Laibach announce remastered edition of 1987 album 'Opus Dei'

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(Photo by Andy Catlin – Ljubljana) Laibach has announced a remastered and redesigned edition of their 1987 album, “Opus Dei”, scheduled for release on Mute on May 10, 2024. This edition will be available on vinyl and as a 2CD box set. It includes 16 previously unreleased live tracks from 1987-1989 and three bonus tracks.

A new video has been released, featuring edits from “Victory Under the Sun” (Pobeda pod suncem), directed by Goran Gajić in 1988, for the remastered version of “The Great Seal”. Watch it below.

“Opus Dei”, Laibach’s debut album with Mute, was originally mixed by Rico Conning, known for his work with Wire, Pere Ubu, Swans, and William Orbit. The album includes Laibach’s interpretations of Opus’ “Live Is Life” (rendered in English as “Opus Dei” and in German as “Leben heisst Leben”) and Queen’s “One Vision” (reimagined as “Geburt Einer Nation”), propelling the band into the limelight with support from MTV and ITV’s The Chart Show. The mainstream exposure and memorable music press features led to their first world tour, with performances from London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, San Francisco, Berlin, Paris, and various locations across Europe included on the second CD of this expanded edition.

The remastered edition boasts a redesigned cover that enhances the original artwork, an extensive booklet filled with photographs and artwork inspired by German anti-fascist artist John Heartfield, and new sleeve notes by cultural theorist Alexei Monroe.

Formed in the year of Yugoslavian founding father Tito’s death, the band faced censorship and bans in Yugoslavia before releasing “Opus Dei”. They embarked on the Occupied Europe Tour, appeared in Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket”, recorded a Peel Session for the BBC, and performed in Michael Clark’s dance production “No Fire Escape from Hell”.

The band have also recently announced ongoing diplomatic negotiations for a performance in Tehran of “Alamut”, a collaborative symphonic work with Iranian composers and performers. A very weird choice given the geopolitical tensions, just like their concert in North Korea.

In April 2024, Laibach will perform their score for a new theatrical production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Saint Joan of the Stockyards” by ErosAntEros, with performances in Bologna and Ravenna.

“Opus Dei (Remastered)” by Laibach will be available on Mute in various formats, including vinyl with a 16-page booklet, a 2CD box set with a 28-page booklet, and digitally, on May 10, 2024.

Tracklist of the CD:

CD1

Leben heisst Leben (Opus Dei)
Geburt einer Nation (One Vision)
Leben – Tod
F.I.A.T. (Let It Be)
Transnational
How the West Was Won
Opus Dei (Life is Life)
The Great Seal

Bonus tracks:

Geburt einer Nation (Eine Richtung und ein Volk Version)
Leben heisst Leben (Marche Funèbre Version)
Geburt einer Nation (3. Oktober – Kraftbach – Version)

CD2

Leben heisst Leben (London, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Leben-Tod (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
F.I.A.T. (Paris, Espace Ornano, 1992)
Transnational (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
How the West Was Won (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Opus Dei (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Leben heisst Leben (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Leben – Tod (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
How the West Was Won (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Vienna, Messepalast, Kaiser Franz Josef Reitschule, 1988)
Leben – Tod (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
Transnational (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
How the West Was Won (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
Opus Dei (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)

Laibach ‘Opus Dei’ Tour

14 May – Winterthur, Gaswerk Kulturzentrum, CH
15 May – Frankfurt, Batschkapp, DE
16 May – Berlin, Huxleys Neue Welt, DE
17 May – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset, DK
18 May – Gothenburg, Pustervik, SE
19 May – Stockholm, Nya Cirkus, SE
21 May – Helsinki, Savoy Theatre, FI
23 May – Oslo, Vulkan, NO
25 May – Cologne, Essigfabrik, DE
26 May – Dresden, Kultur Zentrum Strasse E, DE
27 May – Torun, CKK Jordanki, PL
28 May – Lublin, Radio Lublin, PL
29 May – Graz, Orpheum Big Hall, AT
03 July – Munich, Muffathalle, DE
04 July – Schorndorf, Manufaktur, DE
06 July – Halle, East Side Festival, DE
09 Aug – Jaromer, Brutal Assault Festival, CZ
05 Oct – Zagreb, Boogaloo, HR
11 Oct – Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU
12 Oct – Leipzig, Felsenkeller, DE
13 Oct – Prague, Roxy, CZ
15 Oct – Dordrecht, Bibelot, NL
16 Oct – Arnhem, Luxor, NL
17 Oct – Vauréal, Le Forum 2, FR
18 Oct – Toulouse, Le Rex, FR
19 Oct – Wavre, La Sucrerie, BE
20 Oct – Bochum, Christuskirche, DE
22 Oct – Hannover, Music Pavillion, DE

Bernard - Side-Line Staff Chief editor

Bernard Van Isacker is the Chief Editor of Side-Line Magazine. With a career spanning more than two decades, Van Isacker has established himself as a respected figure in the darkwave scene.

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