Search - Laibach :: Jesus Christ Superstars

When you're ready to choose between Heaven and Hell...

Scott Sweet | Colorado Springs, CO | 12/30/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was the first Laibach album I found, and it's a good example of their catchier, less art-driven sound. Among "theme" albums, "Superstars" is pretty effective. Imagine Ministry performing Gary Numan's album "Pure" to entertain a heavily armed European militia, with Popeye on vocals."God Is God" is a strong goth-metal-industrial (whew!) anthem. The covers of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and Prince's "The Cross" are interesting. The real standouts are "Kingdom of God," "Message From The Black Star," and "To The New Light."Lyrically, the album twists the natures of Jesus, Satan and Hell. By the end, it's hard to tell if the point is that God reigns supreme over Lucifer, or that Lucifer IS God, and Jesus was a pawn all along the way. Still, even when it's confusing it's danceable."To The New Light" is worthy of Swans as scary songs go. It's an atmosphere piece with a spine-chilling vibe. When The Bottomless Throat says, "Bruddah uv miiinnne," you better have the lights on in the room.The back-up choir and orchestral touches flesh out the religious feel of the album. Laibach have a definite shared view on God's role in the world: (From their website) "We believe in God, but we do not necessarily trust him."This is a good album for people who want to decide their spiritual allegiance by working it out on the dance floor."

The original Rammstein, complete with identical flaws.

Robert | Medford, MA: USA | 06/25/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Laibach was always a heavy metal band at heart, even without HM instrumentation. Just listen to their early material: pounding percussion, simple, repetitive riffs and borderline human vocals. This time around, they've come out of the heavy metal closet, and to good effect. Like all Laibach releases, this one has both white-knuckle songs and some plodders. The semi-metallic opening track, "God is God," reportedly made it to the soundtrack of "The Blair Witch Project," though I saw the film and didn't hear it. Track two is a dance-able cover of "Jesus Christ Superstar." Track six ranks among the meatiest metal I've heard, and the background chorus and keyboard add tasteful gothic color throughout the record. This is what Celtic Frost longed to be. Oh yeah, the flaws: Some tracks are too long and repetitive. They need editing. Sometimes it's obvious that the vocalist is detachedly reciting someone else's lyrics (especially during the cover of Prince's "The Cross.") The first THREE songs of the album have almost identical beats, and the last two are trance-inducing atmosphere pieces. Metal albums should end with a bang, not a slow drawing of the curtains. Only three stars for this one, but like most German-esque music (and ALL Laibach albums), some tracks leave me literally awestruck."

Very good album

Michael Kumpf | Acworth, Georgia | 06/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you have heard any of Laibach's older material, this album will suprise you. I personally like this album better than any of their others. Personally I like most of the songs on here. I like how they incorporated some of the choir singing, especially in "Jesus Christ, Superstar." It's more techno than some of the other industrial groups at times, but you can still hear the intensity of the music. If you liked their old stuff or have never heard of Laibach before I recommend getting this CD."