About

Released on 19 March 1990, Violator is recognised by many Depeche Mode fans as their best album. Interestingly, it is also the album many other bands see as the band's highpoint, including the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, who talked about Violator being an album which "raised the stakes" and on they were "deeply jealous of." Of all Depeche's albums, it is the one that garners the most praise, respect and adulation, and its influence continues to be felt today.

Following 1987/88's Music For The Masses tour, culminating in the band's landmark gig at the Rose Bowl, Depeche Mode were poised to become one of the world's biggest bands. In 7 years, they'd gone from 'Dreaming Of Me' to playing to 65,000 people in America and during that time, they didn't compromise their approach or sound; they instead built their own style and feel, taking electronic music from the small clubs they started into the world's arenas and stadiums. The Black Celebration and Music For The Masses albums focused on love and lust as lyrical themes and wrapped them in challenging music in places but ultimately still had a pop hook. Violator removed the more challenging aspects of the band's sound and replaced them with accessibility without compromising and, in doing so, invented gothic-soul or electronic blues or stadium synth or whatever label you want to put on it. Violator changed everything, not only for Depeche Mode but also for electronic music. - xsnoize.com