My first thought upon hearing VNV Nation's Empires was "give me the gun."
The only problem was that I didn't know which to shoot: myself or the stereo.
Empires' droning, monotonous vocals and stagnant, depressed spectrum of expression lulled me into such a state of paralyzed impotency that I could have probably forgotten how to breathe.
My dissatisfaction with Empires is not due to the terrible quality of the music or lyrics. It is evident that there is a process that includes some amount of intelligence, honesty and, probably, hard work. My distaste also is not for the genre and medium. Bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, KMFDM, to name the obvious few, have explored industrial electronic music with large success.
Rather, my complete indifference and utter abandonment of this music stems from its ultimately untranscendent and lethargic vision of itself. The artists, Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson, possess almost no humor or device that detaches them from their own egos. The result is that the music on Empires spirals in a perpetuating self-evaluation and, therefore, never truly looks at itself or manages to breathe.
I'm sure we are all aware of those emotive loops of becoming depressed for the very reason that we are depressed. However, the ability to recognize this tragedy and having the strength to overcome it are very different things. The artists clearly understand this concept as stated in their own words, "You will be strong and want no more. You will be adored. You will have everything. Forget your fears and want no more." This is all just talk.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Empires consists of ten songs interspersed with this same type of rhetoric. It seems that if the artists really took themselves seriously, at some point the music would forget its empowerment slogan, become itself and want no more - some change and diversification of mood and expressiveness with the music -- but no.
All in all, the album contains poignant moments of introspection and revelation. If you can maintain a morose, black and blue wavelength for 51 minutes, then you may be in store for some fairly cutting philosophy, filled with demons, angels, emptiness and sin. Take as needed.
Take the standard clichÇ gothic Gnosticism, wrap it in a poetic style that is over-dramatized, but probably not exaggerated, include a dash of musical ability here and there, let the music stew for a year or two before serving - do not attempt to spoon out the funk that rises to the top - and presto: Empires.
Empires tastes like shit to me. The work is very immature, although it offers inklings of brilliance in the work and traces of true ingenuity. VNV Nation may yet have something to say in the future, and I would not be surprised if it were said well.
