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
Rossiya
Laibach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Created in struggle by unhappy race (?)
We're sunrise of freedom (?)
We're frozen in ice
United forever in great Russia's embrace.
From the Arctic circle
To the southern seas
Never ending steppes
The unbreakable union
of fraternal states
United forever in Great Russia's embrace
Славься, Отечество
наше свободное,
Славься, страна моя!
Мы гордимся тобой!
Arise, the prisoners of starvation
Arise, the damned of the Earth
Let's gather together
Let's break us free
The world is changing
at it's core
Long live Great Russia's motherland
Built by the people and their mighty hands
Long live your nation
United and free
Shining in glory
For all men to see
Славься, Отечество
наше свободное,
Славься, страна моя!
Мы гордимся тобой!
The lyrics of Laibach's song "Rossiya" are a celebration of the Soviet Union, specifically its power and unity during the Cold War era. The opening lines, "United forever in vast, endless space / Created in struggle by unhappy race," convey the idea that the Soviet Union was a product of a collective fight against oppression, and that it existed as an expansive and free country. The lyrics then reference the varied geography of Russia, from the Arctic circle to the southern seas and the deserted forests to the never-ending steppes, creating a picture of a vast and powerful country.
Line by Line Meaning
United forever in vast, endless space
We are united and our union is everlasting.
Created in struggle by unhappy race (?)
Our creation was a result of struggles and hardships faced by our ancestors.
We're sunrise of freedom (?)
Our freedom is a new beginning, a fresh start.
We're frozen in ice
Despite being frozen in time, we remain steadfast and unyielding.
United forever in great Russia's embrace.
Our unity is held together by Russia's embrace and protection.
From the Arctic circle
Our reach extends to the farthest corners of the earth.
To the southern seas
Our territory spans from the Arctic circle to the southern seas.
Deserted forests
Our territory includes vast, uninhabited forests.
Never ending steppes
We are spread out over never-ending, expansive plains.
The unbreakable union
Our union is unbreakable, not even by the most determined efforts.
of fraternal states
Our states are fraternal in nature, guided by common beliefs and values.
Славься, Отечество
наше свободное,
Russia, our free fatherland, we praise and honor you.
Славься, страна моя!
My country, we praise and honor you!
Мы гордимся тобой!
We are proud of you!
Arise, the prisoners of starvation
Those who have suffered from hunger and poverty must rise up.
Arise, the damned of the Earth
Those who have been condemned and oppressed must rise up.
Let's gather together
We must unite and join forces.
Let's break us free
We must strive for freedom.
The world is changing
at it's core
The world is undergoing significant changes.
Long live Great Russia's motherland
We salute and wish long life to our beloved motherland, Russia.
Built by the people and their mighty hands
Our motherland was built by hardworking people using their strength and perseverance.
Long live your nation
United and free
We wish long life to our nation, which is united and free.
Shining in glory
For all men to see
We are shining in glory, visible for all to see.
Славься, Отечество
наше свободное,
Russia, our free fatherland, we praise and honor you.
Славься, страна моя!
My country, we praise and honor you!
Мы гордимся тобой!
We are proud of you!
Contributed by Bella O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Soniasuczka
Proszę bardzo, tekst:
United forever in vast, endless space
created in struggle by unhappy race
we're sunrise of freedom
we're frozen in ice
united forever in great Russia's embrace.
From the Arctic Circle
To the southern seas
deserted forests
neverending steps
The unbreakable union
of fraternal states
united forever in Great Russia's embrace
Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye,
Slavsya, strana moya! My gordimsya toboy!
The rise - the prisoners of starvation
The rise - the damned of the Earth
let's get them together
let's break us free
the world is changing
At it's core
long live great Russia's motherland
built by the people and their mighty hands
long live young nation
united and free
shining in glory
for all men to see
Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye,
Slavsya, strana moya! My gordimsya toboy!
@user-el4cl1zo4e
РОССИЯ
Объединённые навечно
в обширном, бескрайнем пространстве,
Рожденные в борьбе несчастным народом,
Мы рассвет свободы,
Мы заморожены во льду,
Объединённые навечно в объятиях Великой России.
От Северного полярного круга
до южных морей,
Безлюдные леса,
бесконечные степи,
Нерушимый союз
Братских государств,
Объединённых навечно в объятиях Великой России.
Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
Славься, страна моя! Мы гордимся тобой!
Подъём, узники голода!
Подъём, проклятые Земли!
Давайте соберёмся с силами,
Давайте освободимся,
Мир изменчив
по своей сути.
Да здравствует родина-мать, Великая Россия,
Созданная народом и его могучими руками!
Да здравствует молодая нация,
Единая и свободная,
Сияющая во славе
у всех на глазах!
Славься, Отечество наше свободное,
Славься, страна моя! Мы гордимся тобой!
@aktuellekamera1608
Thank you, Laibach, to be a rock against the flood of all madness of these days! You were the heroes of my youth and you became now again my heroes.
@user-km6li3jd3r
За Россию за русских народов
@CaminhoneiroHellPorpeta
Same spirit here from Brazil!
@piotrwielgus2663
madness is an attack on a neighboring country, starting a war in which almost a million people died. Madness is supporting the man who started this war.
@user-jj2ij6ld1q
Спасибо большое вам
@wintherr3527
The whole Volk album is a masterpiece, one of the best things Laibach ever made.
@user-uk7hm9tg5s
Спасибо за эту песню нашим словенским братьям!
@user-tq2lf1zx8v
Руские никому не братья ,даже самим себе ,очнитесь
@_EnliL
Они ничего общего с вами не имеют, кроме цветов флага. В целом как и другие словяне, вы же угры
@Skellag
РФ - русский фашизм!