VNV Nation
Advance And Follow

Expressive urgency: a very interesting concept, which falls more into the sphere of instinct rather than reason; instinct is naturally linked to basic and sometimes violent impulses, which explains why one never hears of expressive urgency associated with cheerful and carefree albums, as well as innate and primordial impulses, stronger in the early years of life only to be mitigated by time and experience. In short, specifically, expressive urgency is the ability of a particular album to convey raw emotions to the listener in a very immediate and direct way. To truly succeed in this requires a very strong personality, clear ideas, and a certain ability to surprise the listener, which is why many albums associated with this particular characteristic are often considered precursors and fundamental to their genre of belonging. "Advance And Follow" by the English VNV Nation possesses all the requirements I have listed, and the result is a dark and little-known masterpiece that helped shape what is today called Futurepop.

VNV Nation, a project of the keyboardist, DJ, and singer Ronan Harris accompanied by drummer Mark Jackson, debuted in 1995 with a demonstration of talent and inspiration that leaves no room for distinctions and nuanced evaluations; an authentic masterpiece, practically impossible to replicate. While continuing to maintain very high levels of class and musical depth, the British duo will not be able to fully replicate the charisma and evocative power of "Advance And Follow," one of the first records to combine the raw and acidic energy of EBM with epic and grandiose musical orchestrations and arrangements. The final result is of a statuary, dramatic, and martial beauty, stern yet engaging in sounds, twisted and paranoid yet deep and poetic in the lyrics. An album with dark hues, where chaos and madness reign supreme, reaching its peak in a piece like "Serial Killer", a majestic ride where industrial and synthetic rhythms intertwine with cinematic orchestrations, epic and dramatic pathos, and Ronan Harris's voice reciting a theatrical monologue where each verse describes a different aspect of a devastated mind, between the darkest despair, "In a face a view, through eyes this world collides, I am voiceless in my angst and nothing can take us back to innocence, short, sharp, bloodlust reality, in despair I reach for nights", and übermensch delusions, "Comprehend the ways of man and under a flag we salute or burn, there is blood on both shores, with hardened mind I traveled, with hardened mind I conquered, a freedom so ironic, so despicable, so hypocritical". An expressionist masterpiece of rare beauty surrounded by other memorable moments like the acidic, obsessive, and viscerally carnal EBM of "Cold" and the thriller atmosphere of a chaotic "After Fire", filled with samplings, unpredictable in its sudden and mercurial changes of pace and atmosphere, reaching the climax in a highly rhythmic and visionary mantra evoking scenarios of an afterlife as tormented and alienating as the living world. "Frika" is the natural continuation of this entropic spiral, with a more linear and canonical structure, a pulsating and hypnotic new wave beat, a powerful and dramatic refrain, and shamanic atmospheres, echoing the style of contemporaries Killing Joke of "Pandemonium", while the robotic vocal effects and the slightly less saturated rhythm of "Outremer" skillfully ferry the listener towards the end of the album, further highlighting Harris's charismatic and sickly recitative, grappling with a dark and fierce vision of crusades and religious wars, closed by a tragically utopian and unworkable wish, "Dawn across the land, return to ancient creed, mother, father and child, now and ever be, praise the wind and rain, praise the joy and pain, never havoc cry nor loose the dogs of war".

The mad and dark seduction of "Advance And Follow" also involves a highly creative use of instrumental compositions, which constitute almost half of the album, adding fascinating and unpredictable nuances; "Anthem", the overture of "After Fire", is characterized by the sampling of the crowd's roar in one of Mussolini's famous speeches, urged by the imperative "saluto al duce!" (salute to the leader!), a powerful and dramatic symbolism, alluding to the attempt of totalitarian regimes to suppress chaos and channel it into a vision imposed from above, an attempt inevitably destined to fail, as emphasized by the sudden disconnections of the main composition. The hypnotic and spiritual atmosphere of "Requiem QCN" is another great expressive peak, a lascivious and alluring dance macabre interspersed with the Latin motto of the free state of Fiume, a quotation from Gabriele D’Annunzio with a strong autocratic and right-wing flavor, "Quis contra nos? Statutum at ordina, tum est, juro ego, si spiritus pro nobis, quis conta nos?", once again inserted in an ambiguous and decadent musical context. In this whirlwind of twisted mental labyrinths and subtle and well-crafted provocations, there are a couple of "entertainment" episodes, where VNV Nation have fun contaminating an ear-catching Celtic melody with industrial rhythms in "Amhrain Comhrac" and a composition of clear classical derivation in the concluding "Fiume."

This "Advance And Follow" is a truly unique disc in its genre, a complex work, full of symbolism and interpretations on various planes and levels, denoting not only a deep musical culture but also truly excellent compositional depth and songwriting. A test for the careless and superficial, which cites an ideology of military order and homologation, unequivocally attesting to its historical failure with its scenarios of instinct, confusion, and schizophrenia. A danceable record, because after all that's what it is, overflowing with catchy and impactful melodies, made even more immediate by the expressive urgency I mentioned earlier, but that not everyone can fully understand. An album that deserves the highest regard by right, an unmovable cornerstone of a new trend ignominiously ignored; everyone too busy following the feuds between Oasis and Blur or admiring the rise of Green Day in 1995 to notice Futurepop and this marvelous album. Isn't it considered one of the greatest masterpieces and iconic albums of the '90s? I don't care; for me, it is without any doubt, and if someone else prefers Marilyn Manson, that's not my problem.