Established in 1980 at Trbovlje, a coal mining town in the centre of Slovenia, Laibach launched their first multimedia project Rdeči revirji ('Red Districts') in the same year, a project designed to challenge the striking contradictions of the political structure of the town at that time. The project was banned before it opened, preventing the first public appearance of the group, though not the angry media response which followed. Laibach appeared again in 1982 with their first concert in Ljubljana. This was followed by concerts around Yugoslavia (Zagreb, Belgrade) and a headlining appearance at the New Rock festival in the centre of Ljubljana. On 23 June 1983 the group made its first television appearance with an interview on the political news programme 'TV Tednik'. The interview provoked numerous reactions, and was followed by an administrative political ban on public appearances and the use of the name Laibach.

November and December 1983 saw the first European tour by the group, the 'Occupied Europe Tour', which also featured the British group Last Few Days. The 17-date tour covered 16 cities in eight countries in Eastern and Western Europe. The group made a successful anonymous appearance at the Malči Belič Hall, Ljubljana in December 1984. In the same year Laibach became a founding member of the Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK) art collective.

Laibach's first album Laibach was released in April 1985 on the Slovene ŠKUC Ropot label. However, because of the ban the record came out without the group's name; instead the cover featured a symbol that was Laibach’s trademark. Its second and third albums Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 (1985) and Neu Konservatiw (1985) were the first of the group's records to gain an international release. Following Nova Akropola, Laibach's 1986 album for British independent Cherry Red, the group was signed by London-based Mute Records. Opus Dei, released in Spring 1987, was the first album on this new label.

The band’s discography since 1987 includes Slovenska Akropola (1987), Krst Pod Triglavom-Baptism (1987), Let It Be (Mute Records, 1988), Sympathy for the Devil (Mute Records, 1988), Macbeth (Mute Records, 1990), Kapital (Mute Records, 1992), Ljubljana-Zagreb-Beograd, (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1993), NATO (Mute Records, 1994), The Occupied Europe NATO Tour 1994-1995 (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1996), Jesus Christ Superstars (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1996), Malci Belic, December 21, 1984 (The Grey Area/Mute Records, 1997), The John Peel Sessions (Strangefruit, 2002), WAT (Mute Records, 2003), Anthems (Mute Records, 2004, compilation), Volk (Mute Records, 2006) and Volk Tour London CC Club (Live Here Now, 2007).