Here is what I have noticed about
VNV Nation, and I suppose it can be applied to most of the bands in "the genre":
The first album is a compilation of tracks written with early pieces of equipment and limited studio time. It's supposed to sound crappy.. and eventually when enough people realize how good the artist is, some label will pay to have it redone and re-released.
The second album is more focused, unified in theme and sound. The group has a grip on whatever equipment they are using and ideas are flowing pretty lucidly.
The third album is a succession of the second. In VNV Nation's case this is true, Empires was a decent sequel to the themes established in PtF both musically and lyrically, and the 2EP Burning Empires demonstrated a complete mastery of sound and craft.
Futureperfect was produced at a pivotal time in electronic music history. It was the time when no longer was it completely necessary to have access to fancy equipment (although it marked a resurrection of a now very popular fancy piece of equipment) and studios because personal computer technology had made home music production accessible to essentially everyone. Another change that was happening around the turn of the millennium was artists were opting to abandon the heavy distortion on the vocals and instead use clean vox. For example,
Informatik,
Evil's Toy,
Assemblage 23,
Dismantled,
Funker Vogt,
Imperative Reaction use much more distortion in their vocals on early albums than on recent albums. In Evil's Toy's case, they assimilated so many elements from synthpop that they felt they should change their name!
But this opened up the floodgates and a lot of "futurepop" was being made which inadvertently led to an abandonment of softsynths to embrace those expensive modular synths and analog equipment that were collecting dust. Also, I think having other equipment besides the softsynths gives one a leg up in terms of versatility of sound and sonority.
I think this is why Matter + Form is regarded as a digression for VNV Nation for some. It is a lot like Advance and Follow in that it seems Ronan was adjusting to using different equipment after he had become so used to using Reaktor and his fancy Access Virus.
And then Judgment parallels Praise the Fallen in that it builds upon the previous album as Ronan gets used to new techniques of the equipment he is working with. If my theory is correct, then the new album will be the best album VNV Nation has ever produced because it will be a culmination of everything that has come before it..
What's most important is that this TBM (Techno Body Music) fad ends because it is boring and repetitive. Although I recognize it is a respectful nod to the forefathers of ebm, I think one of the most beneficial things Ronan, Stefan, Gerrit and Tom ever did for ebm/industrial was add trance and synthpop elements as well as chord progressions to ebm to make it more interesting. They should keep doing that. And Stefan Groth (APB).. please come back to us.. but I digress...
So I guess my point is this: There is a logical progression in VNV Nation's development and I think fans have a lot to look forward to with VNV Nation. I also think that there is an underlying structuralism at play in VNV Nation albums that make them seem like stories. This is why it is so easy to make VNV Nation mix albums. It looks /something/ like this:
01.)Intro
02.)anthem
03.)fast song
04.)slow song
05.)rebuild song
06.)prelude to new anthem
07.)new anthem
08.)slow song/ballad
09.)final anthem
10.)farewell track
11.)outro
Of course this is a rough model and can vary in a number of ways.
In terms of mythos, I think they all contain elements of truth through story telling. They each describe a certain phase in the development of a civilization as well as phases of individual growth. In essence, that captures the duality of humanity in its attempts to both embrace individuality and also be part of a collective. And that is cool because I think of the way VNV Nation has affected me personally, which I'm sure this impact is real albeit different for each person in the fan base even though we will all happily and ecstatically come together as a family when Ronan shouts "Give me your hands!"
Addendum:
I wrote this in the Weltfunk forum and wanted to save it for future reference. The original thread was entitled "From Advance and Follow to Judg(e)ment and beyond "
Evil's Toy
Ghost