Opus Dei Revisited Laibach

Slovenian collective Laibach revisit their 1987 masterpiece, Opus Dei, with brand-new interpretations by the group, along with remixes from the record’s original producer and mixer, Rico Conning.

Opus Dei (translation: God’s Work) was the band’s first album for Mute, garnering acclaim and shining a worldwide spotlight on the unique Slovenian collective. This led to the album being listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (edited by Robert Dimery), where it was called “…a masterpiece of its genre.”

Opus Dei Revisited presents two distinct new versions of the work, an approach in keeping with the original album, where they reimagined Opus’s ‘Live Is Life’ (as ‘Opus Dei’) and Queen’s ‘One Vision’ (‘Geburt einer Nation’), two key highlights of the album.

The first disc is a reworking by Laibach themselves, initially crafted and then refined for their current Opus Dei Revisited Tour. Never a band to take an easy route to any destination, the challenge to re-evaluate, reinterpret, and rebuild the tracks was an artistic imperative. The band was so pleased with the results that they entered the studio immediately after Phase 1 of the Opus Dei Revisited Tour was completed to capture these new versions.

For the second disc, they invited Rico Conning (Wire, Pere Ubu, Swans, Front 242, William Orbit) to also revisit the material. Conning was given an open brief to explore new territories with the original master tapes. The results emphasise and eviscerate in equal measure, bringing wide-ranging new perspectives and a strident aural attitude.