Search - VNV Nation :: Dark Angel

Hear my Heart; Its so Filled with Loving

TastyBabySyndrome | "Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Lit | 02/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ahh, VNV Nation. Few bands really compare to the quality of what they produce, and fewer still with the messages in the mix. With a body of work spanning from Advance and Follow to FuturePerfect, they've built an EBM plateau that is lovely in both volume and the worlds it covers and that many a band is measured against. The praise is well-deserved too, the albums denoting changes in the approach and subsequent refinement of what VNV Nation is, and I'm glad to have them all.

And that's what leads me to this single because I always want more.



Dark Angel falls into the expanse between Advance and Follow and Empires and, at first glance, doesn't seem to hold much. The song Dark Angel is already on a main album, and although the mixes of it are good they don't really merit buying a single. I say that noting that I'm not one on remixes to begin with and these are pretty good, but still..

That said, there's another track on the album, Tempest, and that's another story because its only here.



While I'm not going to go as far as to say that Tempest is worth buying a single over, I will say that I was impressed by the things that Tempest conveyed and I immediately needed it when I sampled it. That's a strange sensation, need, and one that sometimes comes with songs when they have a pulse behind them. And Tempest evoked that demon within me, making me go out and acquire, because I thought the song was beautiful. Its one of VNV Nation's songs that is filled to the brim with positive emotions, carrying its heart of its sleeve and citing the positive ramifications of love. That's something I look for in a lot of VNV Nation tracks and especially in their B-sides, because they oftentimes sparkle like rare gems when the singles are picked apart. And while Tempest isn't a fast-moving track, it builds like a stormcloud on the horizon that looms within such a perfect voice, and is something I'm glad I didn't miss.

"I walked for miles, and I started running, towards the sounding storm where YOU might find me." Yeah.



To note, I've rated the single on that song alone, because its a single and Dark Angel is a good track. If you want some VNV Nation to see what its like, you need to go and get yourself some Empires or FuturePerfect and try that on for size. Then, if the addiction gets you, come back for all the "little things."

"

Worth it for "Tempest" alone

W. D. Scales | Reidsville, NC | 01/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Normally, a 3-song e.p. isn't really worth the effort to obtain, no matter what kind of a fan one might be. "Darkangel", the pre-release single for VNV Nation's third album EMPIRES, is one of very few exceptions to this rule. The first track, "darkangel (gabriel)", is a mildly reworked remix of the album version that adds more bass to the beats and a bit more high end, resulting in a version that is crisper and tighter than the album version. The second track, "darkangel (azrael)", is slightly less successful, though not bad by any means. Longer than the original, it relies on a two-chord arpeggiated synthesizer pulse for most of its length. The sound begins to get repetitious until the very end when the coda kicks in. The coda comes as something of a surprise, giving the listener a little unpredictable jolt and tying this remix back to the original version. Not a bad track at all, but slightly repetitious.



However, "Darkangel" contains the best b-side / non-album track since XTC's "Dear God" in 1986 -- "Tempest". Not only is this song one of VNV Nation's very best (and this is quite a feat), it rates as one of the most touching love songs ever recorded. The nervous twitch of the percussion, the simple three-note chiming motif of the rhythm, and Ronan Harris' soft voice work together flawlessly. There is no soppiness or forced emotion; rather, the story told in the song feels completely pure and utterly heartfelt.



Short-story version: This is one of the very few singles worth purchasing. All three tracks are great, and if there is any justice in this world, "Tempest" will be recognized as one of the greatest tracks not only in the EBM genre, but in the history of pop music. Even the casual fan of VNV Nation should go to extreme lengths to pick this one up."

VNV Nation's Darkangel & Tempest

Petar Vodogaz | Sydney, NSW Australia | 05/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am in the process of purchasing every concievable single and album from VNV Nation and I came across the Darkangel Single and I am deeply moved and impressed by the album version of Darkangel and the remix. The demo 'Tempest' was also a beautiful song. Please read further below;



It is with a solemn nature that I put down my own song meanings and thoughts on these two songs I will discuss each song separately but I do need to state that both songs deserve praise in their own right. "Darkangel" is better known than Tempest, but Tempest alone has its own draw-power.



DARKANGEL (Album - Remixes - Edit Versions)



Darkangel originally appeared off of the Empires album and garnered some intensive attention due to its lyrical content. Not only did this song have lyrical punch but also a great background electronica synth combo. Personally this song has become one of my all time VNV Nation favourites to listen to because the lyrics mean something to me.



"In your dreams you see me clear

I have no restraint, no fear

Powerless I watched from faces I'd assumed

My purpose set, my will defined

Caress the air, embrace the skies

Escape the sorrow and restraint of mortal cities."



The opening of the song starts off with a slow melody that begins to be manipulated by electronica induced bass and synth's. The song has an artistic mesh to it. Many folks I have talked to have their own intepretations on the meanings or hidden messages within this song and its lyrics. For me Darkangel represents a person who has suffered so many pains, this person has been cast aside by his own choosing. This person seeks to right an injustice suffered to someone he knew or cared about. This song touched me early on hearing it and many people including myself could gain much from the lyrics.



"Give me time I will be clear.

Given time you'll understand

What possesses me to right what you have suffered.

I'm in this mood because of scorn.

I'm in a mood for total war.

To the darkened skies once more and ever onward."



As the song continues the listener is drawn further within the mindset of this vindicated person. This person has been through hell, a hell made from his own mistakes and other's scorn. Now this person has come to a realisation that to seek retribution he is to make a literal war within himself and others. Some may say this person is a vigilante, but the lyrics pose a interesting conundrum. You can make what you want of these lyrics.



"So many years I stood among the thoughts and tears of those I served.

Among my own I was alone through my own doing.

All the years I walked unknown behind the faces I assumed.

Powerless to clear your mind of what you'd suffered."



"They fall again.

They fall again."



This person who has faced so much, now posesses a clear conviction to right the wrongs of the past for this unknown person, for himself. But this time he has forsaken the faces he had assumed, and now is himself. This could correlate to how we treat people, how we show one person one face, and another person another face quite different. For me, the lyrics ask a question so pertinant in today's day and age. "Are we comfortable being ourselves, who we were born to be?"



"Give me time I will be clear.

Given time you'll understand

What possesses me to right what you have suffered.

I'm in this mood because of scorn.

I'm in a mood for total war.

To the darkened skies once more and ever onward.

There is no faith in which to hide.

Even truth is filled with lies.

Doubting angels fall to walk among the living.

I'm in this mood because of scorn.

I'm in a mood for total war.

To the darkened skies once more and ever onward."



Toward the end of the song, this unknown person (could be any of us, or each of us - the listeners), comes to a realization, that the total war he wants is infact within himself. It is him fighting his inner demons that have for so long attempted to confine him and subdue him. His sense of faith is no more, the truth he knew is infact a lie. So his realisation is this;



"I'd only come here seeking peace.

I'd only come here seeking me.

It seems I came to leave."



And in the end, it is clear, that to fight his demons and end that war within himself, he must seek peace, seek himself from the wars and the lies and the hurt he suffered and inflicted onto another. And his realisation, sad as it is, is to leave - to leave the place of sufferage.



TEMPEST (Album - Edit Versions)



This is a beautiful piece of work. Tempest was first listened to by me with my friends on a radio station and I knew I had to get this song and finally did as it was included on the Darkangel single. This song is very emotional, the beat is slow, heart wrenching and a song for all who can gain strength from a song that suits those in pain, hurt or sadness. Many folks I have spoken to and many fellow VNV Nationers have stated this is one of their better songs and their favourites as it is becoming mine;



"These are not words, they're only feelings.

There are no sounds that you can hear.

There is no form that you can touch.

There are no colors for you to see."



The opening lines of this song represents what this song is for - the Tempest (self titled) is indeed the pain/hurt/sadness that is inflicting your life at the moment of listening, whether real or surreal. The "Tempest" cannot be seen, or heard but you know it is there, it is within your heart, your mind. Only where you can find it - the listener;



"The only sound is a distant thunder.

A tempest rages so far away from me.

I walked for miles and I started running

Towards the sound and storm where you might find me."



As you move further into this beautifully worded song, you are drawn into a sense of surrealness. The 'tempest' represents the pain you hold, and sometimes that pain or hurt involves another. This song can represent a love gone bad, or an unrequeted love. But it can also represent the sadness you hold over a past event.



"And I ran until I had the feeling

That the Tempest I had heard surrounded me.

Here my heart so filled with loving

Cried out and told of wonders that I feel."



This 'Tempest' surrounds you, only with love in your heart, a pure and unbridled love can you win over the tempest that surrounds you. Love can conquer all, it is powerful. of a child, of a parent, of a significant other - all can conquer even the deepest pain and sadness.



"Here my heart is so filled with loving.



And I tell myself, I keep repeating

That your ways are bringing you to me.

And I tell myself, I keep repeating

That your ways are bringing you to me."



Toward the finality of this tragically poetic song, it is transformed into a sad melody of hope, of someone who is in so much love knowing the strength of another's love is pulling them closer, bringing that person to them. Riding through the tempest that threatens to engulf you - to the safe arms of your loved one, where the tempest holds no sway;



"And I tell myself, I keep repeating

That your ways are bringing you to me,

That I will find my true salvation,

That these ways of mine are bringing you to me."



"Because here my heart so filled with loving

Crying out the wonders that I feel.

Here I will find my true salvation

And my ways are bringing you to me"



This is another wonderful gem of a song by VNV Nation back from 1999. Take your own meaning from this song when you listen to it, enjoy it and know that whatever your reasons and immitations of the lyrics - you aren't wrong. Take what you can, and you are correct - for this song has many meanings, all right for the individual."