Opus Dei [CD, Original recording]

Laibach | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: CD, Original recording
• Label: Wax Trax
• ASIN: B000MCFUWY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,762 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Laibach is a Slovenian experimental music group, strongly associated with industrial, martial and neo-classical. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia. Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984. The name "Laibach" is the German name for Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana. Laibach is known for their cover versions, which are often used to subvert the original message or intention of the song - most notable being their cover version of the song "Life is Life" on the album Opus Dei, which completely changes the meaning of the song from the original writers' intentions. Whereas the original is a feel-good hippie anthem, Laibach's subversive interpretation twists the melody into a sinister, rolling military march. The refrain is at one instance translated into German, giving an eerie example of the sensitivity of its lyrics to context. Opus Dei is the fourth album by Laibach. It was released in 1987. It features two cover versions - "Geburt einer Nation", a German cover of Queen's "One Vision" and two reworkings of Austrian band Opus' sole hit single "Life Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus Dei". The attention this album received from MTV and others led to Laibach's first worldwide tour.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nazi pop, not pop by Nazis, April 11, 2000

By 

DAC Crowell - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opus Dei (Audio CD)

I think what many people miss about Laibach is that what they've been up to this whole time with their Fascist/Nazi overtones is some very sharp social/cultural commentary. On one level, you can think that what's up here (and elsewhere) is some jackbooted group doing Nazi-symp cover versions. But given that Laibach has given both hints and overt statements that their 'mission' is, in fact, cautionary and satirical, it puts releases like this as well as others of their pop-oriented projects into a very interesting perspective. The pop industry, in a real sense, _is_ something of a fascistic proposition imposed on the marketing of culture. And by doing these versions of such Euro-fluff as 'Life is Life' as well as Queen's more overt 'One Vision' (which, I should note, they don't change here lyrically aside of translating the lyrics into German...scary, hm?), Laibach appears to be making some nasty statements about the machinery that delivers...and often comes up with...our entertainment. Aside of the artistic focus here, this is amazing, brutal, and sometimes funny stuff. I recall there was an alternative station in Nashville (back when 'alternative' really MEANT SOMETHING) that took a perverse glee in playing 'Leben Heisst Leben' at 7 AM, just when ones' clock-radio might click on...and yes, it was an effective gesture. A must-hear release, perhaps the best of Laibach's 'pop' records.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opus Dei and Serbia, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Opus Dei (Audio CD)

"Opus Dei" is Laibach's best album to date. The music technique is very assured, and the critique of fascism, both past and present, is subtle, but inspired. As for those afraid that they might "really be Nazis," they should check out the film "Predictions of Fire" and note that when the Serbian/Bosnian conflict broke out, Laibach said publicly that Milesovic's modern fascism was exactly what they had been warning everyone about, and they were very vocal in their criticism of his government (including a "concert" in Belgrade that mixed portions of speeches by Milesovic and Hitler).

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laibach turns the corner into "digestible" music, June 30, 2000

By 

Robert (Medford, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opus Dei (Audio CD)

This is where Laibach took the brutal kick-in-the-head elements of their early material and bottled them for the consumer. The result is not watered-down Laibach. Instead, the poppy packaging makes the band sound all the more alien. Picture the elephant man wearing a business suit, sitting at a mahogany desk and chatting with a secretary. See what I mean? It's all the more surreal when the grotesque masquerades as the ordinary.