The Skinny:
Praise The Fallen is the 2nd full-length album by electro-industrial artists VNV Nation. Using progressive electronic beats mixed with orchestral themes to accent the moods, VNV Nation breathe life into their mechanical style. This type of music may not suit everyone's tastes, but most will appreciate what this band has to say. The lyrics paint a somber picture of the world offering a glimmer of hope for a better future as the album nears its end. Some tracks are for the dance floor while others are strictly industrial. This album is the apex of the electronic body music (EBM) movement within industrial music.

The Fatty:
Because I listen to so much new music these days it's not often that I'll be smitten with any one band. The information highway is fast and furious so I've been on music overload for the last couple of years not favoring any one band over another when it comes to mandatory new listening. But on that rare occasion, I'll discover a band that makes my fur stand on end. A band that I can't get enough of. A band that moves me in ways I cannot define. VNV Nation is one of those bands.

OK, so VNV Nation doesn't exactly meet the definition of a band since there are only two members, Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson (not discounting producer Justin Morey). But it doesn't take yards of bandmates to produce magnetic rhythms and fluid arrangements when sequencers, samplers, DAT and drum machines will work just fine and complain a lot less. Throw in a synthesizer or two plus the talent of Ronan, Mark and Justin and now you've got a "band" knocking the EBM industry on its ear.

Praise The Fallen is the 2nd full-length release by London-based VNV Nation and was originally released in 1998 on Germany's Off-Beat Records until finally getting picked up by Wax Trax/TVT Records for its 1999 North American release. Praise The Fallen would prove more than just a step forward for the band's style, establishing greater extremes in a soundscape created entirely by electronic machines.

PTF continues the same anti-militant themes from VNV Nation's previous Advance And Follow effort from 1995 but attacks with a barrage of hard-hitting pulses and provocative lyrics not lacking in the cerebral intensity department. PTF is such an outstanding EBM album because the emotional undercurrent makes you think while a sonic tapestry unfolds around your ears. The stirring words describing the fallout of a war-torn world emphasize the need to be better citizens and to do better as citizens. This album is less abrasive than Advance And Follow yet retains the magnitude of the subject matter.

The Tracks:
Praise The Fallen opens with the solemn spoken word piece "Chosen" that sets a depressing scene of the aftermath of war and how it has struck at the heart of man's fears and insecurities. "Chosen" is underscored by disquieting synthesized strings as a piano tails off in the background. "Joy" follows and immediately lifts the somber foundation to the next level with its pronounced rhythmic synths.

"Joy" is my favorite track and offers the engaging chorus, "so why do I love when I still feel pain? / When does it end, when is my work done? / Why I am lone and why do I feel that I carry a sword through a battlefield?" That passage has such a beautiful melodic transition that find myself listening to this one track over and over simply for its moving chorus.

"Procession" and "Voice" each unite a flurry of drums and racing electronic beats for more up-tempo examples of VNV Nation's repertoire. "Procession" lends a more jagged keyboard sound while the pounding drum machine sets the pace in "Voice" as Ronan shouts, "WE ARE NOT THE SAME / I AM JUST ONE VOICE!" repeatedly.

"Honour" is spirited cold wave tune that perfectly blends man and machine with rousing intentions as Ronan sings, "shall I call on you to guide me well, to see our hopes and dreams fulfilled? / On this day of our ascension / on this day we Praise The Fallen / Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for / For our spirit and laws and ways / Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war / For Heaven or Hell we shall not wait / Shall I think of honour as lies or lament / it's aged slow demise? / Shall I stand as a total stranger / on this day in this stone chamber?" as real combat samples permeate throughout the song.

VNV Nation serves an uplifting glimpse of a brighter tomorrow in "Solitary" (which was later released as a maxi-single). The hard beats surround these triumphant words, "And if rain brings winds of change let it rain on us forever / I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more / With this line I'll mark the past as the symbol of beginning / I have no doubt from what I've seen that I have never wanted more."

Besides the riveting electronic beats pervasive on PTF, VNV Nation doesn't hesitate to present a softer approach in some of the tracks. "Forsaken" is a poignant instrumental (until lyrics were later added during the live performances) that meanders through an airy environment of lighter tones. It ends with these spoken words taken from the 1990 movie Jacobs Ladder, "if you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth." as the sound of a beating heart fades out.

The track "PTF2012" is a majestic sweeping excursion that ends the album with such touching resolve that upon hearing this you would never know that the artists at the forefront of the EBM movement were responsible. Track 11 is one minute of dead silence until the extremely upbeat electronic piano kicks in from the bonus track. This joyous melody is such a departure from the predominant industrial nature of PTF it's quite an awakening after sixty seconds of solitude. But it gives the album a graceful finality opening that window of hope and prosperity a little further.

The Skinny Redux:
Praise The Fallen is the ideal fusion of consciousness and technology assuring us that together we can make the world a better place. This album is a must-have for EBM industrial music enthusiasts. Besides the hope for a more promising tomorrow, we can also hope VNV Nation's other releases find North American distribution so we can enjoy more of what this "band" has to offer. In the meantime, I highly recommend locating mp3s from Advance And Follow and Empires (the most recent full-length effort) as well as tracks from the Solitary and Dark Angel maxi-CD singles until these are officially released stateside.

I've quickly become fond of this band and I hope some of you will come to enjoy their music as much as I do. Be sure to visit VNV Nation's web site for more info: http://www.vnvnation.com/

Track Listing:
1. Chosen
2. Joy
3. Procession
4. Voice
5. Forsaken
6. Ascension
7. Honour
8. Burnout
9. Solitary
10. PTF2012
11. Schweigeminute
12. Bonus Track




Recommended: Yes