"Violator" is known as the last of the golden albums by the team of four english producers of Depeche Mode - Gore, Gahan, Wilder and Fletcher. In 1990, when it was released, they were interviewed, and Martin Gore confessed that, when he looked back on their career, he realized in his opinion that they reached that point mainly by luck more than anything else, and that "they were totally naif in the beginning", they "didn't know what they were doing".
Is it true that this is an absolutely essential Synthpop masterpiece, but their work before couldn't be considered less than gorgeous. The fact is that the repertory of this album had everything necessary to become a legendary one: marvellous lyrics (specially in "World In My Eyes", introspectiveness ("Halo" and "Waiting For The Night" are deeply emotional), beautiful vocals of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, some more dancefloor driven tunes ("Enjoy The Silence" was a smashing hit), or synth tunes with elements of rock brilliantly made (which was the case on "Personal Jesus"). The messages, the vocals, the synths, the atmospheres, everything was special in this long play, though their releases before wouldn't be different, for their older albums are a true legacy.
Never would Depeche Mode reach this kind of Synthpop work again, and not only them, it's just like this chef d'oeuvre was the last of a generation, largely played on the clubs, the videos, during school day or in the lonelyness of a smooth night at home.