''Opus Dei'' is the third studio album by Slovenian band
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
, released in 1987. It features "Geburt einer Nation" ("birth of a nation"), a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
language cover version of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's "
One Vision
"One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the British rock band Queen, first released as a single in November 1985 and then included on their 1986 album '' A Kind of Magic''. It was conceived by the group's drummer Roger Taylor.Opus' sole international hit single "
Live Is Life
"Live Is Life" is a 1984 song by Austrian pop rock band Opus. It was released as the first single from their first live album, ''Live Is Life'' (1984), and was also included on the US version of their fourth studio album, '' Up and Down'' (1984 ...
". 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
"We shall fight on the beaches" is a common title given to a speech delivered by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 4 June 1940. This was the second of three major sp ...
" speech. A new arrangement of the song appears on Laibach's album ''
Volk
The German noun ''Volk'' () translates to people,
both uncountable in the sense of ''people'' as in a crowd, and countable (plural ''Völker'') in the sense of '' a people'' as in an ethnic group or nation (compare the English term ''folk'') ...
'', with the title "NSK". On ''Volk'', the song is credited to Laibach and
Slavko Avsenik, Jr.
Slavko Avsenik Jr. ( sl, Slavko Avsenik mlajši) (April 9, 1958 in Ljubljana) is a Slovenian composer and pianist. He is also the author of numerous children's songs. He is the son of the Slavko Avsenik.
Biography
Avsenik graduated from the Ac ...
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
Case White (german: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive ( sh, Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during W ...
'', composed by
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
. The elements of "How the West Was Won" (specifically the rhythm and harmonised guitars) are inspired by Queen's "Gimme the Prize".
The attention this album received from
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
and others led to Laibach's first worldwide tour. The album was included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''.
Track listing
# "Leben heißt Leben" ''(
Live Is Life
"Live Is Life" is a 1984 song by Austrian pop rock band Opus. It was released as the first single from their first live album, ''Live Is Life'' (1984), and was also included on the US version of their fourth studio album, '' Up and Down'' (1984 ...
)'' (
Opus
''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.).
Opus or OPUS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
) – 4:22
# "Leben - Tod" ''(Life - Death)'' (Laibach) – 3:58
# "F.I.A.T." (Laibach) – 5:13
# "Opus Dei" (Opus) – 5:04
# "Trans-National" (Laibach) – 4:28
# "How the West Was Won" (Laibach) – 4:26
# "The Great Seal" (Laibach) – 4:16
+ On CD editions, 4 tracks from "
Baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
":
# "Herz-Felde" ''(
Heartfield
Heartfield was a short-lived American guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant ha ...
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
) at
Radio3Net
Radio 3 net is the former ''Radio România Tineret'' (or Radio 3). More than 20,000 albums are stored on Radio 3 net. A few of the prominent features available on the website are "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Mus ...