When VNV Nation came to Portland, and their posters were up all over town on lampposts and whatnot, my friends approached me and asked if they were fascist. Gothic bands use different imagery than punk bands, it’s true. VNV Nation uses futurist imagery. The fascists were also influenced by fascist imagery. It’s a logical fallacy to then presume VNV Nation to be fascist, which they rather explicitly aren’t. (Though I can understand the worry if you’re not familiar with the goth aesthetic).

I used to kind of hate VNV Nation, years ago, because to me they represented the electronic “techno with words” that had strayed from the “true goth,” most of which had been written when I was like 8. Eventually, I listened to the song Darkangel (warning: the fan video uses the font papyrus) enough and realized I loved it. I love dancing, or driving, to VNV.

lyrics behind the cut:

VNV Nation: Carbon

a million points of light ascending to the sky
monuments in darkness
standing watch until the sun will rise
screaming to an emptiness
of how we deified ourselves
with our hands over our eyes
claiming all of creation

what inspires in us this madness
that out existence should be defined
by a light that can’t be seen by anyone
what inspires in us this madness
that out existence should be defined
by a light that we can’t see
by a light that can’t be seen

a million points of light ascending to the sky
monuments in darkness
standing watch until the sun will rise
I can’t, I can’t see this all as progress
how did we come this far?
when we see ourselves as deities
claim nature for ourselves
by our actions we betray the instincts in our race
by our blindness and stupidity we kill everything
we kill everything

can someone see our self destruction?
are we reminding ourselves that our existence is so delicate
that without this light we are no more
that without this light we’ve made we are no more

a million points of light
ascending to the sky
monuments in darkness
standing watch
until the sun will rise
we torch the earth until it bleeds
rain ashes from the sky
just to make a light that no one can see
we cut the earth until it bleeds
rain ashes from the sky
just to make a light that no one can see
just to make a light
just to make a light
we kill everything
by our blindness and stupidity
we kill everything

and in a thousand years what will be our legacy
a million lights that no one can see?

a million points of light