Search - VNV Nation :: Reformation 01

Three Stars at Best

Anthony DeGuerre | Staten Island, NY USA | 07/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ronan Harris is an extremely talented composer and lyricist. For those not familiar with VNV Nation, imagine if Bach, Wagner and Elgar had access to electronic music production and teamed up with Plato and Wilfred Owen to do lyrics.



I am a huge fan of VNV Nation and was introduced to them shortly after Futureperfect came out several years ago. Since then, I have followed all of their releases with great anticipation. That being said, this box set is three stars at best, and even then, would only be recommend to huge fans of VNV Nation seeking a complete collection of albums.



Both the first disk (the live album) and DVD leave quite a bit to be desired in terms of production quality. These disks sound as though Ronan was recorded doing karoke versions of his songs and the "live" element is not truly captured as well as it was in the Pastperfect DVD. The crowd interaction is lost and Ronan's voice is a bit high in the mix. I would recommend for the next live album VNV Nation take a look at DeVision's "DeVolution Tour- Live 2003" or Depeche Modes "101" to see how these electronic bands managed to bring out a live feel at their concerts.



On a more positive note, disk two had some incredibly well done tracks that will validate this purchase for VNV Nation completists. Of special note, I found Apoptygma Berzerk's Chrome Remix, Frozen Plasma's Carry You Remix and Suffer were particularly well done.



Overall, this album should be purchased by someone already familiar with VNV Nation and seeking to complete their album collection. For those new to VNV Nation, I would recommend purchasing any of their prior albums for a starting point and then go from there."