From the early days, the band was subject to controversies and bans due to their use of iconography with parodies and pastiches of elements from totalitarianism, nationalism and militarism, a concept they have preserved throughout their career.

The band's lyrics, variously written in Slovene, German and English, are usually delivered by the deep bass vocals of the singer Milan Fras.

Initially the lyrics handled war and military themes; later, the focus turned to any highly charged political issue of the moment, sending intentionally ambiguous messages.

During their career, Laibach have also recorded film and theatre music and produced works of visual arts, while the band members have embarked on a number of side projects.

[1] In later interviews, the members stated that the band formation was sparked off by the suicide of Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis, the death of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito and the beginning of the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

[1] Since its formation, Laibach had been preparing a multimedia project Rdeči revirji (Red District), a piece intended to challenge and provoke the political authorities in Trbovlje.

[2] However, the group's use of Kazimir Malevich's black crosses on their posters was determined by the authorities to be "improper and irresponsible", leading to considerable negative reaction in the media and the cancellation of the performance of Red District.

[1] The band's first live appearance and an exhibition entitled Žrtve letalske nesreče (Victims of an Air Accident) took place in January 1982 at the Ljubljana club FV.

[2] At this early stage of their career, Laibach's visuals employed mining iconography; eventually, the group would add such symbols as Triglav, deer horns and the Malevich's black cross encircled with a gear to their imagery.

[1] At the time of their concerts in Ljubljana, Belgrade and Zagreb, the name Laibach and the posters with black crosses caused controversy, with some seeing this as a direct reference to the occupation of the country in World War II.

[1] After the simultaneous appearance of late Josip Broz Tito and a penis on the screens, the performance was interrupted by the police, and the members of the band were forcibly removed from the stage.

[1] By combining the imagery of socialist realism, Nazism—which provoked the Slovene WW2 Veteran Organization in Yugoslavia—and Italian futurism, the group created a unique aesthetic style which could not pass unnoticed by the public.

Anitrecords, the group released their debut record, a 12" single with Slovene language songs "Boji" ("Fights"), "Sila" ("Force") and "Brat moj" ("My Brother").

[7] The band returned to Yugoslavia to prepare an exhibit at Ljubljana's Students' Cultural Center, entitled The Occupied Europe Tour Documents, which opened on 5 May 1984.

[5] On 6 February 1986, with the Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre, the group premiered their own play Krst pod Triglavom (Baptism Under Triglav) at the Ljubljana's Cankar Hall.

[5] In a TV interview, Tomlje stated that she was informed of the quality of the band's works and of the success they had achieved abroad, but that they would not be allowed to perform in Ljubljana under the name Laibach.

[7] The ban was officially lifted on 4 April 1985, and the group performed their first legal concert in Slovenia under the name Laibach already on the following day, in Hum, entitled Krvava gruda, plodna zemlja (Bloody Land, Fertile Soil).

[8] Despite them, the band held a sold-out concert in Ljubljana entitled Svoji ka svojim (To Their Own),[8] and Yugoslav lifestyle and entertainment magazine Start pronounced members of the group the fourth on the list of Best Dressed Men in Yugoslavia.

[8] In October 1988, the group released the album Let It Be, featuring cover versions of all the songs from the Beatles album of the same name, with the exception of the title track, which they did not record owing to lack of studio time,[7] and "Maggie Mae"; under the title "Maggie Mae", the band released their versions of German folk songs "Auf der Lüneburger Heide" and "Was Gleicht Wohl Auf Erden".

[8] On their concert in Toronto, they were joined by Austrian artist and art theoretician Peter Weibel, who appeared on stage half-naked with a horned helmet on his head.

[7] The group went on the Occupied Europe NATO Tour 1994-95, provoking the audience in Zagreb and Sarajevo with their performances of "Marš na Drinu", a Serbian World War I patriotic march.

[10] The deluxe edition of the album featured four bonus tracks, including a cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and Serge Gainsbourg's "Love on the Beat", and a book entitled Spectre Playbook, a Laibach "manifesto" with a goal of uniting social activists from around the world.

[10] The band held two concerts, on 19 and 20 August, at Kim Won Gyun Musical Conservatory in Nampo-dong, Pyongyang, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of Japanese rule of Korea.

[10] The songs on the album were originally composed for a theatrical production of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, based on Friedrich Nietzsche's novel of the same name, directed by Matjaž Berger and premiering in the Anton Podbevšek Theatre in Novo Mesto.

[10] The release featured the book Terror of History, with texts by journalist Igor Vidmar, author Marcel Stefančić and former president of Slovenia Milan Kučan.

In 2009, Laibach reworked Richard Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, Siegfried-Idyll and The Ride Of The Valkyries in collaboration with the RTV Slovenia Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Izidor Leitinger.

[10] The usage of Heartfield's anti-Nazi work depicting swastika consisting of four bloodied axes on the inner sleeve of the album Opus Dei caused controversies in some European countries.

[29] Finnish author and nationalist Tuomas Tähti disclosed in his 2019 book Nationalistin henkinen horisontti that Laibach member Ivan "Jani" Novak told him in March 2015 that the band is a communist group and most of their work is connected to communism.

In the same interview the keyboard player of Rammstein Christian Lorenz drew a parallel between the deep voices of Till Lindemann and Milan Fras but considered this to be the only similarity between the two music groups.

From mid-1980s to mid-1990s, while the core quartet included Dejan Knez, Milan Fras, Ervin Markošek and Ivan "Jani" Novak, the members frequently used the pseudonyms Dachauer, Keller, Saliger and Eber.