Empires

VNV Nation | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metropolis Records
• ASIN: B00004T0LI
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,435 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an absolute classic!, June 29, 2002

By 

Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Empires (Audio CD)

I become hooked on VNV Nation when I picked up their latest album "Futureperfect". Being a fan of industrial and trance music, I flipped over the perfect blend of industrial and dance music. The lyrics really spoke volumes to me. The angst, the bleakness, and then the redemption. A friend of mine recently burned "Standing" on a compilation of goth/darkwave music, and I automatically fell in love with the song itself. I found myself replaying the song over and over again. So I knew then "Empires" would be my next VNV Nation album to add to my cd collection. Once I heard "Empires", I immediately loved the album. Ronan Harris has one of the sexiest voices I have ever heard. I can't really describe it except to say that it is a bit monotonous yet foreboding. "Empires" is filled with heavenly trance beats, more so than "Futureperfect" I think. Asides from "Standing", I just absolutely loved "Kingdom" with the sweeping grandeur of the synthesized beats and the struggle to 'turn darkness into light' in the lyrics but all the songs on this album are excellent. VNV Nation is an excellent example that not all industrial bands have to be as abrasive as KMFDM and Ministry. They are dark and heavy yet melodic and infectious. I just can't get enough of this band. They are definitely one of my personal favorite bands to date.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, May 19, 2000

By 

Matt Wilson (Andalusia, AL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Empires (Audio CD)

Electronic music is capable of expressing a variety of moods and atmosphere; surreal, dark, happy, sad....I've heard them all done well. Up until listening to this album, agression wasn't strongly represented. VNV Nation is the first electronic band who has come through in this respect so strongly.

The more you listen to Empires, the more you come to appreciate. From the explosive "Kingdom" to the almost melancholy "Arclight", the album takes hold and doesn't let go. Most of the songs rotate around a central theme both musically and lyrically, giving the cd an almost cinematic feel. The rhythms are simple and familiar, but performed with suprising mastery for such a young outfit. Agressive, driving and with an absolutely huge sound...Empires will likely place VNV Nation among the top of the electro-industrial genre...as they should be.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if only all music were like this..., May 17, 2000

By 

"cthulhukid" (Purgatory) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empires (Audio CD)

Topping their previous album Praise The Fallen, would normally be quite the task. There was very little room for improvement. I know that a lot of people were worried that Empires would just be a rehash of PTF. I'm happy to say that Empires more than lives up to the task, even surpasing their previous albums in emotion and skill.

All the classic VNV elements are here: harsh electronic beats, sweeping synths and strings, and Ronan's unique vocals. The songs are in the same vein as PTF, about the beauty and darkness of strife and struggle. The first and last tracks, "firstlight" and "arclight" blend together seemlessly (being nearly the same song), creating a cycle of sound and structure unifying the work. It's art. "Darkangel" and "Standing" have already become singles in Europe and are both excellent tracks, VNV's best to date, but other appealing songs include "rubicon" and "distant(rubicon II)." Distant has a slow, drifting sound, free of the assembly-line industrial backbeat so common to VNV. A welcome change of pace.

The duo of Empires and Praise The Fallen will become classics in the EBM world, if they haven't already. stop reading and listen to them already!