VNV Nation - VampireFreaks.com

Artist: VNV Nation Album: Futureperfect	buy it on amazon.com	First of all, I want to thank Shannon from Metropolis Records for hooking me up with promotional cd's to be reviewed on vampirefreaks.com. I received "futureperfect" in the mail today, and it just totally made my day. Honestly, VNV Nation is one of my favorite bands and one of the few bands which really touches me emotionally and holds a lot of meaning to me. Well, after listening to this album on repeat for the past 9 hours, I have to say that this album fucking rocks. I was afraid that the new album simply wouldn't live up to VNV's previous albums, since some bands have the tendency to release mediocre material once they get really popular. Ronan Harris's vocals actually sound better on this album than they did on "Empires". He has the most amazing voice. Here's the track-by-track commentary: "Foreword"- classic VNV intro, featurin spoken word vocal and melodic background music. Sets the mood for the rest of the album. "Epicentre"- this is a great track with a hard hitting beat that gets me pumped. This is sure to be a dancefloor hit. When i first heard this track, it sounded so familiar somehow, yet i knew i never heard it before, and that's when i decided it needed to turn the volume up. "Electronaut"- this is a great track that has that classic VNV feel to it, like you're being motivated to fight for something (i dont know, VNV just makes me feel that way sometimes). There's no vocals on this track, and I think it would be better with some vocals in it, but its a great track nonetheless. "Liegestod"- a relaxing instrumental tarck, with an orchestra sound to it "Holding On"- A very emotional track with strong, moving vocals. The melody is very minimal and you can just feel the emotion that Ronan puts into this song and it just rips a whole in my heart. "Cargon" - similarly to "Holding On", this is a slow paced, very emotional song. The lyrics are pure poetry. This is one thing that I absolutely love about VNV Nation, the fact that the lyrics are so beautiful and meaningful. This song is about how humans are so destructive and kill everything. "Genesis"- this is the single which was released before this album. Needles to say, I've already heard this song a million times, from listening to the singles. This track is already a club hit, as it is a great track to dance to and it's simply a fantastic song. "Structure"- an interesting experimental instrumental track. I would never guess this track was done by VNV Nation, but I think it's great that they're experimenting with different sounds and new directions. "Fearless" - a great track which stays true to VNV's future-pop style. Upbeat and dance oriented. "Yan" - a ver short instrumental track. Nothing spectacular here, just some filler space. Starts out melodic, and then has a hard, loud pounding sound to it that's almost disturbing. "Beloved" - one of my favorite tracks on the album. The lyrics are about a long lost love. Very touching and sad and beautiful. Yet, it has a great beat to it that makes you want to dance. I love this song. "Airships" - the last track on the album, this is a great song to end the album. It's very uplifting, Ronan's voice backed by beautiful melodies. It just puts me in a great mood. Hearing him sing "I'm leaving ground, stepping into a new world", makes me optimistic about the future and confident to take on the challenges that await me. -reviewed by jet February 2002
Artist: VNV Nation Album: Advance and Follow	Not Available on amazon.com	With a very 'milataristic' sound, this VnV Nation album, a re-release of their 1995 debut with some additional tracks mixed in, is much harder and more intense than their recent titles. Good examples of this frenetic energy are 'Anthem', the first track on the album, which has samples of air-raid sirens, and an ominous marching bassline beat, and 'Frika', a testosterone-driven track very reminiscent of late 80's / early 90's industrial. The feelings behind the album, rife with samples from a wide variety of sources, is one of conflict and discord, meshed together with the lyrical depth that VnV has become known for. The liner notes are excellent, giving background information on some of the tracks, and a bit of history and philosophy behind the CD and VNV itself. All in all, although it took me a few times through the CD to really appreciate it (I'm just so used to their more recent 'Empires' album), it's a captivating listening experience. Even if it's just for the tracks 'Amhran Comhrac', which draws up visions of medieval Scotland, and 'Afterfire', a powerful track loaded with violent samples, of which there are three versions on the album, Afterfire, Aftershock and Afterfire (Storm), I highly recommend it. -reviewed by Love's Cold Heart March 2001
Artist: VNV Nation Album: Empires	buy it on amazon.com	Empires is VNV Nation's latest CD, and it is definitely their most popular installation. Formed in 1990 in London, England, VNV Nation is currently one of the best underground ebm bands around. In case you're wondering, VNV stands for "Victory not Vengeance." The single "darkangel" off this album had a huge listening party for it in germany. Their previous album, "Praise the Fallen 2012" is an underground ebm favorite, but this CD has increased VNV Nation's following greatly, making them a favorite at NYC's downtime. Empires has an upbeat industrial/ebm dance beat, with soothing lyrics, making it a musical masterpiece. -reviewed by jet 2000