Customer Reviews

Judgement

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After the virtually song-less experiment that was Matter + Form, VNV nation have learned from their mistakes and put together a brutally tight piece of music.

Not to say that VNV haven't used the good elements on M+F ; far from it. The first song, "The Farthest Star" really picks up where "Arena" and "Perpetual" left off, but with stronger rhythm sections and lyrics. The analogue-synth-pop sound is still there, but with a much fuller sound. Instead of being a limiting factor this time around, the old-school instrumentation fills the sound-spectrum.

The next song, "Testament," takes the album in another direction all together. The very live sound is heavy, and the synth lines are as grating as on "Chrome," but melodic, instead of fragmented. The tempo is fast, the bass is strong, and "Testament" becomes the first song on the album to really soar.

The next pair, "Descent" and "Momentum," are very reminiscent of Praise the Fallen, with a dark, driving sound and bass heavy synth lines, but with an upgraded, more real feel.

"Nemesis" is a big romper-stomper of the album in "Fearless" style, as is "Carry You," but "Illusion" stands out as the most boundary-pushing of the album. It features a synth-piano sound as heard in "Colours of Rain," but here the emotion comes through in a tear-jerking style. Masterful.

The last song, "As it Fades" is the best outro yet. VNV has always had an epic sound, but "As it Fades" sounds like The Lord of the Rings in is sheer mournful beauty. A perfect closing.

Besides the into and closing tracks, every song on Judgement [sic] features lyrics and motion, and every song is really a SONG. There is no filler whatsoever on Judgement, like on Empires before it, but at the same time, the new post-futurepop VNV sound rules, producing a unique and heartfelt effort by the boys.

Bravo, I say! Trance, Synth-Pop, and EBM fans as usual will love the album, but so, perhaps, will the indie rock group, and hey, maybe a little radio play? "Testament" and "Farthest Star" really could make it.

Easily the best album since Empires.

It is not what i expected, but i grew to love it. It's hard for me to pin down... but i think that its because even though the lyrics are a bit darker, the instrumentals are a bit "poppier" I think thats what initially put me off.
I picked up the cd the week before seeing vnv live. I will be honest, my initial thought was oh no, what have they done? However its one of those rare cd's that the more i listen to it the more i love it. I also think seeing it performed live that pushed me over the edge.
Ronan was fantastic at the show we went to and really made the songs work. If you get the chance to see them live its worth every penny and more.

I had the fortunate opportunity to see this band live for the Judgement tour and got the album a week early. After fully digesting it, I must say it is a FANTASTIC record. While I still think Futureperfect is the best VNV Nation album, Judgement does surpass Matter + Form, mainly because there is more vocal tracks, which makes the songs more enjoyable. I'm sure all of VNV Nation's songs would be a lil' less interesting without Ronan's vocals. So we get 8 varied tracks sandwiched in between two orchestral opening and closing pieces. I guess my only complaint is that some of the synth lines sound way too similar to past songs, but the continuous improvement in both lyrics and production gives these songs an epic feel. Judgement is obviously a darker album being that the theme is Judgement Day, the end of mankind. Lyrically it contains many of VNV's most popular themes, but on tracks like Nemesis and Descent we see Ronan really tapping that dark visceral vein of his. The vocals on Descent are spoken, not sung, and believe me when I say Ronan sounds seriously grim on that track! A very haunting song. The two light-hearted obvious singles are The Farthest Star and Carry You. Those are great upbeat pop songs. Testament and Nemesis are the "heavier" songs with ultra-fast beats and familiar throbbing bass and synth lines(Praise The Fallen anyone?), and contain lyrics that practically cry for the world's demise. Illusion is the ballad of the album. A quiet cascading piece with great singing. As far as the intro/outro pieces go, I'd say the opener is very Neo-Classical in nature(As is a lot of VNV Nation's instrumentals), while the closing piece is angelic with synth-choir effects. For the first time in a long time the instrumentals work to great effect on this album creating a solid feel and direction. Also a plus is Ronan's vocals seem more raw and unpolished, especial on The Farthest Star. I can almost feel his voice reverberating in my head. Bottom-line is that if you consider yourself a VNV Nation fan at all, then you must get this album because without it you'll be missing some great electronic music. Not the best, but fresh and crisp in sound and new avenues were definitely traveled to create this fine album. Ronan Harris did a great job. Also, see the band on this tour if you can because they played almost the entire Judgement album when I saw them last week. Exciting stuff.

Buy this record.

This was quite inspiring,I had given up almost all hope in music when this cd crossed my path. You simply must buy this if you want to hear the future of electronic pop music. it seems that Mr. Harris has again outdone himself, from the indie dance (almost rocking) "Farthest Star" to the beautiful ballad of "illusion" this cd will make you want to get up and dance then sit down to cry. There are a few drawbacks here(seeing as how I have moved passed the whole Goth/dark wave/spoken word of "descent" ) however they are not enough to hold the raw power and emotion of this disc back. there even seems to be a bit of Peter Gabriel in "Carry You"; it's quite possibly the best of their catalogue.

This is one of those bands that pisses people off because they have become populur in the "underground" scene. The truth be, VnV Nation have never released a radio hit in the States, never a top 40 video, never a Rolling Stone cover, never, never, never...nada! This band keeps pumping out solid electro/synth pop albums that pack out every dance floor in the goth/industrial club scene accross the map. This album is no exception to thier greatness. All of the songs are deep, emotionally charged, introspective, metaphoric, and classic future pop anthems that you want to play over and over again in your CD player. This is the most important band in the entire future pop genre!!!!!! (Just in case you didn't allreday know).

All around this album is very well put together, Nemesis (song 6) is especially good.

Not as good as empires, but it introduces a new sound to the VNV arsenal. The instrumentals are profound and the rest is great to listen all the way through. I find myself skipping certain songs, but the CD is great in its entirety. Its a great step back from the "rogue" matter+form CD, more towards their original work.

I've always distanced myself from VNV, kinda as if they were a viscious rabid dog. But I've found that as you get closer, they're really nothing but soft and cuddly all over. :-)

While not their best album according to most fans, Judgement, imo, is my favorite. I've grown quite familiar with every track, including the slower ones...which there are about three...and liking them all! Synth textures are dark, rich and gritty (just the right amount of grit). Ronan's vocal style hasn't changed, so VNV fans won't be disapointed. I would tend to agree with reviewer Daniel Maltzman that they haven't evolved much over time. I would love to hear more of the unexpected in the music and Ronan experiment a bit more musically and perhaps cram a few more syllables in his lyrics. But when said & done, I give Judgement a 5 because I enjoy every track.

Favorite tracks:
- The Farthest Star
- Nemesis
- Momentum
- Illusion
- Carry You

Great futurepop/ebm! I highly recommend aquiring Judgement to diversify your collection.

P.S. - Hopefully, they will stop in Portland Oregon on their Judgement tour (hint!!).

First off, last year when I finally got around to Matter+Form, I ended up buyin that disk twice in one week, and did not regret shelling out $$$ for it; an album I felt had 3 to 4 brilliant songs and a lot of damn filler. I hope the jerk who stole my car stereo enjoyed it. Doubt it. Anyway, if I had knee-jerked a review when I first got Judgement, I would have rated it even lower. I hold VNV's lyrical prowess in high regard, above even musicianship, so I was highly disappointed with this outing, which I felt was uninspired lyrically, even cringeworthy a moment or two. As said elsewhere, it felt "been there done that better" in spots. I did appreciate what I thought were efforts to stretch, in fact, this record feels like a search for new ground. I liked "Testament" which succinctly put forth the gloomy tone of Judgement... but later songs seemed to tread over the same territory fruitlessly, almost comicly, especially with the "Judgement Day isn't coming... soon enough!" I'd say "Illusion", a song seemingly about someone trying to talk back a jumper, was my fave off this disk. And I even liked the Outro, "As It Fades", and that's unusual because I almost unilaterally detest Intros/Outros/Pointless Intrumentals. I'll admit this all comes from my own opinion, but I'd like to also point to earlier works as far better starting points for VNV appreciation. However, I ultimately feel about this disk though, I still will give VNV another chance because it's been mighty rewarding so far.
~Cheers

I'm a huge fan of VNV Nation, but this CD was just as huge a letdown. It seemed like they were aiming for a sound that is dancefloor friendly or regurgitating sounds from past songs (one song, "Momentum", even sounds like "Interceptor" from Matter + Form). Also, these are the worst lyrics Ronan Harris has ever written. When it's not uninspired, it's laughably strangled (from Descent: "Limitless are the ways of mankind in its virulent capacities". Huh?). I just hope this isn't a trend, and "Of Faith, Power and Glory" proves to be a return to glory for them.