Laibach are best known for their cover versions of pop songs which have been rerendered in such a way as to reveal formerly hidden or unnoticed messages, often commenting on political totalitarianism or rock stardom’s own forms of dictatorship. This was done most successfully on Opus Dei, especially on their cover of One Vision. Named Geburt Einer Nation after D. W. Griffith’s classic film The Birth of a Nation, Queen’s lyrics are sung in German to a strident military beat. All of a sudden lines like “one flesh, one blood, one true religion” start sounding suspiciously familiar...
However the bulk of Laibach’s output is their own work. Their own early experiments with totalitarian ambiguity led to their being outlawed in then-Communist Yugoslavia; their name was made illegal so the band resorted to using their black-cross emblem on posters instead. To this day their work deals with similar ideas but frequently Laibach reference their own legendary status and tongue-in-cheekily play with the kinds of in-jokes a band accrues in over 25 years of work.
Laibach’s musical style has varied a lot over the years. They began as avant-garde industrial musicians, producing what could best be described as ambient noise but soon discovered the joys of the martial rhythm. Having produced a couple of albums of heavy martial industrial music, they began to expand sonically. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia their difficult but rewarding album Kapital included hip-hop influences among many others and NATO borrowed from techno while keeping the bombastic atmosphere. The next offering Jesus Christ Superstars came after quite a hiatus and it may have shocked a lot of people with its balls-out metal guitar riffs. The 2003 album WAT returns to a more electronic sound; working with techno producer umek has produced a slightly odd album of electro beats.
Volk was released on October 20, 2006, preceded by the single Anglia. The album contains 14 songs composed and produced together with Silence, inspired by national anthems.
2008 Laibach released new album, titled Kunst der Fuge. This album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest festival in Leipzig.
VOLKSWAGNER is the title of a musical project which was realized in collaboration between Laibach and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra (2009). Laibach also cooperated with the composer and conductor Izidor Leitinger on this project, and it was decided that together they would compose a work which will in a specific manner interpret some of Wagner's better known musical motifs and combine them into a unified symphonic electronic suite.
From a formal point of view, the collaborating artists have decided to seek in Wagner the rudiments of modernism, which first through Mahler, Bruckner, and Debussy, and subsequently through Schöenberg, Berg, and Webern, developed into the core of the jazz music of the sonic experimentalists, such as Miles Davis and Sun Ra, and to upgrade them with the ambient electronic spectrum that has been developing over the last three decades. In addition, the suite will address the history of the 20th century – modernism crossbred with pop art.
4.4. 2012 a movie titeled Iron Sky was released. Laibach in collaboration with Ben Watkins as a co-writer and producer of the score provided soundtrack for Moon Nazi Invasion in Iron Sky.
Official Laibach website: www.laibach.org
America
Laibach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and the Home of the Brave
Are your stars still so bright
Does your banner still wave
Oh, the Land of the Free
and the Home of the Brave
Are you heaven on Earth
or the gloom of the grave
You
The people of the United States
Did you form a perfect union
Establish justice
Ensure tranquillity
Secure the blessings of Liberty
to yourselves and your posterity
How blind can you get
for your country
right or wrong
America
The melting pot
So the Land of the Free
and the Home of the Brave
Are your stars still so bright
Does your banner still wave
Oh, the Land of the Free
and the Home of the Brave
Are you heaven on Earth
or the gloom of the grave
We, children
We, children, are born in Sin
We are born in Sin.
That is why we must let
The Light, The light of God
into our hearts, Children
We are all Children of God,
but to the whole we are Sinners
We are Sinners
We must let the Light, let the Love of God
the Eternal Love of God into our hearts
or we will Burn
Burn in Hell
Burn in Eternal Damnation
Praise the Lord
and Praise the Holy Spirit
to save us from your
Freedom, Justice, Peace
Accordance and Illusion
from Arrogance and Pride
from Violence and Confusion
the Great Despair
and Great Depression
Satanic verses
of your superstition
the Land of Plenty...
Your Bill of Rights
the Enterprise
the Free Will
and the Unbroken One
your Self-Esteem
and Self-Desire
your Trust in God
and in Religious Fire
America
The end of History
The end of Time
The end of Family
The end of Crime
Laibach's "America" is a provocative and critical commentary on the United States. The first verse of the song mentions the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave in a critical tone, asking whether the stars are still shining bright and whether the banner still waves. The following lines question whether the US is truly heaven on earth or the gloom of the grave, examining the country's claimed ideals against its reality. The second verse is directed towards the people of the United States in a more accusatory tone, calling them blind for supporting their country regardless of its actions. Laibach then contrasts the idea of America as a melting pot with the idea that every individual is born in sin, ultimately leading to the message that only by letting the Light of God into their hearts can they be saved from eternal damnation.
The song is full of religious and political references, and the lyrics are highly critical of the United States, suggesting that the country has a blind sense of self-righteousness and an arrogance that risks leading it to ruin. The song also contains a sense of apocalyptic undertones with phrases such as "the end of history," "the end of time," and "the end of family" suggesting that the country is entering a dark and dangerous phase. Overall, the message of the song is that the US's pursuit of freedom and justice is being corrupted by arrogance and ignorance, and the only solution is to embrace the Light of God.
Line by Line Meaning
So the Land of the Free
The nation that prides itself on individual liberties and freedoms
and the Home of the Brave
The nation that values courage and bravery
Are your stars still so bright
Does the American Dream, and the ideals that the country was founded upon, still exist?
Does your banner still wave
Do the symbols of the United States still hold the same meaning?
Oh, the Land of the Free
The nation that prides itself on individual liberties and freedoms
and the Home of the Brave
The nation that values courage and bravery
Are you heaven on Earth
Is America the embodiment of Utopia?
or the gloom of the grave
Or is America doomed to fail?
You
The American people
Did you form a perfect union
Did you create a flawless society?
Establish justice
Did you ensure fairness for all individuals?
Ensure tranquillity
Did you make sure all residents were in a state of calm and free from distress?
Secure the blessings of Liberty
Did you secure and safeguard the freedoms the nation was built on?
to yourselves and your posterity
For both the current generation and those that come after
How blind can you get
Can the people of America be so ignorant that they cannot see the flaws in their own system?
for your country
Out of loyalty to their nation
right or wrong
Regardless of whether their nation is in the right or in the wrong
America
The melting pot of different cultures
We, children
All individuals, regardless of age, are like children in the eyes of a divine being
We, children, are born in Sin
All humans are born with original sin in the eyes of Christianity
That is why we must let
We should listen to the words of God in order to live a better life
The Light, The light of God
The path that God, as understood by Christianity, provides to lead us to a better life
into our hearts, Children
Incorporating God's teachings into our lives, both physically and spiritually
We are all Children of God,
All humans are equal in the eyes of God
but to the whole we are Sinners
But humans as a whole are sinful and imperfect
We are Sinners
All humans are born with original sin, as understood by Christianity
We must let the Light, let the Love of God
We must follow the path that God places before us to live a better life
the Eternal Love of God into our hearts
Living a good life by following God's teachings in order to be accepted into heaven
or we will Burn
If we do not follow God's teaching and live an imperfect life, we will be sent to hell
Burn in Hell
Sent to the place of eternal punishment, as believed by Christianity
Burn in Eternal Damnation
Sent to an unending punishment for the sins committed during life, as perceived by Christianity
Praise the Lord
Expressing joy and admiration for the divine being worshipped by Christianity
and Praise the Holy Spirit
Expressing joy and admiration for the divine being that serves as God's spirit on Earth
to save us from your
Asking to be saved from the negative influences of American society
Freedom, Justice, Peace
The ideals that America says it stands for, but may not actually represent in reality
Accordance and Illusion
The pleasant-seeming yet potentially negative elements of American society that go unacknowledged
from Arrogance and Pride
From the tendency of Americans to put themselves on a pedestal and believe they are superior to others
from Violence and Confusion
From the aggression and the disconnect Americans have shown towards the rest of the world
the Great Despair
The despondency and depression that Americans may have after realising their nation may not be as perfect as they thought
and Great Depression
The national economic depression that occurred in the 1930s
Satanic verses
The elements of American society that go against the teachings of the Christian Bible
of your superstition
Of the irrational beliefs and practices American society holds true
the Land of Plenty...
The United States, a nation that is wealthy and abundant
Your Bill of Rights
The 10 amendments added to the Constitution to ensure individual liberty and rights
the Enterprise
American Capitalism and the nation's economic pursuits
the Free Will
The idea that humans are free to make their own choices and decisions
and the Unbroken One
The united and unbroken nation of America
your Self-Esteem
The confidence America has in its value, worth, and abilities
and Self-Desire
The selfish wants and needs of America as a nation
your Trust in God
The American belief that God is watching over and protecting the nation
and in Religious Fire
The connection Americans feel towards their religion, and the strong emotions it invokes
The end of History
The final chapter of history, where everything has reached its endpoint
The end of Time
The final moments of time, where it has ceased to exist
The end of Family
The end of the family structure as society knows it today
The end of Crime
The idea that eventually, all crime and wrongdoing will cease to happen
Contributed by Alaina M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@PrimitiveInTheExtreme
O, the land of the free ,
And the home of the brave,
Are your stars still so bright,
Does your banner still wave?
O, the land of the free ,
And the home of the brave,
Are you heaven on Earth ,
Or the gloom of the grave?
You, the people of the United States,
Did you form a perfect union,
Establish justice,
Insure tranquility,
Secure the blessings of liberty
To yourselves and your posterity?
How blind can you get ,
For your country - right or wrong,
America - the melting pot!
Praise the lord ,
And praise the Holy Spirit ,
To save us from your freedom,
Justice, peace, accordance and illusion,
From arrogance and pride,
From violence and confusion .
Your great despair ,
And great depression,
Satanic verses of your superstition,
The land of plenty .
Your Bill of Rights, the enterprise,
The free will and the unbroken one,
Your self-esteem and self-desire,
Your trust in God and the religious fire.
America,
The end of history,
The end of time,
The end of family,
The end of crime.
@Trgn
Laibach is just timeless.
@aguywhoreallywantsyoutokno8443
WAT
@mikeharry1799
Are you heaven on earth? Or the gloom of the grave?
@simonkisielewski3327
THEY CAME BACK
MY FAVORITE SONG FROM FAVORITE ALBUM FROM FAVORITE BAND
God bless america and laibach
@pagmin4973
laibach was waiting for this moment
@csikose
Just making a clear statement with an old song
@uyfan666
The whole world was
@Tooflower
I realized that as I was looking through my subscriptions 😉
@rastislavzima
Laibach predicted it quite some time ago.
@Fabian-lz4gs
Unbelievable, indeed