Customer Reviews

Ljubljana-Sagreb-Beograd

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this CD after Nova Akropola, Sympathy for the Devil, and Kapital, having enjoyed all of those quite a bit. I am reviewing this after pulling the CD off of the shelf after a couple of years and relistening to a few of the tracks. Once again I find I really can't bring myself to listen to most of the tracks all the way through. The political messages and poetry of the lyrics are all deadly serious and gives you a glimpse into the world of Yugoslavia. The 10 year history in the booklet (1980-90) has some interesting tidbits and facts about military observation of their shows, investigations, bannings, etc. If you are ever feeling restless here in this country, check this out and be glad you have the freedom you do. Musically, however, this recording does little for me. Taken mostly from live shows, it seems most of the tracks are atmospheric noise, grumbled and shouted lyrics, feedback, mindless drumbeats. This definitely could use some visuals. I listen to it and think "I guess you had to be there." For example the 4th track Siemens is six minutes of a very basic drum beat repeated over and over again (yeah I know like most top 40 stuff and EBM, but this is really minimalistic) with feedback and weird sounds here and there. There is hardly anything melodic in here. Anyway, if you are interested in the politics of that part of the world, this might be interesting from a poetic standpoint. If you are really into Laibach and the Neue Slowenisch Kunst, maybe pick it up. But it's not going to spend too much time in your CD player rotation. Average company response: "What the hell are you listening to?"

I like Laibach, I really do, but this CD is abysmal, nearly unlistenable. I was grinding my teeth trying to get through this awful thing! Seriously, I could not stand this release, if I wasn't a completist it would be gone in a heartbeat. It's just noise, and not the good kind. Think Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music", but not at all interesting and very much annoying. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it...

This is, to me, perhaps the most difficult Laibach listen. More random and chaotic then other albums, harsh, definitely not soothing (I find the "Through the Occupied Netherlands" tape soothing, if that tells you anything!) Nonetheless, an interesting live document.

Citizens of Pittsburg (USA) or Hamilton (CANADA) or any other heavily-industrialized city will find this CD oddly compelling. As stated in the previous review, it is 70 minutes of mostly minimalist drumbeats and industrial shrieks. The sounds are similar to those one might hear down by the foundry blast furnace or hot mill. The loops are reminiscent to the mechanized processes that run 24 hours a day in factory towns. Even the track names reflect this theme: "Siemens", "Factory C19" and "Machine Factory Trbovlje". While this is not the first Laibach album anyone should buy, it's the kind of thing that only a child of the steel mills would think of as "relaxing" music.