Violator

在他们 1990 年出版商业上最成功的专辑《violator》期间,他们已经成为地下音乐乐迷崇拜的偶像。这张专辑给他们带来了美国排行榜 3 首前 10 名的歌曲《enjoy the silence》、《policy of truth》和《personal jesus》。"Personal Jesus"是这张专辑发行的第一首单曲,它获得了巨大的成功,成为在美国销量最大的单曲之一,同时也是Depeche Mode在美国的第一个金唱片。之后发行"Enjoy the Silence"成了乐队的“商标歌曲”。乐队还在洛杉矶给专辑"Violator"做签名销售,当时有17,000名狂热的歌迷到场,场面几近疯狂。

这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第342位。

by Ned Raggett

In a word, stunning. Perhaps an odd word to use given that Violator continued in the general vein of the previous two studio efforts by Depeche Mode: Martin Gore's upfront lyrical emotional extremism and knack for a catchy hook filtered through Alan Wilder's ear for perfect arrangements, ably assisted by top English producer Flood. Yet the idea that this record would both dominate worldwide charts, while song for song being simply the best, most consistent effort yet from the band could only have been the wildest fantasy before its release. The opening two singles from the album, however, signaled something was up. First was "Personal Jesus," at once perversely simplistic, with a stiff, arcane funk/hip-hop beat and basic blues guitar chords, and tremendous, thanks to sharp production touches and David Gahan's echoed, snaky vocals. Then "Enjoy the Silence," a nothing-else-remains-but-us ballad pumped up into a huge, dramatic romance/dance number, commanding in its mock orchestral/choir scope. Follow-up single "Policy of Truth" did just fine as well, a low-key Motown funk number for the modern day with a sharp love/hate lyric to boot. To top it all off, the album itself scored on song after song, from the shuffling beat of "Sweetest Perfection" (well sung by Gore) and the ethereal "Waiting for the Night" to the guilt-ridden-and-loving-it "Halo" building into a string-swept pounder. "Clean" wraps up Violator on an eerie note, all ominous bass notes and odd atmospherics carrying the song. Goth without ever being stupidly hammy, synth without sounding like the clinical stereotype of synth music, rock without ever sounding like a "rock" band, Depeche here reach astounding heights indeed.