Though it's a bit less intentionally noisy than previous {$Neubaten} material, {^½ Mensch} is, in a way, the group's masterpiece. The inspired use of such "traditional" instruments as a grand piano alongside the band's characteristic blazing percussion make for a record similar more to their compositional influences like Stockhausen than their nearest contemporaries, {$Throbbing Gristle} or {$Cabaret Voltaire}. The record that showed {$Einstürzende Neubaten} could rise above the concept of noise for its own sake to reach another level of noise-oriented post-punk music, {^½ Mensch} is an excellent feat of industrial music. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide