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
The Great Divide
Laibach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Did not bring catharsis.
The rising of the century
Did not bring salvation.
The crack is getting deeper,
The flames are burning higher.
Lost and hunted refugees
The predators of the great divide
Are cutting their throats,
Slicing their guts,
And drinking their blood.
This world was always fertile
At the root of our tongues.
Our tongues were always cut
At the root of our words.
We have reached the good and evil
And we didn't speak much.
Bloody soil, fertile land,
Bloody soil, fertile land.
But then we had to leave
To go further,
Through blistering heat,
Chasing death,
Erasing distance
Devouring time with
Infinite greed.
Now we are here
Sensitive to shadows,
Speaking to the dead
And burning alive
In our ritual songs.
The sky is set alight as though the stars
Were at war.
The desert is burning
With cold flames.
White astronauts
Are reflected on the surface.
Golden mountains
Are shining in the distance.
This is the black circle
And this the black cross.
This is the dark funeral at midnight.
A bloody horizon
Has consumed the sun
In the machine
Two thousand and one.
The Great Divide by Laibach is a vivid commentary on the bleakness of the world in the twenty-first century. The opening lines, "The rising of the century did not bring catharsis, the rising of the century did not bring salvation," set the tone for the rest of the song. The band is implying that despite all the technological advancements and progress that the world has made, we are still struggling with the same fundamental issues as before. The crack growing deeper and the flames burning higher are metaphors for the growing divisions and conflicts in society.
The chorus is equally grim. The lost and hunted refugees chanting in the circle represent the victimization and oppression of people on the margins of society. Meanwhile, the predators of the great divide cutting their throats, slicing their guts, and drinking their blood symbolize the ruthless and power-hungry individuals who take advantage of these vulnerable groups. The lyrics also explore the theme of language and communication. Our tongues, which were always cut at the root of our words, represent our inability to express ourselves fully and to understand others. We have reached good and evil without speaking much, implying that our lack of communication is a fundamental problem that underlies the world's conflicts.
Finally, the lyrics delve into the imagery of apocalypse and despair. The burning desert, white astronauts, and golden mountains are all symbols of a world in crisis. The dark funeral at midnight and the bloody horizon that has consumed the sun suggest the finality of our situation. The final line, "In the machine, two thousand and one," is a direct reference to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which explored the relationship between humanity and technology.
Line by Line Meaning
The rising of the century
The beginning of the current century
Did not bring catharsis.
Did not bring relief from emotional distress
Did not bring salvation.
Did not bring deliverance from sin or its consequences
The crack is getting deeper,
The division among people is getting wider
The flames are burning higher.
The intensity of conflict and chaos is increasing
Lost and hunted refugees
Displaced and persecuted people who are fleeing from danger
Are chanting in the circle.
Are participating in a communal singing ritual
The predators of the great divide
The oppressors who benefit from the societal division
Are cutting their throats,
Are inflicting severe harm on them
Slicing their guts,
Causing a great deal of physical and emotional pain
And drinking their blood.
Exploiting them for their own benefit
This world was always fertile
This world has always been abundant and fruitful
At the root of our tongues.
In our language and communication with others
Our tongues were always cut
Our freedom of expression has always been restricted
At the root of our words.
In the foundation and essence of our communication
We have reached the good and evil
We are now witnessing both the positive and negative aspects of humanity
And we didn't speak much.
We have not openly discussed these issues
Bloody soil, fertile land,
A metaphor for the coexistence of beauty and destruction in the world
But then we had to leave
We were forced to abandon our previous way of life
To go further,
To seek something new or unknown
Through blistering heat,
Through intense and uncomfortable circumstances
Chasing death,
Pursuing the end of life
Erasing distance
Eliminating physical or emotional barriers
Devouring time with
Completely consuming time with
Infinite greed.
An insatiable desire for more
Now we are here
We have arrived at our current situation
Sensitive to shadows,
Aware of hidden or overlooked aspects of reality
Speaking to the dead
Communicating with those who are no longer living
And burning alive
Experiencing intense emotional turmoil
In our ritual songs.
Through our traditions and customs
The sky is set alight as though the stars
The sky looks like it is on fire
Were at war.
As if celestial bodies are fighting each other
The desert is burning
The environment is being destroyed
With cold flames.
With destructive but unfeeling forces
White astronauts
Space explorers
Are reflected on the surface.
Their likeness is mirrored on something else
Golden mountains
Majestic natural formations
Are shining in the distance.
They are brightly illuminated far in the horizon
This is the black circle
This is a symbol of negativity and darkness
And this the black cross.
This is a symbol of death and suffering
This is the dark funeral at midnight.
This is a bleak and depressing ceremony
A bloody horizon
A violent and destructive future
Has consumed the sun
The future has been obscured by destruction
In the machine
In the modern world
Two thousand and one.
The year 2001
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind