The Fourth Reich

The Fourth Reich was an EP released by the Icelandic New Wave group Þeyr through Mjöt in 12" vinyl format.

For this work Þeyr recurred to a stronger use of percussion and rhythmic efforts than previous works, where the songs "Metamorphosis" and "Blood" outstands due to their deep percussive orientation.<br>This single was released in the UK through Shout.

Banning in the UK

This EP was released in the UK through label Shout but its original front cover was banned and replaced by a new one with black-colored background and just the title in red gothic characters. The name The Fourth Reich could lead to confusion because the title seems to suggest a continuation of the Third Reich. Actually, the image cover depicts Austrian psychiatrist and psychoanalysis Wilhelm Reich with a red armband similar to that used by the nazis, but in this case, the armband had the symbol of the orgone physics, which represented duality and its origins in unity, referred by Reich as functionalism.<br>As a matter of fact, this release was a tribute to Reich, since Þeyr members were interested in his works. The back cover of this record also featured an image of Reich being escorted from the courthouse in Portland, Maine when he was arrested in 1956.

This image is accompanied by a German inscription which reads the following:<br>Gemäss der Verordung des Reichspräsidenten vom 28. Februar 1933 ist die Verteilung aller ausländischen Veröffentlichungen der......
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