Artist: Depeche Mode
Label: Mute Records
Released: 1990
Rating: 5/5
Compared to its predecessor “Music For The Masses,” Violator is far more geared toward “music to dance to” – it follows the techno dance boom trend that defined the turn of the eighties into the nineties. “Violator” is a much more accessible album than “Music For The Masses.” The beat is avant-garde by the production standards of the day, and the guitar underlines the aggressive edge of the new rhythmic identity, while Dave’s vocal acts as the counterweight, often swirling through that contrast with a heavy “stereo effect” (Personal Jesus). Sampled “sub-rhythms” are layered over the basic groove, building a unique, juicy blend that truly rules this record. The synthesizer work gets pushed back in the mix this time, but it still hugs the contrast between the beefed-up rhythms on one side and Dave’s sensual vocal on the other. As usual, this reinforced backbone of the tracks is topped off with programmed patterns that, as “sub-rhythms,” once again build the record’s rich, juicy sound. Depeche Mode wove guitar into the sound of “Violator” even more obviously. But you can still sense a limit there. There’s clearly a line Depeche Mode won’t cross. The acoustic guitar is stripped down to just two or three notes of single-line “primitive” strumming, serving as if it were just one more “programmed pattern.” Gore left the guitars with a completely natural tone, which slots brilliantly into the electronic techno embrace of the songs. Martin Gore only plays the top three strings, just to bolster the rhythm of the songs. Purely rhythm. Just a seasoning, really. The electronic approach and Depeche Mode’s image as a “synth pop” band stay unchanged.
On this album Depeche Mode pulled together some monster hits that caused a real “boom” on the charts around the world. MTV in the US was wall-to-wall with them, and the boys finally hit proper superstar status over there. “Enjoy The Silence” reached #2 on the charts in their native Britain. No Depeche Mode hit had ever climbed that high on the British Isles charts before. Enjoy the Silence became the most successful hit of the band’s career. It’s an evergreen that’s every bit as good as the evergreens of the biggest cult bands, say in classic rock or pop. It’s a track that has this effect on the listener: once it plays through to the end, you’re just seized by the urge to hit “repeat” on the CD player, and you could listen to it nonstop.
The album opens with an aggressive techno beat in World In My Eyes and Dave’s dark vocal, and right away the band’s trademark gloomy atmosphere takes over everything. We’re also greeted straight off by the primitive guitar motif, whose function I already covered in the paragraphs above. The songs are polished to the max, one after another, and the album feels even more compact than its predecessor “Music For The Masses,” because “Violator” has an incomparably bigger pile of hit candidates. The most aggressive beat on the album undoubtedly belongs to Personal Jesus, and the ballad Waiting For The Night fits it perfectly, spinning just long enough for the anticipation to build to the point where you crave a change – and right at that moment Depeche Mode hit you with Enjoy The Silence. The track was originally meant to be a ballad tempo, but experimenting during the recording sessions – mostly Alan Wilder’s doing – changed that. Gore wasn’t into the idea of speeding the song up at first, but everyone else, management included, was wildly excited by the liveliness of the new version, so that’s how it stayed. The band knew Enjoy The Silence had big hit potential, but they never dreamed it would be a hit this huge and this notorious. The song isn’t just a great backdrop for busting a few moves – it’s tailor-made for all sorts of other intimate activities, if you know what I mean? Truly one of the most beautiful compositions Depeche Mode ever put together, and I won’t be modest in saying it’s one of the most beautiful songs in pop music, period. An even sturdier rhythmic trump card follows right after it in the much more obscure and dramatized The Policy Of Truth, which jolts you out of the dreamy atmosphere Enjoy The Silence brought to the album, because here the band breaks into a full-on bombastic gallop.
“Violator” is far darker than “Music For The Masses,” with Enjoy The Silence as the album’s brightest spot. Coming back to that song, besides the minimalism the band is famous for, the lyrics are interestingly minimalist too, saying much more than they otherwise would. In short, words are practically unnecessary. Give in to the feeling, listen to the silence and enjoy it, because it says everything – everything words usually hide. That sums up the famous formula of short, clear strokes that carried Depeche Mode to the peak of their career with “Violator.” In terms of songwriting and commercial success, “Violator” is one of the strongest Depeche Mode albums, if not the strongest. It’s one of those albums everyone should own, because it’s part of the general education of every single human being. A masterpiece that kept Depeche Mode in the spotlight of the masses. The band held on to all its most important defining traits, took a new step forward and stayed fresh in its avant-garde spirit, as the product of the constant, positive creativity of its own artistic genius.
Lineup
Dave Gahan – vocals
Martin Gore – keyboards, guitars
Andrew Fletcher – keyboards
Alan Wilder – keyboards, programming
Production
Flood
Tracklist
2006 re-release
Mute: DM CD 7 (CD/SACD + DVD) / CDX STUMM 64 (CD/SACD)
CD 1.:
Disc 1 is a hybrid SACD/CD with a multi-channel SACD layer.
1. World in My Eyes (4:26)
2. Sweetest Perfection (4:43)
3. Personal Jesus (4:56)
4. Halo (4:30)
5. Waiting for the Night (6:07)
6. Enjoy the Silence (6:12)
7. Policy of Truth (4:55)
8. Blue Dress (5:41)
9. Clean (5:28)
Album length: 47:04
CD 2.:
Disc 2 is a DVD which includes “Violator” in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo plus bonus tracks
1. World in My Eyes (4:26)
2. Sweetest Perfection (4:43)
3. Personal Jesus (4:56)
4. Halo (4:30)
5. Waiting for the Night (6:07)
6. Enjoy the Silence (6:12)
7. Policy of Truth (4:55)
8. Blue Dress (5:41)
9. Clean (5:28)
Bonus Tracks (in PCM Stereo):
1. Dangerous (4:22)
2. Memphisto (4:03)
3. Sibeling (3:18)
4. Kaleid (4:18)
5. Happiest Girl [Jack Mix] (4:58)
6. Sea Of Sin [Tonal Mix](4:46)
Additional Material:
“Depeche Mode 89-91 (If You Wanna Use Guitars, Use Guitars)” [32’28” video]
