Opus Dei | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 23, 1987 | |||
Genre | Martial industrial, neoclassical dark wave | |||
Length | 37:17 (LP version), 58:60 (CD version) | |||
Label | Mute | |||
Producer | Rico Conning | |||
Laibach chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Opus Dei is the third studio album by Slovenian band Laibach, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation" ("birth of a nation"), a German language cover version of Queen's "One Vision", and two reworkings of the Austrian band Opus' sole international hit single "Live Is Life". The Opus song became the German language "Leben heißt Leben" and the English language "Opus Dei". "The Great Seal" is the national anthem of the NSK State, the lyrics taken from Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches" speech. A new arrangement of the song appears on Laibach's album Volk , with the title "NSK". On Volk, the song is credited to Laibach and Slavko Avsenik, Jr.
There are two further connections with Queen's A Kind of Magic album. Although the drum loop in "Trans-National" is nearly identical to that in Queen's "Don't Lose Your Head", it is composed in fact from samples from the introduction musical theme from the movie Battle of Neretva , composed by Bernard Herrmann.[ citation needed ] The elements of "How the West Was Won" (specifically the rhythm and harmonised guitars) are inspired by Queen's "Gimme the Prize".[ citation needed ]
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [3] In 2023, Consequence ranked it at number 6 in its list of the "50 Best Industrial Albums of All Time". [4] Al Jourgensen of Ministry named it one of the ten essential industrial records. [5]
+ On CD editions, 4 tracks from "Baptism":
Laibach is a Slovenian and Yugoslav avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) collective, a group which Laibach helped found in 1984.
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation". The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in the United States and other countries.
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1981 by producer, singer, and instrumentalist Al Jourgensen. Originally a synth-pop outfit, Ministry evolved into one of the pioneers of industrial rock and industrial metal in the late 1980s. The band's lineup has changed frequently, leaving Jourgensen as the sole remaining original member. Musicians who have contributed to the band's studio or live activities include vocalists Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, Gibby Haynes, Burton C. Bell and Jello Biafra, guitarists Mike Scaccia and Tommy Victor, guitarist Cesar Soto, bassists Paul Barker, Paul Raven, Jason Christopher, Tony Campos and Paul D'Amour, drummers Jimmy DeGrasso, Bill Rieflin, Martin Atkins, Rey Washam, Max Brody, Joey Jordison and Roy Mayorga, keyboardist John Bechdel, and rappers and producers DJ Swamp and Arabian Prince.
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on November 14, 1989 by Sire Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction, with Jourgensen inspired by Stormtroopers of Death and Rigor Mortis to add thrash metal guitars to the album and subsequent Ministry releases. As with most of Ministry's work, the album's lyrics deal mainly with political corruption, cultural violence, environmental degradation, nuclear war, drug addiction, and insanity.
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ is the fifth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on July 14, 1992, by Sire Records. It was produced by frontman Al Jourgensen and bassist Paul Barker, and was recorded from March 1991 to May 1992 in Chicago, Illinois and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The album's title, initially intended to be The Tapes of Wrath, ended up being derived from Aleister Crowley's The Book of Lies.
In the minds of many foreigners, Slovenian folk music means a form of polka that is still popular today, especially among expatriates and their descendants. However, there are many styles of Slovenian folk music beyond polka and waltz. Kolo, lender, štajeriš, mafrine and šaltin are a few of the traditional music styles and dances.
The Land of Rape and Honey is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on October 11, 1988, by Sire Records. This is the first Ministry album to include bassist Paul Barker and marks a departure from the band's previous two synthpop and EBM records. It incorporates heavy metal guitars and industrial music influences, and Al Jourgensen uses distorted vocals in his natural accent, rather than the faux British accent of previous albums. The resulting sound was influential in the industrial metal genre and is Jourgensen's favorite Ministry album. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1996.
Baptism is soundtrack album by Laibach. It is the soundtrack to the Neue Slowenische Kunst production of the same name. All music and lyrics by Laibach, except where noted.
Alain David Jourgensen is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is the frontman and lyricist of the industrial metal band Ministry, which he founded in 1981 and of which he remains the only constant member. He was the primary musician of several Ministry-related projects, such as Revolting Cocks, Lard, and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Jourgensen is a prominent figure in industrial music, influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in alternative and industrial-associated acts.
Atomizer is the debut full-length album by American punk rock group Big Black released in 1986.
Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years is a box set album compiling songs released on Wax Trax! Records between 1980 and 1993. Black Box commemorates Wax Trax!'s output as an independent record label prior to its purchase by TVT Records. In particular, Black Box celebrates Wax Trax!'s place as the seminal American industrial label, featuring acts such as Ministry, KMFDM, Meat Beat Manifesto, Coil, Laibach, and many others.
Anthems is a compilation by the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach. It was released in 2004 as a double album. The first CD contains a collection of Laibach's best tracks throughout the years, while the second disc accommodates remixes of Laibach songs by different artists. Besides the CDs, the Anthems box also contains a 44-page booklet with a history of Laibach plus several paintings and photographs by and of the band.
Faust IV is the fourth studio album by the German krautrock group Faust, released in 1973. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, where it is referred to as a "krautrock classic". This was the last album by the first incarnation of the band, they returned in 1994 with the release of Rien featuring a different line-up.
Volk is the seventh studio album by Slovenian industrial group Laibach, released in 2006. The word "volk" means "people" or "nation" in German and "wolf" in Slovene. The album is a collection of thirteen songs inspired by national or pan-national anthems, plus the anthem of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) State, a fictional state invented by the band. The album is a collaboration with another Slovenian band, Silence.
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" is a song by American industrial metal band Ministry, released as the first single from their fifth studio album, Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs. It was written by the band's frontman Al Jourgensen, bassist Paul Barker, drummer Bill Rieflin, session keyboardist Michael Balch, and guest vocalist Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, and was co-produced by Jourgensen and Barker. An industrial metal track with a polyrhythmic structure, the also features elements of rockabilly and psychobilly, and is influenced by the Trashmen 1963 hit "Surfin' Bird", and Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood.
"Supernaut" is the fifth song from the album Vol. 4 by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
Relapse is the twelfth studio album by industrial metal band Ministry, which was released on March 23, 2012 through 13th Planet Records. It was recorded in the wake of their three-year hiatus from November 2008 to August 2011 and Al Jourgensen's near-death experience in 2010. Relapse is also the last Ministry album released during guitarist Mike Scaccia's lifetime, although he appeared posthumously on the band's next album, From Beer to Eternity.
"Thieves" is a song by American industrial metal band Ministry. It was released as the opening track from the band's fourth studio album, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989), as well as the B-side from its single, "Burning Inside". The song's lyrics deal mainly with political corruption. The song includes dialogue samples from R. Lee Ermey's drill instructor character in Full Metal Jacket. Ministry's version was featured in the 1992 science fiction film Freejack, also in the 2009 video game Brütal Legend.
The Sound of Music is an album by NSK industrial group Laibach. The album is a reinterpretation of the soundtrack of the musical of the same name. Also included are Korean folks songs such as Arirang. Lead vocals are usually duets between lead singer Milan Fras and guest collaborator Boris Benko of Silence.
Moral Hygiene is the fifteenth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on October 1, 2021. In production for about three years, following the release of AmeriKKKant (2018), this album marks the band's first collaboration with bassist Paul D'Amour, who joined Ministry in 2019, and the first to include a cover song since Relapse (2012). Moral Hygiene also includes guest appearances from guitarist Billy Morrison, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, former N.W.A member Arabian Prince and Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen's former bandmate in Lard, Jello Biafra. It also marks the first album since Rio Grande Blood (2006) to not feature guitarist Sin Quirin, who quit the band in March 2021 following the previous year's allegations of underage sexual relations.