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
Off Screen
VNV Nation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Discarding direction, instinctively playing the leads
Cast in dangerous roles, cameos of us in our lives
Try to outshine the spotlights, lines we've improvised
Precious lies, words that we say to ease our minds
Hide our face behind a mask contrived
To lose ourselves a thousand times inside
There's nothing else to give but what you see
Only sacrifice in blood and tears
Silver flickering lights, impressions unfold on the screen
Silhouetted in half-truths, bathe in the glow of a silver dream
Living life off the stage, tragedy to victory
Shadows of past lives in the final scenes
Precious lies, words that we say to ease our minds
Hide our face behind a mask contrived
To lose ourselves a thousand times inside
This is where we draw the line
There's nothing else to give but what you see
Only sacrifice in blood and tears
Precious lies, words that we say to ease our minds
Hide our face behind a mask contrived
To lose ourselves a thousand times inside
This is where we draw the line
There's nothing else to give but what you see
Only sacrifice and tears
Precious lies, words that we say to ease our minds
Hide our face behind a mask contrived
To lose ourselves a thousand times inside
This is where we draw the line
There's nothing else to give but what you see
Only sacrifice in blood and tears
The lyrics to VNV Nation's song "Off Screen" are reflective of the difficult roles we play in our everyday lives. The first verse discusses how we often discard the directions we are given and follow our instincts, even if it leads us down a dangerous path. Our lives become a movie set, where we play out the scenes that the world expects of us while attempting to find the spotlight and improvising our lines. The second verse continues this imagery by discussing how we live our lives off-screen, with only half-truths and shadows of our past lives. We don masks to hide our true selves and lose ourselves a thousand times over. However, the chorus reminds us that this is where we draw the line, and we can only give what we see. Our sacrifice comes in the form of blood and tears, laid out on the silver screen for all to see.
Overall, the song brings to light the ways in which we play roles in our lives, sacrificing who we truly are for the benefit of those around us. It speaks to the importance of drawing a line between what we are willing to sacrifice and what we are not, and reminds us that while we may play characters on the stage of life, we should always strive to stay true to ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
The lighting is set, are we ready to play out the scene?
Are we prepared to enact the roles that we were assigned in our lives?
Discarding direction, instinctively playing the leads
We eschew guidance and take charge of our own destinies.
Cast in dangerous roles, cameos of us in our lives
We tackle perilous parts in our existence, portraying ourselves in brief moments.
Try to outshine the spotlights, lines we've improvised
We attempt to surpass the illumination, crafting our own lines as we act.
Silver flickering lights, impressions unfold on the screen
The flashing silver lights illustrate the emergence of fleeting memories on the display.
Silhouetted in half-truths, bathe in the glow of a silver dream
We are depicted in obscured truth, surrounded by a shimmering illusion.
Living life off the stage, tragedy to victory
We exist beyond the performance, undergoing hardships and triumphs.
Shadows of past lives in the final scenes
Memories of prior existences linger as our story concludes.
Precious lies, words that we say to ease our minds
We spout comforting untruths to alleviate our worries.
Hide our face behind a mask contrived
We obscure our true selves behind a deliberately created facade.
To lose ourselves a thousand times inside
We lose ourselves repeatedly over time.
This is where we draw the line
This is the point beyond which we will not relinquish our true selves.
There's nothing else to give but what you see
We have shown all we have to offer and hide nothing further.
Only sacrifice in blood and tears
Only through giving all of ourselves and enduring deep pain can we achieve our goals.
Contributed by Ian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.