Sketches Of The Red Districts - CD & Booklet

Laibach has been one of my favourite bands since debuting and I was very fortunate to see Laibach live during their formative years. I can appreciate the philosophy and the social commentary of their output from ‘Opus Dei’ onwards but always loved ‘Nova Akropola’, ‘0ccupied Europe’, ‘Rekapitula’, and particularly the first album. For me ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’ is the most beautiful and engaging album Laibach has released since ‘Macbeth’. In some ways it is actually my favourite Laibach release because it has the uniqueness, integrity, depth, and edge of albums like ‘Nova Akropola’ but created and produced with much better equipment. ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’ is certainly not musical sketches, it is considered cohesive musicality of the highest order and extremely satisfying listen after listen after listen…. I searched far and wide for ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’ for approximately 4 years. I was absolutely delighted to finally be able to purchase it directly from Laibach. The cost was a fraction of what distributors and resellers charge. The international shipping cost was competitive and very reliable with tracked shipping and none of the hidden inflation charges that online retailers and shipping companies are so fond of adding to the final bill. As such, the total cost was absolutely at the top end of my budget but the product is worth mountainously more to me. Certainly I prefer and get much more pleasure/ satisfaction from ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’ than I do from a two week all inclusive overseas vacation. I enjoy an extremely wide spectrum of music (especially serious innovators like Chou, Ives, Nono, and Xenakis) and Laibach has made music that traverses styles but Laibach is one of the innovators of industrial music because Laibach has their unique style in that genre and are indisputable masters of it. Particularly if you value the harsher grained elements of Laibach, their early 1980s catalogue, and their inventiveness, then you are likely to find deep sustained appreciation of ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’. The album reminds me a little of when I saw Laibach perform in London (I think it was at the Barbican in the mid-late 1980s). The performance was riveting and, at the end, the audience was recorded, reversed, pitch shifted, electronically treated, and pre-recorded sounds of booing (reversed and forwards) were intermixed and the entirety amplified back at the audience while the audience was still expressing genuine awe. Wow!!! Literally spine tingling!!! ‘Sketches of the Red Districts’ definitely has that awesome quality, I’m delighted to know that Laibach actually gets some remuneration for their efforts when we buy direct from the artist, and the service (in my case - international) is faultless. Unreserved 10/10 - 100%

Colin M. 5/5 Verified August 17, 2026

quality product

Jan Z. 5/5 Verified June 20, 2025

Beautiful Laibach!

Dominik M. 5/5 Verified February 8, 2024

I saw LAIBACH the first time in 1986 at the Schauspielhaus Hamburg, where they joined the theatre-performance of MACBETH. I hadn't heard of them before and was very impressed by the short interludes, that broke into the play like soundbombs. Immediately, I bought all records that were availlable at the time (Rekapitulacija, Laibach, Nova Akropola, Krst, Occupied Europe Tour and Opus Dei) as well as some of the tapes like "Ein Schauspieler" and of course the Maxi Singles. It didin't happen often, that I discovered music, that really was new, although it was constructed of old material. "NOVA AKROPOLA" had these thundering Linn-Drum batterings, fanfare attacks and samples from David Bowie's "Dancing with the Big Boys" (Die Liebe) and Morricone Soundtrack Music from The Exorcist II (Vade Retro), as well as "Mars" by Holst, to name but a few. Other bands at the time, who were named "industrial", such as "Einstürzende Neubauten" and "Test Dept." were great, but LAIBACH (in my humble opinion) had so much more. "SKETCHES OF THE RED DISTRICTS" is a look back at historical times, seen through LAIBACHs eyes, what often makes the experience one of fear of falling for propaganda. They also had some of the most interestging rhythms I ever heard, such as in "IV Personen" and "Krvava Gruda". The overall dark industrial feel of "NOVA AKROPOLA" almost makes you think, you are listening to something forbidden. So it became my absolute favourite among all LAIBACH longplayers as of yet. I love LAIBACHs efforts most, when they do their own stuff, not so much the cover-versions; not even, when they cover themselves... I am glad, that in between the more "friendly" later albums they do at times, they also don't forget their "industrial" side and give such brilliant ones like "We forge the future" and "Sketches of the red districts" alongside the RSD Edition of "NOVA". It is really hard for me to imagine, how they could top "NOVA" or "KRST" in future projects, but I hope for the best.

Andreas L. 5/5 Verified May 20, 2023

Great album based on the industrial red districts in Trbovlje

Bas M. 5/5 Verified May 12, 2023

It's a Laibach CD. I've bought all the others so I'm not going to stop anytime soon.

Robert H. 5/5 Verified March 5, 2023

It's an interesting return to Laibach's purely experimental and old-school industrial sounds of the pre-Opus Dei era. Highly recommended!

Ken D. 5/5 Verified February 25, 2023

I'm excited about this album. I like the vibe, the return to the dark industrial sound. Very very good!

Frantisek S. 5/5 Verified February 16, 2023

Unreleased Early Tracks "revisited" on CD. Expkanation: great companion to the Revisited CDr, just as the live We Forge The Future CD pairs with the live Underground CDr. Jazzy. Noisy. Electrically Orderly. Perfect. Already playing in my sets.

Enrique V. 5/5 Verified February 13, 2023

Very fast delivery of this excellent cd.Have not stopped listening since it arrived.

Robert H. 5/5 Verified February 8, 2023

...the Punkt (point) of immanence, presently existing beyond position, i.e. at the very heart of the black cross, will be sensed to have suddenly spread and subdued the souls of mere menscheit in an instant, a quick re-turn of the cog, thus flashing a consistent SLAVA into the dusty spermatoid egg-tangents of quantistic chaos + you may not suspect it but underneath the perfect pop of present political needs the LAIBACH ur-horrors and uber-beuty exist on, not dormant but actively awake like they have never been witnessed yet, not in the domain of the temporal, smashing in particular the universal smasher through their pan-ul-time-ate sacrifice + if you do not get this by now... listeners of the contemporary "non audis"...the I : : K : : Spirit will Itself render you deaf by degrees, thus you will no longer be free to continue desecrating, with your peace-loving conflict-abhorring ears, the pure terror that is LAIBACH KUNST

Ljubo D. 5/5 Verified February 5, 2023

Sketches of the Red Districts is a super-formation of Laibach Kunst fanaticism that demands diplomacy. Do not listen to this record. Let it eat you, and if it leaves any vital organ stil functioning, use it and rehearse your desire, hate, love, identity, thoughts, memories, affects, and voice. Are you the brain, the heart, the genitals, or a Suprematic Body? Are you a spiritual follower with an ecstatic scream on your face, or do you reflect the Collective Immanent Spirit within you? The Sketches of the Red Districts point to the future where we stand today. As any dialectician knows, we are approaching Nova Akropola. Who doubts the power of these horns? The Sketches of the Red Districts paint the contours of the forced choice today: choose between Orjuna, the communists, and TIGR. Chose Laibach Kunst. Demand diplomacy! Dr. Ervik C.

Ervik C. 5/5 Verified February 4, 2023

Great! Great! Great!

Miloš Č. 5/5 Verified February 4, 2023

suberb craftmanship delivers emotional roller coaster, great !!

Dieter N. 5/5 Verified February 3, 2023

Fantastic new album! This is what I want from Laibach! Fan since 1988 Evor

Davide L. 5/5 Verified January 31, 2023

Excellent Album!

David Đ. 5/5 Verified January 21, 2023

A great moment !!!

Vincent G. 5/5 November 27, 2025

Excellent album de Laibach que ce "Sketches of the Red Districts" ! Beaucoup plus accessible que les premiers opus du groupe, dont le style "martial brutaliste" peut rebuter une oreille non avertie. Toutefois, l'esprit original est bien présent et cela se ressent. Le travail graphique, le son, le package du CD : c'est une franche réussite. Félicitations !

Fabrice D. 5/5 Verified October 20, 2025

Great industrial soundscape Massive drums - recommend

Chris S. 5/5 Verified May 6, 2025

Second time i’ve ordered Some Laibach stuff. Again i went high on the quality of the musick and art work. Up to tree!

Flip V. 5/5 August 16, 2024

Industrial a la Laibach

Uwe U. 5/5 Verified June 15, 2024

This was gifted to my spouse. They really liked the music, but complained about packaging. Pulling a CD out of a cardboard sleeve can be really awkward, and the additional envelope does not help much either.

Miron M. 5/5 Verified January 11, 2024

One of the best Laibach albums in a long time. Amazing sounds from start till the end and grab you by the throat. The way Laibach should be.

Bob R. 5/5 Verified June 29, 2023

Fan of Laibach since the beginning, I always monitor new releases. Very fast shipping, and superb album. Very good

Thierry T. 5/5 Verified April 12, 2023

The music is excellent and I really enjoy listening to it.

Mojca J. 5/5 Verified March 27, 2023

Soy fan absoluto desde 1988 y tengo más de 30 ítems del grupo, incluyendo uno de los primeros pasaportes nsk (1996 o 97), sellos, caja de postales, etc. De los últimos discos"industriales" me parece bueno el Zaratustra y el Revisited y excelente el ich will ein Deutscher sein, pero este creo que está por debajo. Tiene momentos excelentes sobre todo en la primera mitad pero no mantiene la intensidad hasta el final. El arte es una misión elevada que exige fanatismo.

Oskar D. 3/5 Verified March 18, 2023

Awesome new album! I love it!

Sascha B. 5/5 Verified March 17, 2023

Great album, listening to it brought up good memories from the 80's.

Tamas K. 5/5 Verified March 11, 2023

As per usual the Laibach team deliver great service, really quickly and efficiently. As for this latest iteration of the Laibach aesthetic, well it was really interesting to hear Laibach kind of return to the sound that they originally arrived with way back in their early days. Highly experimental, very dark and what I found to be a great sibling piece to Also Sprach Zarathustra. Highly recommended for those that appreciate the darker sonic spectrum of the Laibach audio terrorism.

Ruben S. 5/5 Verified February 17, 2023

Thanx for new Genius Laibach Material✌️😎

Michael R. 5/5 Verified February 11, 2023

It's ok addition to my collection

Stephen O. 3/5 Verified February 8, 2023

Absolute masterpiece!!!

Daniel D. 5/5 Verified February 8, 2023

Excellent album, one of the best Laibach work. Recommendable. The shgipment is always punctual. Fan since 1985. Dariusz.

Dariusz P. 5/5 Verified February 3, 2023

Laibach decided to go back to their roots with this album but contrary to many bands, their roots are pretty terrible, and consist mostly of obnoxious noise; none of the melodies and sensual vocals they're known for today. I listened to the album once, and promptly removed it from my playlist; if I'd bought it on Amazon, I would have had gotten it refunded because of just how bad it is

Mikaël G. 2/5 Verified February 3, 2023

One of the best LAIBACH work of the XXIe century, with specific industrial sound design, some kind of noise sculpture.

Frédéric J. 5/5 Verified February 1, 2023

Magnus J. 5/5 Verified February 1, 2023

Very good. Recommendable

Andreas K. 5/5 Verified January 31, 2023

Excellent album, with a very nice finish as usual. The shipment is always punctual, that's perfect.

Christophe J. 5/5 Verified January 31, 2023

Always a pleasure to receive new Laibach material!

Brian S. 4/5 Verified January 22, 2023

Delightful!

Michael S. 5/5 Verified January 22, 2023