omehow we’ve managed to end up with two very different musical genres which both go under the name of industrial: the repetitive rocking and roaring of Ministry and early NiN and the darker experimental noise collectives like Test Dept and Throbbing Gristle. Shamefully Einstürzende Neubauten are often excluded from the latter category for two reasons: their work is sang almost exclusively in German and many listeners still refuse to accept the validity of electric drills and meat as legitimate musical instrumentation.

This collection of early Neubauten single releases is extremely instructive. It maps out the steady expansion and refinement of the band’s sound, illustrating the invention of their musical language and helps to demystify their sonic experimentation. Culled from the period preceding their first long player (1980-82) these chronologically ordered recordings vary in simplicity and production quality to form a picture of Einstürzende Neubauten stretching and flexing itself as a musical unit. Like a more organic, though less keen-to-be-modern, version of 23 Skidoo, they used simplistic metallic drum patterns to build rhythmic tension against antagonistic lurching basslines and stabs of noisy Korg synths. Blixa Bargeld’s trademark guitar makes it obvious why Cave chose him to replace the similarly styled, but less friendly, Rowland S. Howard in his new post Birthday Party band, The Bad Seeds.

Neubauten’s work is more focused and musical than a perusal of the credited instruments might initially lead you believe. A rehearsal room full of furniture, amplified metal springs, window glass, metal, survival blankets and meat paints a false picture of skronking improvisational beard tuggers; Kalte Sterne may be harsh and dissonant but it always retains the melodic touch. The earlier material relies more on basslines to provide a skeleton to make noise around, accompanied sparely by Bargeld’s trebly guitar and breathy whine. As the album progresses, though, the group begins to broaden the vision to include twisting bleeding reverbed guitar and bursts of drill noise (“13 Loecher (Leben ist illegal)”). But from the title track onward (track seven) and with the addition of member F.M. Einheit, there is a markedly darker vision (see “Aufrecht Gehen”). The most powerful tracks, predictably, are from 1982. On “Thirsty Animal” Lydia Lunch growls over the fucked funk zomboid groove ‘dueting’ with Blixa’s electronically distressed vocal, while the flipside “Durstiges Tier” is a physical primal gruntfest song combing a big bass drum with body and human body drumming.

Advances in technology now mean it’s fairly easy to scrape together spooky / rough industrial pieces (head for the ‘illbient’ preset), but Kalte Sterne represents a mini-evolution from bare groove through experimentation to intentionally structured discord. Early Einstürzende Neubauten is a freaked, raw, angry and, most importantly, new experience. Not something you can say about many modern ‘industrial’ bands.