“World in My Eyes” is very danceable, maybe an odd first impression for an album that is not, in whole, very danceable, unless we’re talking about a sort of moody interpretive dance. Each song has its own defining approach or elements. No matter how you listen to Violator, it’s a worthy trip. It’s like the darkness from previous songs being wiped – or, you know… cleaned – away before setting off on a new excursion, though ironically it’s probably one of the darkest songs on the record. While I like the additions “Dangerous” and “Memphisto” as singular songs, I must insist on the original release that was nine tracks and ended with “Clean”, an appropriate anthem of being content in one’s self, working with a blank slate and a better understanding of things. Nowadays, you’ll find the 2006 15th-ish anniversary remaster of the album available everywhere, which adds six more songs. I eventually ran through Violator a few other Depeche Mode albums (including their at-the-time new, hyped album Delta Machine – it was okay). It wasn’t until around a decade ago that the advent of music streaming became commonplace and I could dive into just about any band or album I wanted. Marilyn Manson had a successful hard rock cover of the former song, but fuck that guy into the shadow realm forever. Of course I heard “Personal Jesus” and less so (though my preferred single) “Enjoy the Silence” on the radio growing up. If it wasn’t clear from before, I wasn’t in any sort of position to listen to this album willingly when it dropped – I was eight months old – so please understand this whole article is informed by after-the-fact discovery, research, enjoyment, and a hint of anecdote. Depeche Mode had been seven albums deep at this point, so their sound was well-established – dark, brooding, love-struck synth-driven pop rock with some relatable themes and lyrics.
Violator was the ‘80s defiantly holding on as it originally released March 1990, though at the time that likely wasn’t known. What we would come to know and love as grunge, alternative rock, rap, and more clean-sounding pop was set to bud and dominate the mainstream landscape. Let’s model a lot of our music, visual aesthetic, movies, shows, and video games after that.’ As a mid-level millennial, I’m down with that! When the ‘90s came, music specifically was at an impasse. My generation, some of us born in the ‘80s, grew up and decided ‘ Damn, that was a cool-ass time. The 1980s had – well, still have – some serious mission creep.
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