Praise The Fallen

Praise The Fallen (PTF) is a very well conceived EBM album. EBM is basically a lighter and faster variant of Industrial music, and even though PTF is significantly faster than anything put out by that bunch of anorexic labradors (by that I mean Skinny Puppy), it is not that much lighter. The beats in this record are utterly ferocious, and this is not a bad thing. However, at times, the beats tend to overwhelm the melody.

The melodies, although at times complex, are subordinated to pounding drums during some of the tracks, and this seems to grate owing to the fact that the beats are as rough as a cheese grater. If the melodies in some of the songs were played louder and more frequently, this would be a brilliant album. However, the dark and haunting sounds are sometimes drowned in repetitive drumming all to often, resulting in a record that has less melody, and dramatic impact, than it potentially had. The only songs that really manage to strike the balance (and also be the best tracks on the album IMO) are Joy, Procession and Honor. These songs are so catchy, and awfully danceable, that they would turn a retirement home into a rave. Still, most of the other tracks can get too rough, or, suprisingly, too sedate.

This, however, doesnt mean that VNV's first big album is bad. In fact, it is very good! The lyrics, although sometimes too preachy, are quite intelligent and compelling, and the times in the songs where they allow the melody to shine through are utterly breathtaking. If you are new to EBM and want to start with the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic being ripped apart by chainsaw-weilding Nazis (which this album is wonderful at creating), then I would reccomend this. However, a softer (and more depressing) alternative for an EBM novice would be Failure by Assemblage 23.

Although this record is too polar (your choice between sheet-metal instrumentals or boring ballads, with too few 'middle ground' tracks), it shows excellent promise and a vision that was fully realised in VNV's next album, Empires.

Unlike "a music fan from austin, tx" I like the music but love the lyrics even more. To me it lays out our unhappiness with the world at times, which gives us a frame of reference to go on and work thru to at some point hopefully greater knowledge & understanding. Their lyrics are really beautiful poems of sadness & disillusionment. Haven't we all been there before? And these haunting words are framed in a mixture of industrial and somehow a classical music type sound. It's different and very original. They've created their own thing, that's not like anybody else's. Not easy to do in this world of everything. You can really lose yourself in the crashing majesty of it all. Listening to them reminds me of falling of cliff & not caring, all you really can think about is the thunder of the wind as you travel quickly down.

"Empires" was a concept album that delivered the message to us that all empires end in ashes, the same way they begin. It delivered to us the message that ours is an empire that is already in the midst of a slow decline that is steadily getting faster. "Futureperfect" was a concept album that beckoned the question as to whether or not we are what was intended, and what we plan to do to better ourselves while we still have a chance. But before any of those two albums, there was "Praise the Fallen (PTF2012)," the first of VNV Nation's trilogy of pain and hope. While still predominantly instrumental, following the footsteps of the less-than-spectacular debut "Advance and Follow," this album shows VNV's new direction towards a sound with more mass appeal but no less impact. The lyrical presence on this album, while not as strong as on "Empires" or "Futureperfect," shows Ronan's growing ability to write thought-provoking words that can reach our hearts and our minds. All but one of the five vocal songs (why do people keep forgetting that he sings on "Voice" as well?) show Ronan singing with as much passion as on later material, but with a great deal more anger. The vocals are harsh, giving the sensation of a rallying call to arms. VNV Nation always questions the relevance of war, its futility, and yet on songs like "Joy" and "Honour" there is still the sense that conflict is needed. The most beautiful song on this album in my opinion is "Solitary." Here, Ronan sings in the soft intelligent voice we've come to know and love, telling us that change is all we can ask for...it is always there, we should revel in it, embrace it, not fear or fight it. It has the best lyric in VNV history, "With this line I'll mark the past as a symbol of beginning." I think it the best because it embodies all that VNV Nation stands for...the past is merely a beginning...the future is what we should look to, and we should start looking now. The instrumental passages on this album are a treat as well, showcasing a beautiful symbiosis between warm symphonics and cold electronics and beats. Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson have crafted a wonderful concept album that might be bleaker than "Empires" and especially "Futureperfect," but all things must start somewhere..."Praise the Fallen" was the first of three wonderful albums in a band's evolution, from underground sensation to being on their way to becoming one of the most intelligent and one of the most socially conscious bands ever.