VNV Nation's inspiration was originally the clash of the modern and classical European cultures, where mythology and technology live in an uneasy fusion, but this has since broadened to encompass a world view. The music ranges from electronic dance music to ballads and classically inspired music. Inspirations are taken from a wide range of styles including contemporary underground club culture, industrial, trance and classical music. The lyrics draw on philosophy, religion, literature, art, politics and different forms of symbolism, although VNV Nation does not advocate any ideology. It is a metaphor for expression. The letters VNV stand for "Victory Not Vengeance". The meaning behind this stylised motto is that one should strive to achieve, not sit in bitter regret.
VNV Nation's first releases were in 1990 with two self produced vinyl releases, "Body Pulse" and "Strength of Youth" (which are now long deleted with Ronan Harris himself not having a copy). After working on some VNV Nation tracks and supporting Nitzer Ebb on tour whilst living in Toronto, Canada, Ronan returned to London and released some tracks on sampler CDs. This caught the interest of German label Discordia and in July 1995, "Advance and Follow" was released. At around about the same time, Mark Jackson joined the band.
In January 1998, VNV Nation signed with the German label, Off Beat Records, releasing their second album "Praise the Fallen" in June 1998 and the EP "Solitary EP" in September 1998. With VNV Nation increasing in popularity, they began their first headline tour in Germany in September 1998.
In 1999, the Off Beat label collapsed, leading to VNV Nation (along with other artists such as Covenant, Suicide Commando and Velvet Acid Christ) collaborating with Stefan Herwig (a former A&R manager with Off Beat) to create Dependent Records. In late 1999, the album "Empires" was released, staying at number 1 in the German Alternative Chart (DAC) for seven weeks, and winning the award for DAC Album of the Year.
From "Empires" two singles were released "Darkangel", which tops the DAC for 5 weeks in mid 1999 and "Standing", which stays at no.1 in the DAC for 8 weeks in early 2000 (the maximum a single can remain in the DAC) winning a German Alternative Music Award for most successful single of 2000 and sharing the place for most successful single in the DAC's history with the Chemical Brothers. A limited edition of the "Standing" single was also released entitled "Standing / Burning Empires" which contained alternate versions and remixes by VNV Nation of tracks from "Empires". This remains one of the most sought after VNV rarities, fetching large sums on auction sites, although it has recently been released on iTunes to allow casual listeners to purchase it.
In March 2001, "Advance and Follow v2" was released as a limited edition, which was a remastered and partially re-recorded version of the original 1995 album "Advance and Follow". The band were never particularly happy with the first album due to it being recorded in less than a week, so the release was seen by the band as a way to put that right.
In October 2001, VNV Nation embarked on their "Futureperfect" tour of Europe and North America, promoting the album "Futureperfect" which was released in January 2002. It reached number 25 in the full German Album Charts, with the single "Beloved" reaching number 60 in the full German Singles Chart. Following the release of "Beloved", VNV Nation part ways with Dependant and create their own label "Anachron Records".
In June 2003, the Honour 2003 EP is released, promoting the "Pastperfect" live DVD, which following many delays and problems was finally released in May 2004. Following this the rest of 2004 and beginning of 2005 was spent producing the album "Matter and Form", which was released in April 2005. Preceeding the album release, one of the tracks "Chrome" was sold in March 2005 as a download on the VNV Nation website, as well as iTunes.
In April 2007, the album "Judgement" was released, and an extensive world tour in support of the album followed. In January 2009, VNV Nation published their plans for 2009 on their website, indicating that the long delayed "Reformation" EP would be available, but now as a full "CD Pack". Also due for release in 2009 is the new album entitled "Of Faith, Power and Glory".
In November 2017 Mark Jackson left the band to "pursue other paths in life".
To read more about Ronan Harris and his motivations behind the band and 2009's "Of Faith, Power and Glory," please visit http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/interview-ronan-harris-of-vnv
Entropy
VNV Nation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are heard cries for mercy
No barrier of self control
No innocent composure
Abusing love and, like a child,
Inflicting pain upon itself
When the calling finally comes
Will there be no one waiting?
In blind despair taken in
By any glimpse of freedom
Sell your soul to buy some time
Infect all your longings
The thought that God has taken sides
On the path to breaking down
Disconnected but not alone
Scream to the tune of the background noise
Endless thoughts of what is wrong
Arrive at no conclusion
On the floor still nursing wounds
No sense of self to speak of
The though that God has taken sides
On the path of breaking down
Disconnected but not alone
Scream to the tune of the background noise
When does enough become enough?
When does "no" have meaning?
The lyrics of VNV Nation's "Entropy" describe the desolate state of a human mind when faced with overwhelming defeat, and how it crumbles under its own weight. The first stanza suggests that in such situations, self-control and composure are lost, leading to the abuse of love, and the inflicting of pain on oneself. The second stanza describes the desperation to cling onto any hope of escape, even if it means selling one's soul to buy time, infecting all of one's desires in the process. The repeated phrase "The thought that God has taken sides" implies a sense of betrayal by a higher power, making the path to recovery even more treacherous.
The chorus voices the despair felt by the singer, who has been rendered disconnected from themselves but surrounded by a cacophonic background noise. The final line of the chorus begs the question of when enough is truly enough when no has been said repeatedly. The last stanza only compounds the distress by painting the picture of a person on the floor, incapacitated, their sense of self destroyed.
Line by Line Meaning
In the face of grave defeat
When facing a serious loss
Are heard cries for mercy
We cry out for forgiveness
No barrier of self control
There is no limit to our actions
No innocent composure
We don't act innocently
Abusing love and, like a child,
We harm ourselves in the name of love
Inflicting pain upon itself
We inflict harm upon ourselves
When the calling finally comes
At the end of our life
Will there be no one waiting?
Will there be no one welcoming us?
In blind despair taken in
When hopeless
By any glimpse of freedom
We take any opportunity to feel free
Sell your soul to buy some time
We sacrifice our values to prolong our life
Infect all your longings
Our aspirations are corrupt
The thought that God has taken sides
The belief that God is partial
On the path to breaking down
Going towards destruction
Disconnected but not alone
We are isolated, but not lonely
Scream to the tune of the background noise
Our powerless cry to the unresponsive world
Endless thoughts of what is wrong
We think a lot about our problems
Arrive at no conclusion
But cannot find any solution
On the floor still nursing wounds
We are still hurt and recovering
No sense of self to speak of
We don't know who we are
When does enough become enough?
When does the suffering become unbearable?
When does 'no' have meaning?
When can we refuse to comply?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: RONAN HARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheLivingHeiromartyr
No two songs of VNV's sound the same, they don't resuse musical themes at all, just their unique style. It creates music which is very exciting!
Timothy Miles
One of my favorite VNV Nation Songs.
TheShardUnique
The first song I heard of VNV, they're now one of my favorite bands. SCREAM TO THE TUNE OF THE BACKGROUND NOISE!!!
Stickfinger
what an epic sound :3
DeathSquadLegionaire
Nice song... VNV Nation forever!
Amy Brillon
I'm seeing them in Boston tomorrow!!!!!!! Can't wait. My first time!
jamie mansfield
best vnv song ever
TheFlacker99 (Flak)
This reminds me of the new DOOM soundtrack.
TonyChav
hi and suscribe
Markus Zeller
Whoaaa THAT ROCKS!!!!!!! Kinda Acid thing!