As Above...: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:39, 13 July 2007

Revision as of 12:48, 1 May 2008

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"Killer Boogie" and "Rúdolf" are featured again in ''[[Rokk í Reykjavík]]'' (Rock in Reykjavík), a concert compilation released in 1982 with the presence of other renowned Icelandic bands. There is also a video for this compilation which was edited on VHS format only.

"Rúdolf" contains a sample of Hitler saying ''"Around us is Germany. In us Germany marches. And behind us Germany follows"''. It was a fragment taken from ''[[Triumph of the Will|Triumph des Willens]]'' (''Triumph of the Will''), a propaganda film directed by [[Leni Riefenstahl]] in 1934. However, the record inserts credit [[A. Schicklgruber]] as the impersonator of Hitler’s voice.

The title of the album is thought to be inspired by [[Killing Joke]]'s ''[[What's THIS For...!]]'' from 1981 and with sarcasm refers either to the band's name or their previous works (in the sense that "as above" is written on application forms). It is more generally considered to be half of the maxim "[[As Above, So Below]]" that is quoted by every occultist and originates in the second line of the ancient alchemical tract ''[[Tabula Smaragdina]]''.

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The cover design, which is exactly the same as in ''[[Mjötviður Mær]]'' was banned in the [[United Kingdom]] because of the photographs showing drummer [[Sigtryggur Baldursson]] naked. However, ''Mjötviður Mær'' was never banned as it was only released in Iceland. The meaning of the song "Rúdolf" was the focus of controversy among many who thought it was an allegory to Nazism. It should be noted, however, that Þeyr was an anti-fascist group. Several years later, drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson said: "The song 'Rúdolf' was supposed to be a criticism, but was really interpreted as we were Nazis. We also adopted some Nazi things like clothing, but we were never real Nazis. We were just showing off, just like today."

READER’S QUERY: What evidence is there for the banning of As Above in the UK? The album was openly on sale in the Cambridge branch of Our Price –  exactly the sort of store that you might expect to remove an album from the shelves if the artwork was considered offensive. Though slightly surprised to find it there, since it was hardly the sort of mainstream album that Our Price normally sold, I bought it anyway. Since I still have it I can confirm that it has exactly the same artwork depicted here. Some ban.

==Credits==