If there's one EBM/Futurepop album you must own, it's this one. (Matter + Form - VNV Nation)

Member Name: Scuzzy89

Product:	Matter + Form - VNV Nation
Date:	25/07/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning production, uplifting lyrics, an album that defines a genre.

Disadvantages: Quite a few instrumentals, which may turn some people off.

Frontman of VNV Nation Ronan Harris and Apoptygma Berzerk's Stephen Groth once coined the term Futurepop to describe what they saw as a new sound in the overpopulated Electronic Dance genre. While some may see that as a pretty pretentious, I personally think that without that term this album would be impossible to categorise into any other present genre that would have done it justice.

From the dark ominous intro to the stunnging finale of the album, VNV Nation's Matter + Form is an epic 55 minutes of classic EBM anthems, combined with optimistic lyrics and a penchant for 80s rock and electronica song structures.
After the short instrumental "Intro", the album kicks off in style with the album's lead single "Chrome". The electronics are out in full force here with a very danceable beat, but its the bridge with its fade-in sludgy synth that makes this song for me. The final two minutes of this anthem are the best you're likley to hear in the futurepop genre today.
The momentum continues in the next track "Arena". Trance synths literally do battle with a downbeat tempo that glides from verse to chorus to verse. This is one of the mellower tracks on the record, and a great one to kick back and relax too. The relaxing feel continues into the instrumental interlude "Colors of Rain", which showcases Harris' passion for powerful orchestral movements that fits in well with the albums grandeur concept.
Another instrumental, albeit a completley different style, takes form in "Strata", an out loud and proud techno song with some amazing production values which would sound simply awesome on the dancefloor. "Interceptor" too follows in a very similar way.
These instrumentals are book-ended by fast-paced dance song, rwhich sounds a little bit like VNV taking on the aggro-tech genre. However this track stands out simply because of Harris' trademark vocals that hark back to the early days of the band, circa-Praise The Fallen.
Every VNV Nation album track wouldn't be complete without the obligatory ballad, and although "Endless Skies" isn't quite on the same level as Illusion was on the follow up album Judgement, it still sticks out proudly from the rest of the tracklist. The instrumental version of this track wouldn't sound out of place on a Final Fantasy soundtrack, either.
The ballad is followed by "Homeward", a track that no doubt borrows heavily from such 80s electronic pioneers such as Depeche Mode and New Order. The lushous synths and Harris' smooth vocals once again make this track stand out where many other bands would have failed. This track is then followed by one of the best instrumentals on the album, the fantastic "Lightwave". The tempo is the highest on the album itself, and encompasses everything I love about EBM, trance, techno and Futurepop in one epic 7 minute track.
The album then ends on a high, with not only one of the best songs VNV have ever recorded, but is quite possibly the best song ever created in the Futurepop scene. The song is "Perpetual", and if you should take one thing away from this review, its discovering this song. The track itself is almost 8 minutes long, and goes from a chilled out pad with a couple of sparse synth riffs into an electro-rock epic, and then finishing with what has now become one of the bands slogans, a repetition of the line "Let There Be Neverending Light" while a fantastic synth loop battles it out with a lush orchestral sequence. The final minute and a half, where the electronics gradulay fade out to leave the orchestral loop is quite frankly one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in modern music. It is the very definiton of an epic song.

Overall this album never ceases to amaze me, 4 years on since it's initial release and what would ultimatley lead me to discovering one of my favourite electronic acts of all time. Kudos have to be given to DJ Humate, who helped with the awesome production that can be found throughout the album. If there's one EBM album you must own, it's this one.

Summary: An epic journey through Futurepop, by way of EBM, Trance and Synthpop. A must have.