We kicked things off with The First Annual Report from British Industrial legends Throbbing Gristle. Artistically it has stood the test of time, and acts/acted as a source of inspiration for many future Industrial groups, but with dated sound quality & a huge ego behind it, means that it’s aged horribly. Luckily, as we transition into the 1980s, things would greatly improve. Better technology, better production techniques, and better sound quality practically ensured that Industrial music from the decade would aged better than anything from the 70s. There were plenty of groups that created some iconic Industrial music, but one band from Europe would help push the genre into the spotlight, and that band is.....Laibach!
That’s right, Laibach! This classic Industrial band (Technically an art group that worked with music for the most part) from Yugoslavia has released music since the mid 80s that, to this day, has been the source of inspiration for some of the biggest Industrial bands ever formed, Metal or otherwise. They’re certainly iconic, and they happen to be one of my favorites in the genre. So let’s not waste anymore time, and let’s take a look at their late 80s classic release, Opus Dei. Let’s begin.
Background
Normally I would talk about the background in which an album is made, but there’s not much info stateside (And what is around is somewhat all over the place), so here’s the Wikipedia page for details.
Laibach (Wikipedia)
Basic Description
Iconic Industrial.
Outside of some small faults (More on that below), Opus Dei is just one of those albums that came out a classic, and has stayed a classic. In it’s 30-plus years of existence, it has inspired numerous Industrial groups, and it’s not hard to see why! Taking the gritty notes & vibes of early Industrial music, Laibach takes all of that and puts a militaristic spin on things, and almost comes across as tyrannical to a degree, yet they don’t seem to completely believe in the far-left/far-right politics that are promoted in their music. The sound created on Opus Dei have been instrumental in helping other Industrial groups push their own sound, and still inspires bands today.
Best Track
Gotta go with Geburt einer Nation. Ages back when I first discovered Laibach (September of 2009 if I'm correct), this was one of the first songs I heard from them, and immediately became hooked. Ironically, Geburt einer Nation is a cover of the classic Queen song One Vision, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. Taking out the pop vibes & lighter feelings, Laibach instead converted it into a militaristic marching song, complete with a almost totalitarian coat of paint slathered over everything. It’s sinister sounding to be sure, yet you can tell that the group doesn’t believe in the ideology, and instead uses it for artistic purposes.
Geburt einer Nation
My other favorite track on Opus Dei is the title track......Opus Dei, or Life Is Life translated (Latin I think). Once again Laibach takes a popular song (A pop song in Germany I believe), guts out the original architecture, and remodels it into a totalitarian, militaristic stronghold. As with Geburt einer Nation, it’s obvious that Laibach are using the imagery for purely artistic purposes. None the less, you definitely get a nationalistic feeling as you listen to Opus Dei, and it stirs pride deep within your soul. Certainly an interesting track.
(Opus Dei) Life Is Life
Worst Track
Kind of like The First Annual Report, Opus Dei is a bit of a pretentious record. Laibach has always been an artsy group, and about 75 to 90 percent of their releases carry this pretentiousness. In their defense, they know when to put back the artsy vibes, and give the listener a more grounded musical experience. For every “Ooo, what is this” track, there 1 or 2 more that are just fun songs. Apart from that, the album’s only other fault would be it’s age. Much like the Throbbing Gristle review from earlier this month, you can definitely tell when this album came out. Again in it’s defense, Opus Dei has aged considerably better, as Laibach has greater tech behind their music, and had better production value put in. The end result is a release that, while aged a bit, is a little fresher in terms of sound.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to Opus Dei, check out the link below:
Opus Dei
Overall Impression & Rating
Opus Dei is an old-school Industrial album done right. It’s got some age to it, and it comes across as a little pompous, but one can’t deny the power behind this record. It helped create a new genre of music, while simultaneously being some amazing music in it’s own right. I will say it here, and I’ll say it again in August: Opus Dei is essential Industrial listening!
Opus Dei gets a 8.5 out of 10.
So that was Opus Dei everybody. A solid Industrial album with heavily improved production quality & sound, and it finally gave us a little bit of a metallic edge to things. However, an artist from the United States just 2 short years later would finally put the metal within Industrial. So see you all after next week for the reveal of this release, and see you in a few days for a Type-O Negative birthday. Until then, stay safe.
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