VNV Nation
For today’s review, I’m going to try something different. I’m going to go through an album and comment on each song briefly, a summary so to speak, to hopefully give a fuller description of the album. Plus, the album I’m reviewing is one of the most complete albums of all time. The songs blend into each other; the prominent themes appear episodically throughout it, taking the user on a journey into the psyche of our friends, VNV Nation.
The album I’m talking about is their 2007 album, Judgement. The first song, the Prelude, is a neatly laid out soundscape that captures the idea of the sunrise. Compared to the next song, The Farthest Star, the Prelude may not seem to have as much content but it serves its purpose perfectly. It leads straight into the next track, which takes something of a Nietzschien look at the metaphysical realm we inhabit. It addresses the theme of the Void and how one should accept it but improve oneself to distance oneself from the void. The industrial/techno beats almost creates a vision of a spaceship rocketing through the void. It is this interaction between lyrics and the soundscape that continues onward.
The third song is titled “Testament,” and it clearly is the narrator’s perspective into the flaws of humanity. The focus is mostly outwards though the narrator does acknowledge that he is also flawed by including himself with the entirety of humanity. Though lots of focus is put upon the negatives, this is not an angry song. I would call it a desperate song. The narrator lays out a problem and as he does so, he is searching for the answer. The answer he comes up with seems to give him some hope, but the next song might show this answer to be a mistake.
For the next song, Descent, sends the album in a different direction. Any hope that the narrator had has disappeared. I would connect this to his realization of how weak people are, how easily they break. But at this point in the album, the narrator has lost his hope and he is reflecting his own inner void into this song. Perhaps this song could be considered to be a “Descent” into depression.
Though Descent is a downer, VNV Nation does not give us time to dwell. The next song will pick you up by the bootstraps and, like a puppetmaster, will make you dance. This song is mostly instrumental with scarce lyrics. But this is the kind of song you might hear at the nightclub. A steady beat like the beat of a heart, electronic that gets your heart pumping faster and faster. This song captures the idea of the speed of life, how so much is constantly going on around you. So this is why you cannot dwell in depression, because you will get left behind by life.
But the next song has the narrator questioning himself again. The way he dealt with his depression was to lose himself in the hustle of life, but in the song Nemesis, the narrator reflects on what he is doing. He decides all he was doing by sticking to routine was avoiding dealing with the problems, and he had subsequently deluded himself. To help himself, the narrator lays out what he considers to be wrong with the world. But he admits that “Judgment Day’s not coming soon enough;” accepting that people will not change.
Accepting this truth is difficult for the narrator. To cope with it, he finds himself some “Secluded Spaces,” and lets the purity of nature fill him. In this song, the narrator is sitting in a field reflecting on the beauty of life, and he realizes that every moment is just as beautiful as this one. Here in his sanctuary, the narrator finally finds the strength to let go and just let the wonder of life wash over him. “And with it came the feeling, strange / I’d waited for it all my life.” This track turns the wonder the narrator is feeling here, perhaps it is divine grace, into music and, with everything combined, you will never hear a more beautiful, more uplifting song. The song ends with the narrator repeating, “I didn’t feel alone.” You could not ask for a better thing than this.
The next song shifts the focus away from the narrator again. Now that he has found peace he wants to help others, so the song “Illusion” is advice the narrator is sharing with a person who might be in the same or a similar situation to where he was earlier. The empathy the narrator shows in this song is astounding. He is giving you a shoulder to cry on even though he doesn’t know you. The goodness of the narrator comes shining out in this song, but you have to remember the only reason he has learned to be good is because of his struggles.
The album continues blending the songs together as the next track, “Carry You” picks up right where “Illusion” ended. This song is perhaps the most uplifting track on the album, as the narrator assures you that you will survive your struggles just as he survived his and life will get better. This song essentially summarizes the entire album, boiling down his struggles into four poignant stanzas.
With the narrator’s tale drawing to an end, we are left with the final song, “As it Fades.” And so it fades out, sending the listener into a state of tranquility. We have seen the storm of chaos open up before our eyes and all that’s left is peace. Catharsis begins to set in and you will feel stronger for listening to this album.
