by Tim Sheridan
The rockin' starts out gloomy and gets even gloomier on VNV Nation's Praise the Fallen. War-torn wasteland imagery in the ponderous opening track, "Chosen," pretty much sets you up for the rest of this bummerfest of a disc. Even a song called "Joy" features lyrics like "Have I no control? Is my soul not mine?" Thank goodness this is dance music, or you just might listen to these lyrics, and who knows what you'd do?