Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neoclassical genres. Formed in 1980 in the mining town of Trbovlje, Slovenia (at the time the SR Slovenia within Yugoslavia), Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) artist collective, a group which Laibach co-founded in 1984.

From the early days, the band was subject to controversies and bans due to their use of iconography with parodies and pastiches of elements from totalitarianism, nationalism and militarism, a concept they have preserved throughout their career. Censored in Yugoslavia, receiving a dissident status and a cult following in their home country, the band embarked on international tours and gradually acquired international fame, which led to wider acceptance by Yugoslav public and to attention of the country's mainstream media. After Slovenia became independent in 1991, Laibach's status in the country has turned from rejection by a part of the public to promotion into a national cultural icon.

Early Laibach albums were industrial-oriented, marked by heavy rhythms and roaring vocals. Later in the mid-1980s, their sound became more richly layered, featuring samples from pop and classical music. The band's lyrics, variously written in Slovene, German and English, are usually delivered by the deep bass vocals of lead vocalist Milan Fras. Initially the lyrics handled war and military themes; later, the focus turned to any highly charged political issue of the moment, sending intentionally ambiguous messages. They recorded a number of cover versions of popular songs, often turning light melodies into sinister-sounding gothic tunes.

The band has seen numerous line-up changes, with Milan Fras (lead vocals), Dejan Knez (bass guitar, keyboards, drums), Ervin Markošek (drums, keyboards, electronics) and Ivan "Jani" Novak (stage effects) forming the best-known line-up. They have worked with a number of collaborators and guest musicians. During their career, Laibach have also recorded film and theatre music and produced works of visual arts, while the band members have embarked on a number of side projects.

History

The beginnings: Laibach with Tomaž Hostnik (1980–1982)

Laibach evolved from the band Salto Mortale, formed by Dejan Knez in 1978 in the mining industry town of Trbovlje. Laibach was officially formed on 1 June 1980. The name Laibach, adopted after a suggestion from Knez's father, well-known painter Janez Knez, Despite this, the group would in the future often refer to him and dedicate various projects to him, including an installation entitled Apologia Laibach, created around Hostnik's self-portrait.

Dissident status in Yugoslavia (1983–1985)

thumb|left|Laibach in 1983

The group resumed its activities at the beginning of 1983, when they held an exhibition in the Prošireni mediji (Expanded Media) gallery in Zagreb. In the "manifesto" the band quoted Stalin ("Artists are engineers of the human soul") and Hitler ("Art is sublime, leading to fanaticism").

In 1984, the band members moved to Great Britain, where they worked as labourers in London, worked at a pier in Belfast and appeared as extras in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Through the Belgian record label L.A.Y.L.A.H. Anitrecords, the group released their debut record, a 12" single with Slovene language songs "Boji" ("Fights"), "Sila" ("Force") and "Brat moj" ("My Brother"). In Yugoslavia, the play was performed at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, however, performance by Laibach and Tito's speeches were omitted. Their concert in Šentjurje was visited by only five people due to poor promotion, but the band nevertheless performed the whole set. The 2008 DVD Volk Dead in Trbovlje featured the recording of the band's performance held in Trbovlje's Worker's Hall on 23 March 2007, as well as music videos for the songs from Volk and a documentary about the tour entitled Volk Tour Medley, all directed by Sašo Podgoršek.

thumb|upright=1.2|right|Milan Fras and Mina Špiler in concert in 2010

In 2011, the group released the box set Gesamtkunstwerk – Dokument 81–82 (Total Work of Art – Document 81–82), featuring five vinyl records and a DVD with unreleased studio recordings from the early phases of their career.

In August 2015, on the initiative of Norwegian director Morten Traavik, the band performed in Pyongyang, North Korea. The concerts saw large attention of the Western media, a part of which described Laibach's upcoming performance as the first performance of a Western rock band in North Korea, although this was later revealed to be a misinformation. The concerts were the subject of the documentary film Liberation Day by Morten Traavik and Uģis Olte, which premiered in 2016. The band performed the symphony with the Radio-Television of Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, vocal group Gallina, Tehran choir Human Voice Ensemble and AccordiOna accordion orchestra.

Laibach was scheduled to perform in Kyiv on 31 March 2023. However, the band's description of the Russo-Ukrainian War as a proxy war angered many Ukrainians and the concert was canceled. In 2023, the band released their latest studio album Sketches from the Red District and the EP Love Is Still Alive, the latter featuring the songs written by the band for the 2019 Iron Sky sequel Iron Sky: The Coming Race. a cover of "White Christmas", recorded with Slovenian electronic duo Silence, and a Slovene language cover of Bijelo Dugme song "Top" ("Cannon"), entitled "S topom te bom ciljal moja mala" ("I Will Shoot You With a Cannon, Baby"). The latter was recorded in cooperation with Bijelo Dugme's leader Goran Bregović as a part of marking 50 years since Bijelo Dugme formation. The song featured Laibach's old collaborator Vasja Ulrih on lead vocals,

Musical style

thumb|upright=1.2|Laibach performing in [[Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2013]]

Early Laibach works were described as industrial rock by Yugoslav music press. "Opus Dei" retained some of the original song's English lyrics, but was delivered in a musical style that left the meaning of the lyrics open to interpretation. Whereas the original is a feel-good pop anthem, Laibach's interpretation twists the melody into a triumphant military march. With the exception of the promotional video, the refrain is at one point translated into German, giving an example of the sensitivity of lyrics to their context. The Opus Dei album also features a cover of Queen's "One Vision" with lyrics translated into German under the title '"Geburt einer Nation" ("Birth of a Nation"), revealing the ambiguity of lines like "One race one hope / One real decision".

thumb|upright=1.2|Milan Fras in concert in [[Budapest, Hungary in 2014]]

Laibach not only references modern artists through reinterpretation, but also samples or reinvents older musical pieces. For example, their song "Anglia", released on Volk, is based on the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the Queen".

In addition to cover songs, Laibach has remixed songs by other bands. These include two songs by the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel that appear on the Morbid Angel EP Laibach Re-mixes.

Aesthetics, image and controversy

thumb|left|upright=1.2|Laibach 1983 visual work The Thrower

At the early stage of their career, Laibach's visuals employed socialist realist mining iconography, and their debut album was released with the black cross and without any text on the cover. An early example of this ambiguity would be the woodcut entitled The Thrower, also known as Metalec (The Metal Worker). This work features a monochrome silhouette of a figure with a clenched fist holding a hammer aloft. The work could be seen both as promoting industrial protest or as a symbol of industrial pride. Another aspect of this woodcut is the large typefaced word LAIBACH, evoking memories of the Nazi occupation of Slovenia. This piece was featured prominently during the band's 1983 interview for TV tednik.

Laibach has frequently been accused of both far left and far right political stances due to their use of uniforms and totalitarian-style aesthetics. They were also accused of being neo-nationalists. When confronted with such accusations, Laibach is quoted as replying with the ambiguous response "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter". Laibach concerts have sometimes aesthetically appeared as political rallies, and the members of Laibach are notorious for rarely stepping out of character. When interviewed, they often answer in wry manifestos, showing a paradoxical lust for, and condemnation of, authority.

British musician and journalist Richard Wolfson wrote of the group:

Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek stated about the group after their performance in North Korea:

Legacy, influence and innovation

Despite emerging on the rich and vibrant Yugoslav rock scene, Laibach is widely considered to be the only Yugoslav band to achieve large popularity in Western Europe during the existence of SFR Yugoslavia. Canadian industrial doom metal band Zaraza released a Laibach tribute EP entitled Montrealska Akropola – A Tribute to Laibach (Montreal Acropolis – A Tribute to Laibach) in 2004.

Martial music

Some early material by Laibach and later neoclassical releases by the band, such as the album Macbeth, were influential on certain artists within the martial industrial music genre.

Rammstein

Laibach is often cited as an influence for the popular German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. The parallel is regularly made between the bands regarding their aesthetics and deep male vocals both groups share and with their respective backgrounds of originating from former socialist countries.

When asked about the topic in an interview, Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe claimed Rammstein to have a more emotional approach instead of the more "intellectual" style of Laibach. In the same interview the keyboard player of Rammstein Christian Lorenz drew a parallel between the deep voices of Till Lindemann and Milan Fras but considered this to be the only similarity between the two music groups. The documentary film Liberation Day ends with a notice stating that a member of a certain industrial metal band was supposed to be interviewed for the film about the influence Laibach had on their earlier work, but it had to be removed due to the prospect of arrest or a fine from the district court of Berlin towards the makers of the film. This, and the early promotional material for the film suggest that it was Paul Landers who was to appear in the film.

When members of Laibach were asked by an interviewer about Rammstein "stealing" from them, they responded: "Laibach does not believe in originality... Therefore, Rammstein could not 'steal' much from us. They simply let themselves get inspired by our work, which is absolutely a legitimate process. We are glad that they made it. In a way, they have proven once again that a good 'copy' can make more money on the market than the 'original'. Anyhow, today we share the territory: Rammstein seem to be a kind of Laibach for adolescents and Laibach are Rammstein for grown-ups." Laibach would later provide a remix for the Rammstein single "Ohne dich".

Rankings

Laibach album Sympathy for the Devil was proclaimed in 2006 the 7th on The Mail on Sunday list of Ten Greatest Tribute Albums of All Time.

Books and documentaries

Laibach has been the subject of several books:

  • NSK Monography (1992), The pseudonym Ivo Saliger was originally used by original singer Tomaž Hostnik and more recently by Ivan Novak. The pseudonym Elk Eber has been used by Dejan Knez. Former member Andrej Lupinc has continued to use the pseudonym Keller after leaving the band. Occasionally, other musicians supplemented the core group, some of whom included Oto Rimele (former guitarist for Lačni Franz), Nikola Sekulović (bass player for Demolition Group), and Anja Rupel (vocalist for Videosex and a solo artist).

On 20 June 2015, the band held a sound performance entitled Musical Nocturne with their most famous line-up of Knez, Novak, Fras and Markošek.

On 9 May 2025, Laibach held a concert in Cukrarna gallery in Ljubljana "We Forge the Future, Reconstruction of a historical concert", which was a reconstruction of their 1983 Zagreb Biennale concert. Dejan Knez, Ivan Novak, Iztok Turk, Srečko Bajda, Luka Jamnik and Vitja Balžalorsky appeared on stage.

Official members (pseudonyms)

  • Eber (after Elk Eber)
  • Saliger (after Ivo Saliger)
  • Dachauer (after Wilhelm Dachauer)
  • Keller

Current touring band

  • Milan Fras – vocals
  • Ivan "Jani" Novak – bandleader, light, stage effects
  • Marina Mårtensson – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Vitja Balžalorsky – guitar
  • Bojan Krhlanko – drums
  • Luka Jamnik – electronics, synthesizers
  • Rok Lopatič – keyboards, synthesizers (sometimes replaced by Sašo Vollmaier)

Former members and former/frequent collaborators

  • Tomaž Hostnik – vocals, electronics (1980–1982)
  • Dejan Knez – keyboards, drums, electronics (1980–2003)
  • Srečko Bajda – electronics, voice, often humorously credited as Felix Casio
  • Andrej Lupinc – electronics (1980–1982)
  • Bine Zerko – electronics
  • Ervin Markošek – drums, keyboards, electronics (left the band in 1989, returned for the studio album Kapital, and appears on press photos until WAT)
  • Marko Košnik – electronics (1981–1983)
  • Marjan Benčina – electronics, synthesizers (1982–1983)
  • Mina Špiler – vocals, synthesizer
  • Vasja Ulrih – voice (on some early tracks, some tracks on NATO and Kapital studio albums and on "S topom te bom ciljal, moja mala" single)
  • David Jarh - trumpet and flugelhorn
  • Daniel Landin - clarinet
  • Lado Jakša - clarinet, saxophone and keyboards
  • Janko Novak – operatic voice (on some tracks on the Let It Be studio album)
  • Borut Kržišnik – guitar
  • Oto Rimele – guitar
  • Matej Mršnik – guitar
  • Dare Hočevar – bass
  • Nikola Sekulović – bass
  • Tone Dimnik - drums
  • Fritz Häaman - drums
  • Dragoslav Radojković – drums (1982–1986)
  • Roman Dečman – drums (1986–2006)
  • Janez Gabrič – drums (2006–2018)
  • Bojan Khrlanko – drums (2018-)
  • Eva Breznikar – vocals, percussion (WAT and Volk tours)
  • Nataša Regovec – vocals, percussion (WAT and Volk tours)
  • Sašo Vollmaier – synthesizer, piano
  • Boris Benko – vocals
  • Marina Mårtensson – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Primož Hladnik
  • Damjan Bizilj – synthesizer
  • Iztok Turk – electronics, composer
  • Anja Rupel – vocals
  • Jože Pegam – various instruments
  • Matjaž Pegam
  • Peter Mlakar – speeches
  • Sašo Podgoršek – videos
  • Grant Austin – sound engineer
  • Svetozar Mišić – documentation
  • Anže Rozman – live orchestral arrangements
  • Álvaro Domínguez Vázquez – live orchestral arrangements
  • Slavko Avsenik Jr. – orchestral and choir arrangements (from Opus Dei to Spectre)
  • In 1989, on his second studio album Hoćemo gusle (We Want Gusle), Yugoslav alternative rock musician Rambo Amadeus recorded a Laibach parody song "Samit u burekdžinici Laibach" ("Summit in the Burek-Bakery Laibach"), featuring the song lyrics from the poems "Santa Maria della Salute" ("Saint Mary of Health") by Laza Kostić and "Strepnja" ("Trepidation") by Desanka Maksimović and the chorus from the turbo folk song "Čaše lomim, ruke mi krvave" ("I Break the Glasses, My Hands Are Bleeding"). A promotional video was also recorded for the track, parodying Laibach videos and aesthetics.
  • Von Bach, a fictional supervillain modeled after Milan Fras, appears in the DC Comics graphic novel Kingdom Come, by Alex Ross and Mark Waid. Von Bach appears dressed in Laibach-style uniform and displays the group's cross tattooed on his chest. He is described as follows: "German-speaking superhuman and would-be dictator is the example of the Hitleresque villain that had so much symbolic importance in the Golden Age of comic books. The blocky cross on his chest is evocative of the kind of bold symbols used by fascists. Von Bach has the words 'Liebe' (love) and 'Hass' (hate) tattooed on his arms and, in fact, his entire body has been covered with one large tattoo of that dark color that most tattoos become, with his natural flesh color only coming through in the designs on his body". On the NSK State website, the band states they have "been paid with uncommon honour" by this.
  • Laibach's version of the Juno Reactor song "God Is God" (which was itself inspired by Laibach's cover of Opus's song "Live Is Life") from the album Jesus Christ Superstars appears on the second soundtrack disc for the computer game Command & Conquer: Red Alert, which was released only in the German release of the Special Edition pack, and on the album The Blair Witch Project: Josh's Blair Witch Mix.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Laibach (1985)
  • Nova Akropola (1986)
  • Opus Dei (1987)
  • Krst pod Triglavom – Baptism (1987)
  • Let It Be (1988)
  • Macbeth (1989)
  • Sympathy for the Devil (1990)
  • Kapital (1992)
  • NATO (1994)
  • Jesus Christ Superstars (1996)
  • WAT (2003)
  • Volk (2006)
  • Laibachkunstderfuge (2008)
  • Iron Sky – The Original Soundtrack (2012)
  • Iron Sky Director's Cut (2013)
  • Spectre (2014)
  • Also Sprach Zarathustra (2017)
  • The Sound of Music (2018)
  • Wir sind das Volk (Ein Musical aus Deutschland) (2022)
  • Sketches of the Red Districts (2023)
  • Opus Dei Revisited (2024)
  • Alamut (2025)
  • Musick (2026)

EPs

  • Party Songs (2019)
  • Love Is Still Alive (2023)

Live albums

  • Documents of Oppression (Live from N.L. Centrum, Amsterdam) (1984)
  • Vstajenje v Berlinu (1984)
  • V2 Live Nr.3 (1985)
  • Neu Konservatiw (1985)
  • Ein Schauspieler (1985)
  • The Occupied Europe Tour 1985 (1986)
  • Divergences / Divisions (Live in Bordeaux) (1986)
  • Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd (1993)
  • Occupied Europe NATO Tour 1994-95 (1996)
  • M.B. December 21, 1984 (1997)
  • The John Peel Sessions (2002)
  • Volk Tour London CC Club (2007)
  • Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde (2012)
  • We Forge the Future – Live at Reina Sofia (2021)

Compilation albums

  • Laibach / Last Few Days (With Last Few Days, 1983)
  • Rekapitulacija 1980–1984 (1985)
  • Slovenska Akropola (1987)
  • Anthems (2004)
  • An Introduction to... Laibach (2012)

Box sets

  • Gesamtkunstwerk – Dokument 81–86 (2011)
  • Revisited (2020)

Video albums

  • Laibach (2004)
  • 2 (2004)
  • Divided States of America (2006)
  • Volk Dead in Trbovlje (2008)

Singles

7-inch singles

  • "Life Is Life" / "Germania" (1987)
  • "Across the Universe" / "Maggie Mae" (Mute, 1988, London)

12-inch singles

  • "Boji" / "Sila" / "Brat Moj" (1984)
  • "Panorama" / "Decree" (1984)
  • "Die Liebe" / "Grösste Kraft" (1985)
  • "Geburt einer Nation" / "Leben heisst Leben (ins.)" (1987)
  • "Life Is Life" / "Germania" / "Life" (1987)
  • "Sympathy for the Devil 1" / "Laibach, 300.000 V.K." (1988)
  • "Sympathy for the Devil 2" / "Germania, 300.000 V.K." (1988) - UK No. 137
  • "Sympathy for the Devil" / "Sympathy for the Devil" (picture disc, 1988)
  • "Across the Universe" / "Maggie Mae" / "Get Back" (1988) - UK No. 160
  • "3. Oktober" / "Geburt einer Nation (live)" (1990)
  • "Wirtschaft ist tot" / "Wirtschaft ist tot" (1992)
  • "Wirtschaft ist tot" / "Sympathy for the Devil" (promotional remixes single, 1992)
  • "Final Countdown" / "Final Countdown" (1994)
  • "In the Army Now" / "War" (1995)
  • "God Is God" (1996)
  • "Tanz mit Laibach" (2004)
  • "Das Spiel ist aus" (2004)
  • "Anglia" (2006)

CD singles

  • "Sympathy for the Devil" / "Sympathy for the Devil" / "Sympathy for the Devil" (picture CD, 1988)
  • "Across the Universe" / "Maggie Mae" / "Get Back" (1988)
  • "Panorama" / "Die Liebe" / "Decree" / "Grösste Kraft" (1989, London)
  • "3. Oktober" / "Geburt einer Nation (live)" (1990)
  • "Wirtschaft ist tot" / "Wirtschaft ist tot" (1992)
  • "Final Countdown" / "Final Countdown" (1994)
  • "In the Army Now" / "War" (1995)
  • "Jesus Christ Superstar" / "God Is God" (1996)
  • "Tanz mit Laibach" (2004)
  • "Das Spiel ist aus" (2004)
  • "Anglia" (2006)
  • "1 VIII 1944" (2014)

Side projects

  • 300.000 V.K., Dejan Knez electronic music side project