Artist: Various Artists
Title: VIP Nation - State Of The Heart 3
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 12th January 2012
Label: Self-Released
Album Review
‘State of The Heart - The Sounds of VIP Nation’ was initiated in autumn 2005 by a community of music lovers within the German VNV NATION forum. About three years later we saw the second part of the series ‘Further Sounds of VIP Nation’ continuing the established concept. Another few years passed and now the third part of the series has just been released. The honour of opening the record has been given to !DISTAIN in a collaborative effort with SEYHAN. Quite frankly the track is a solid electro pop composition but nothing to last long. BOUNDLESS follows in presenting their unashamedly melodious ‘Your Life is A Lie’ which would’ve made for a better opener. SINESSENCE goes for a bit of a creepy approach, lifting a kind of classic electronic tune called ‘Sadist II’.
UNIQUE STRAIN brings forth a more traditional synth pop track, a very radio-friendly at that. You’ve got to give EMOIRE IN DUST credit for ‘Retrospective’. I can almost smell the air of evolution here. Growing more professional with practice the duo gives us an intense 4.5 minutes. While we’re at it, ‘Tragedy’ is just that, and the memorable vocals of Mark Hockings coin this track in a way that you couldn’t really distinguish it from a genuine MESH track, which it isn’t by the way. The first disc closes with SOLKO’s instrumental ‘Lost World’. Not that it would keep a lot of surprises for you, I just dig the atmosphere. LEAETHER STRIP and MODCOM collaborate on the second disc’s opener, and if it weren’t for Larsen’s vocal contribution I’d call this track a boring piece of technoid mediocrity. You remember SENSORY GATE I presume?
Their sound has been called being like “Enigma meets Eros Ramazotti meets Felix Flaucher” once, quite a colourful description isn’t it? Just tells you they don’t give a fuck about genre s and their boundaries, so contrary to their previous release ‘Domino Effect’ treats us to mechanical, industrial-like soundscape and melodic incursions. ADORION’s putting the emphasis on a serene, chill-out track with ‘Waiting For A Vision’. Good if you drive through a town at night. If FOLTERGARTEN had come a few years earlier ‘Rain From Heaven’ could’ve become a classic. Nowadays, looking at an oversaturated scene it’s just one in a million. MORTAL VOID is going for the dance floor as well with ‘Decline’ just that it is not your average dance track from next door, there are a lot of layers and the rage within the vocals comes across nicely. Too bad TWILIGHT-IMAGES aren’t of the same calibre. Neither the vocals nor the track itself offers anything above the ordinary.
To make this clear right away: I’m appreciating the effort of putting together such a collection, and of course I’m aware of the work that has gone into making it possible, including the making of the music. Doesn’t mean that I have to like all of the outcome, does it? And I don’t! Some of those tracks I wouldn’t even have released to the public if I were making music because I’m such a slave to the details, and many of the tracks just aren’t up to my standards. MORTAL VOID, SENSORY GATE or EMPIRE IN DUST have done some great tracks for instance, but they can’t make up the lack of ideas. A track doesn’t have to be the most innovative on god’s earth; it just has to have something special to it, a singular touch which I just don’t see in a lot of the contributions.
Tracklist
CD1:
01. !Distain Feat. Seyhan -Reincarnation (emhead remix) - 4:49
02. bOUNdLEZZ -Your life is a lie - 5:22
03. Raumbild -Das macht mir Angst - 3:56
04. Head-Less -Punish Your Head (Raul Parra Mix) - 4:29
05. Sinessence -Sadist II - 4:10
06. Edit : Dummheit -Raging Flashbacks - 3:47
07. Dismal Oblivion -Reality Comes Back - 3:32
08. Compton Effekt -Gerechtigkeit - 4:36
09. Samoa Zitron -Fresh Hearts (Zitron SOTH Mix) - 4:02
10. Unique Strain -Strange Formation - 3:51
11. OS-Musik -The Impossible (Dance Remix) - 4:00
12. Violent Vision -Plastic - Cybernetic Passion Mix - 3:55
13. Empire In Dust -Retrospective (State Version) - 4:34
14. Legacy Of Music Feat. Mesh -Tragedy - 3:38
15. Skolko -Lost World - 5:59
CD2:
01. Modcom Feat. Leæther Strip -Native Love - 6:36
02. Versus -We Are Cloned - 5:19
03. Sensory Gate -Domino Effect - 4:40
04. Blitzfeuer -Schall Und Rauch - 3:28
05. Adorion -Waiting for a vision - 3:32
06. Foltergarten -Rain From Heaven - 3:54
07. EngagingEars -Wake Me Up - 3:36
08. Glis Glis -(ohn)mächtig - 4:57
09. ecoINDUSTRIALIS -Unleashed Melody - 3:53
10. In The Works -i4i - 3:32
11. Cor In Catena -Battle - 4:45
12. Mortal Void -Decline - 4:45
13. Иøtø¥ -Another Thing Coming - 4:57
14. Twilight-Images -The Past Has Just Begun - 5:01
15. Chanting People -Laut schlägt mein Herz - 3:31
Website
http://www.vnvnation.de
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 6
Sound: 6
Extras: -
Total: 6 / 10
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