlin Babylon, their most solid album ever, they must have made this one so uneven on purpose....

Having never heard their music I bought this cd used and on the cheap and only because I had read other reviews that EN is a great band. As is often the case with experimental upon first listen I wasn't sure that it was even worth the six bucks I shelled out for it. Well... that was about six months ago and I've probably played it every day since. Another reviewer called it "addicting" and I have to agree so if you're in a 12 Step Program for recovering music addicts then you might want to stay away but otherwise I highly recommend this one to anyone who's into experimental sounds and doesn't mind lyrics sung in German. One quick and important note though... I'm not familiar with their early works which is often labeled as "industrial"... this one is anything but.

Here they show us what experiments they'd been keeping to themselves in the 90's. Their futuristic minimalism that sometimes evolves into textures & fabrics like those of composer Steve Reich is exhilerating. In their capable hands it's also very unique. On some songs on this cd there really might be more silence than sound, & in others there can be up to like 7 tracks of repetition. The live selections are ok, interesting, but not my favorite. The remixes & alternate versions are great. But I'm only giving it 4 stars rather than 5 because all the different veins these songs explore go in so many different directions that it's like a frayed, unraveled rope -- hard to hold onto. As an album, it can be spotty.

One thing first before I comment on this album: I am not a die-hard old EN fan. In fact, I don't even know most of their stuff. So I have no idea how this album relates to what they did before etc. I personally think that something like that doesn't really matter at all anyway, or does it?

The one EN album I knew before is the direct progenitor to this one, "Silence Is Sexy" - which is fairly similar to this one. If you like "Silence" there's no doubt you will also really enjoy this album.

I have been listening to IDM a lot and I was surprised how EN are able to create atmospheres which so far I had only heard in IDM. I am a big sucker for interesting sounds and the way EN build structures out of simple sounds is very amazing! The live version on the CDs show they can also do it in concert which is even more amazing.