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We are in 1996, and a band, which had been the soundtrack of the difficult situation in the former Yugoslavia for years, until the fall of the Berlin Wall, decided to add to the sounds experimented up to that point a strong Heavy Metal component.
The band in question is the Slovenian group Laibach, and for this unusual attempt at experimentation they decided to draw on nothing less than the famous musical of the same name directed by Norman Jewison.
Musically, the album is a mix of electronic drums, synthesizers, keyboards, arrangements, and typically Industrial choruses, and canonical Heavy Metal. However, this mixture is not entirely homogeneous, as the band, in most tracks, retains its electronic roots, while only in some does it develop (succeeding admirably) its (never before expressed) HM attitude. The eclectic album begins with "God Is God," which confirms what was said earlier. The song remains within the traditional Industrial canons, with the rhythm marked by the ever-present sampled drums (it will be "abandoned" only in a couple of songs); the singer's voice is guttural and deliberately monotone, while the marked use of male and female choirs is immediately noticeable (they will be used frequently throughout the album).
The title track follows, which takes up the original text of the musical; in my opinion, the most successful piece of the album: even though devoid of metallic inserts, it flows easily, paced by the pounding synthesizers and the piano (especially in the finale). The, in my opinion, negligible "Kingdom Of God" represents the transition point between the first songs (of electronic matrix) and the metal songs of this album (in the finale the song accelerates with the support of the guitars). "Declaration of Freedom" and "Message from the Black Star" are, in every sense, Industrial Metal tracks (in the more modern conception of the term): Kraftwerkian synthesizers overlap sharp guitars producing Thrash-style riffs, and the result obtained is truly excellent. Then comes "The Cross" (a cover of Prince), characterized by a Techno trend, the unsettling "To The New Light" and, in conclusion, the instrumental "Deus Ex Machina", apocalyptic like few others, which ends with a sudden deceleration that recalls the most inspired Throbbing Gristle.
This CD assumes great value within the discography of the artistic collective (I've recently discovered it also deals with the visual arts), and an important piece in the now famous genre that intersects between Electronics and Rock (in the broadest sense of the term).
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 God Is God (03:43)
You shall see Hell clear in the sky
You shall see darkness
You shall see good and evil
You shall see city walls crumble and towers fall
God is God
God is God
God
You shall see the Lord of Life and Death
You shall see Heaven in Hell
You shall be blinded by light
You shall see darkness
God is God
God is God
God
You shall see the walls crumble
Walls built of pain
And above the cries of man
Hear one voice saying:
I am Alfa and Omega
The begining and the end
I am the fist and
I am the last
God is God
God is God
God
You shall see Hell
You shall see evil
You shall see darkness
You shall see sorrow
You shall see Death
You shall see God
02 Jesus Christ Superstar (05:45)
Every time I look at you
I don't understand
Why you let the things you did
Get so out of hand
You'd have managed better
If you'd had it planned
Now why'd you choose such a backward time
And such a strange land?
If you'd come today
You could have reached the whole nation
Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication
Don't you get me wrong
Only want to know
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
Who are you? What have you sacrificed?
Jesus Christ
Superstar
Do you think you're what they say you are?
Jesus Christ
Superstar
Do you think you're what they say you are?
Tell me what you think
About your friends at the top
Now who d'you think besides yourself
Was the pick of the crop?
Buddah was he where it's at?
Is he where you are?
Could Muhammmed move a mountain
Or was that just PR?
Did you mean to die like that?
Was that a mistake or
Did you know your messy death
Would be a record breaker?
04 Abuse and Confession (06:14)
Lord
Lord
Christ!
You've been
Sacrificed
Crucified
Sanctified
Glorified
Braised
Lord
Lord
God!
You've been
Sacrificed
Bilified
Demonised
Mortified
Shamed
You gave me flesh and blood
And the will and the way
To serve Thee, my Lord
Until Judgement day
It was written in stone
You had a mission to save
Why give me desire
Just to prove I'm depraved?
But were You not tempted, my Lord
When You became flesh?
Did Your desire not rise
At the sound of a woman's breath?
Lord
Lord
Christ!
You've been
Satirised
Sermonised
Scandalised
Terrorised
Cursed
Here I am
Damned
Cursed
Destroyed
It was written in the book
That You must die on the cross
And it was written
That I must betray You
Otherwise man would be lost
Would be lost
What about me?
Don't turn Your back on me
As it was written, so I must do
And this kiss on Your cheek
Proves my love for You
No greater love
Hath no man that I
Who would sacrifice eternity
For one kiss
For humanity
For humanity
Lord
Lord
Christ!
I've been
Satirised
Terrorised
Demonised
Scandalised
Damned
Why me, Lord
Was it because
I was Judas baptised?
Your mission has failed
Your mission has failed
Your mission has failed
You failed the word
05 Declaration of Freedom (05:33)
No need to be afraid
When the light start to fade
When minds disintegrate
No need to be afraid
No need, no need to fear
When you begin to hear the bells
Tolling death knells in your ears
Calling you closer to me
I'll set you free
When the temple comes to collect
To harvest your life's account
And your goodness is no defence
Against your family's neglect
Take my hands and follow me
I'll set you free
Between heavenly salvation
And the Serpent's curse
Between eternal abomination
And the boredom of the vertuous
You deeds count for nothing
On the day of reckoning
Your faith stands for nothing
God was only an enterprise
Take my hands and follow me
I'll set you free
Some people say
Death is not the end
Well let me tell you this
Death is your only friend
Death is the final release
From the cycle of misery
From the threat of eternity
And perpetual vanity
Take my hands and follow me
I'll set you free
Death is the final release
From the cycle of misery
From the threat of eternity
From eternal slavern
Take my hands and follow me
I'll set you free...
06 Message From the Black Star (05:50)
I am the storm bringer and the bearer of light
I set up the Nobel prise and invented dynomite
I raised you up after the fall
Without me you would be nothing, nothing at all
I am the builder of Babel, a stairway to Heaven
He replaced the tower with a million nations
And then He told you to love, love one another
Then again He said, fire! brother against brother
He is the dreamer who demands too much
I am the realist, I expect nothing as such
Beware false idols, belive in me
Beware false idols, belive in me
He says I make work for idols hands
That sloth, envy and rage erode time's sand
Plus gluttony, greed, impurity and pride
That makes seven ways to keep Him occupied
He fulfilled every step in my masterplan
When His son upon this earth did crashland
He was my twin, my faithful negative
It was me who really showed Him to live
He is the dreamer who demands too much
I am the realist, I expect nothing as such
Beware false idols, belive in me
Beware false idols, belive in me
Welcome to Hell, you already know my name
For that you have your Lord Jesus Christ to blame
He did my work well, He was my greatest creation
Through Him I spoke to you and to many a nation
It's hard for you with your dying breath
To speak my name ang go into death
Knowing that I and only I am the one
The only one...
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