PRE-ORDER Laibach : Alamut - Double Vinyl

Laibach : Alamut – new original symphonic work inspired by the 11th century Persian tale, created in collaboration with Iranian composers and A/POLITICAL 

Release Date: May 9, 2025

Laibach : Alamut, new double vinyl with gold finish sleeve. Includes 16-page large format booklet with extensive sleeve notes and imagery.

Label: MUTE

The album takes inspiration from Alamut (1938), the telling of a story from eleventh century Persia by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol about martyrdom and the Cult of Personalities that went on to inspire the video game series Assassin’s Creed, as well as artists such as Umberto Eco, Hawkwind and William S. Burroughs (who referenced the work in Naked Lunch, The Nova Express, and The Red Night Trilogy).

The book’s central character is Hassan-i Sabbāh, the charismatic religious and political leader of the Nizari Ismailis who founded the mysterious military formation known as the Hashshashin, or Order of the  Assassins. Hassan-i Sabbāh was a self-proclaimed prophet who led a holy war against the Seljuk Empire from his eyrie – the castle of Alamut. Bartol’s novel - known for its maxim “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” - examines the mechanisms of propaganda at a time when their author was witnessing, first hand, the rise of Fascism in Trieste (Italy). 

In Laibach’s 9-track retelling of Alamut, these ideas of radical nihilism are interwoven with the classical Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam, while the sensual verses of Mahsati Ganjavi blend with minimalist orchestral colours derived from the Iranian tradition. Hassan-i Sabbāh’s propaganda mechanisms echo in the industrial principle of the workings of the orchestra and Laibach’s unique sound. 

The album was recorded at the concert in Križanke Outdoor Theatre, Monastery of the Holy Cross, Ljubljana, by Laibach and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the Iranian conductor Navid Gohari.

Alamut was composed by Luka Jamnik (Laibach), Idin Samimi Mofakham, and Nima A. Rowshan.

TRACK LISTING

VINYL ONE 

Side A
A1. Overture 
A2. Secret Gardens
A3. Fedayeen 

Side B
B1. Transition 
B2. Meditation I
B3. War 

VINYL TWO

Side C
C1. The Doors of Perception
C2. The Metaverse

Side D
D1. Meditation II & Epilogue