Laibach - WAT FLAC download

Brilliant conceptual electronic performance art lp, great involvement of fashion, art, design, and of course music above all. Laibach continue to be one of the most interesting musical artists ever, creating always enigmatic complete art - gesamkunstwerk, something very few have managed to do, probably besides Kraftwerk in my view.

To me, this album represents the end of an era for Laibach as after this album, Vier Personen would cease to exist for good as Ervin Markošek at this point was only involved in press photos for the album, Dejan Knez left to focus on his own projects, Ivan Novak opted to take a behind the scenes role for the group. At the same time though, this album was the best way to end it as each original album prior to it had a unique theme (Kapital focused on materialism and Jesus Christ Superstars focused on religion) and it is appropriate that the focus of WAT would be on war given the post-9/11 world we were in. For this album, we saw Laibach utilize it's trademark pseudo-fascist look for one last time and use it to speak out about how while going to war may seem amazing and glorious at first, the end results of total war (fear, destruction, suffering, hatred, and potentially genocide) show that it is an option that we should try to avoid at all costs. The best thing of the album for me is that unlike other anti-war albums done by bands like A Perfect Circle, this one doesn't beat you over the head with its message and respects the listener. The one downside to this album is that it revealed too much about Laibach and made it so that the new lineup that formed for Volk and Spectre would not be able to reach the levels that the original Vier Personen lineup did.

After 25 years, most influencial underground 80s groups have either split (Cabaret Voltaire), reformed completely (Joy Division/New Order) or are busy reinventing themselves through the power of the remix (Nitzer Ebb etc). It is refreshing therefore to see a group who, after a quarter of a century, are not only still in one piece, but have refreshingly managing to move with the times. 'WAT' ('We Are Time') see Slovakian liberal-baiters Laibach dust off their Nazi uniforms and strut their stuff in a fantastically neo-teutonic way. Courting controversy as ever, and leaving more questions posed than answered, the group are as ever umbiguous about their idiologies. Are they facist? Left wing? Right wing? Nazis? Rather than display any beliefs themselves, and not going for the "we're being ironic" option, Laibach seem to hold a mirror up to 21st Century Europe and say "This is what you are" - a confused mess of idiologies, remnants from the past centuries wars, and tensions that could result in devastation if things aren't worked out; a running theme on WAT - not least on the anthemic 'Tanz Mit Laibach' (Dance with Laibach) - a parody of German-American Friendship. Rather than sounding like a group of eastern European 50-somethings 'doing dance music', WAT sounds utterly 21st century. 'Now You Will Pay' is snarling kick-drums and controversial lyrics - "Barbarians are coming/From the East" (you get the impression they're mocking the general Westernised view of immigration, rather than making any sort of racist statement), is peppered with the sort of choir choruses and orchestral swoops that Philip Glass would be proud of. 'Das Spiel Ist Aus' ('Game Over') is the album's highlight - a brief but thunderous call to arms, David Carretta-style fuzzing synths and euro-trance 4 to the floor jack-boot rhythyms, with Laibach's trademark operatic vocal styles. On some tracks, for example 'Satanic Versus', the techno/classical mix sounds a bit silly, but Laibach have never claimed to be fashionable. European politics has never been so much fun. Play loud.

NOT Slovakian, but Slovenian Franklin!