Germany’s Industrial Pioneers

When people talk about Einsturzende Neubauten’s pipes, they don’t mean the same thing they do when they talk about, say, Whitney Houston’s pipes. In the case of the legendary German band, they really mean pipes--the thin metal ones they tap for percussion, the big black tube that’s bowed and strung with a wire.

These were just part of the arsenal when Einsturzende played at the Palace on Friday, part of a tour marking its 20th anniversary. That’s a notable achievement for a band that pioneered the exploration of sonic--and emotional--extremes but never cashed in on the commercial success of industrial rock.

It’s natural to associate Einsturzende with its famous hardware instrumentation, but it misses the real point--sort of like thinking of Frank Sinatra’s glass of scotch instead of his voice.

On Friday the sextet pulled out the electric drills and other tools of the trade--from a bullhorn to a dentist’s suction device--and mounted a mighty, regimented clamor that struck the audience with an intensely physical force.

Leader Blixa Bargeld calls it an “urban gamelan,” and rather than gimmick or shtick, Einsturzende’s approach remains a timely reminder that chaos lurks in the sweetest music, and that music hides in the harshest environment.

There’s no complacency after 20 years--the bulk of the set came from the new album, “Silence Is Sexy,” which continues to incorporate more conventional, melodic songs with the assaultive and abrasive.