Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero Review
Posted by Mikey MiGo on 04.17.2007
Mikey MiGo review’s Nine Inch Nail’s “Year Zero”.
NINE INCH NAILS: AT A GLANCE
There is always that one band you can pin point as your favorite band of all time. For many it’s The Beatles, Nirvana, or whatever was most popular of their generation. For me it’s Trent Reznor’s baby, Nine Inch Nails. I won’t claim to have been a fan since the first album, Pretty Hate Machine, because that would mean I was five years old. I did get into the band very much so around the release of the 1992 EP, Broken. From there it’s been a long journey.
All diehard music fans have those CD’s they can relate to, listen to, and are comforted by. While, a great portion of Nine Inch Nail’s catalog would be more suited for the psych of a depressed or psychotic person, there is MUCH more to Nine Inch Nails than the “I want to fuck you like animal” song or “The Perfect Drug.” Then again, with any band you get the stigma of the radio singles as the main representation of an artist’s complete work. A true fan knows otherwise. I won’t get into the remix CDs, import singles, or obscure variations of the Japanese version of “Further Down the Spiral” compared to it’s English counterpart. I will, however, get into the main albums of Nine Inch Nails.
The first album, “Pretty Hate Machine” is often regarded to many as their least favorite NIN album. Why though? We got tracks like “Head like a Hole”, “Down in it”, “Terrible Lie”, and my personal favorite “Something I Can Never Have”. For an album that came in the very late 80’s, this is great work and a great first step in what is the evolution of Trent Reznor.
While there are many EP’s in my NIN collection, there is one that I must mention. The follow up to “The Pretty Hate Machine” was a five track (seven to some) album entitled “Broken”. With “Broken” we got tracks that were more abrasive than anything else put out by Reznor and the band. Tracks like “Wish,” “Last,” and “Happiness in Slavery” made their may into the set lists of all NIN concerts. Most notable was the “Happiness in Slavery” performance at Woodstock ’94. Many would say that the raw energy and performance of the Woodstock ’94 performance is what defined Nine Inch Nails in the mid 90’s. I’m not one to argue.
We would still have to wait for nearly half a decade for another album, but it’s safe to say that no one was disappointed with the results. In 2004, we were taken through “The Downward Spiral.” This is one of two albums that even the fairest weather of NIN fans know and respect. The phenomenon of “Closer” was in direct result of this album’s acclaim and the performances Reznor and his assembled band put out on. While many people know that song and think they know the meaning to be a mere sex proposal, there are many more dimensions to this multi-platinum album. Also on this LP were “Mr. Self Destruct”, “March of the Pigs”, “Piggy”, “The Becoming”, and much more. The closer to this masterpiece was a song that more than just the industrial rock fans know. Of course I’m talking about “Hurt”. If you don’t know this song by now you don’t listen to music.
While we’d have to wait until 1999 for the Double LP “Fragile”, there were a few projects in between. Reznor did a few well known soundtracks like “The Lost Highway”, which featured the very popular and one song that NIN had yet to ever perform live in “The Perfect Drug”. Reznor also put together the soundtrack for “Natural Born Killers” where we saw a few tracks from past albums and the unreleased at the time track “Burn”. While those two songs are great, it wasn’t enough for us NIN fans.
Finally in 1999, “Fragile” was released. “Fragile” was one of the very few Double LP’s to make it to the number one spot on the Billboard charts joining the likes of Pink Floyd and The Smashing Pumpkins. The album itself was split into two parts, the “Left” side which featured tracks like “The Wretched,” “No You Don’t,” “Somewhat Damaged”, and “We’re In This Together” to name a few. On the “Right” side we got “Into the Void”, “The Big Comedown”, and the instrumental likes of “The Mark Has Been Made”. This was the album that many NIN fans waited years for. From the abrasive layering to the beautiful instrumentals, in my opinion this album is Trent Reznor’s finest work. The instrumentals have been used in movies like “Man on Fire” and in trailers for “Unbreakable” and the recent hit “300”. The music on this album sets a mood and brings deep emotion to the surface all while keeping your mind wandering in a world that only Reznor could build.
And the waiting game once again continues for new Nine Inch Nails music. Between touring in support of the Fragile album and what would come next Reznor kicked his drug habits and began his journey of not only finding himself, but finding his place in music once again.
The result was 2005’s “With Teeth”. Musically it was a good album, but for me it lacked the “oomph” that drew in to this disease that is of a “NINite”. While you can appreciate the singles like “The Hand That Feeds” or “Only” or other tracks like “Sunspots,” Right Where it Belongs,” or “All the Love in The World,” it would be safe to say that this wasn’t the Nine Inch Nails album we were waiting for.
That pretty much catches us up to earlier this year. We had already known the next album would be named “Year Zero”, but what he didn’t know was how original and complex of art form it would turn out to be.
Starting with NIN’s tour of European counties we started getting clues. Be it hidden messages on T-Shirts, websites, or hidden audio tracks, Reznor started to paint a picture of a “daydream about the end of the world”. In his daydream, we start to piece things together more and more. This concept album is set approximately 20 years into the future where the government puts tranquilizer-like drugs in drinking water, we’re still in war, and art is resistance.
The actual ARG for Year Zero was specifically a great launching pad to give us a picture of what to expect while putting all the different clues together. I remember typing about it in one of my columns right as it started, speaking of spending a lot of time reading into it all. That never changed. Myself like MANY people all got caught in the whole websites, hidden messages, and Morse code craziness. I’ve read that Trent doesn’t like the word “marketing” to describe this and considers it to be a new form of artistic entertainment. The whole part of marketing is to generate a buzz and interest in a product. It’s as if Reznor is saying that “marketing” is bad, when really he’s proving that “marketing” can be artistic, entertaining, and part of the actual product itself. Art or marketing, I was very excited to hear the complete album.. Did “Year Zero” live up to the hype? That’s where we kick in with the review…
THE ALBUM: "YEAR ZERO"
The Track list of "Year Zero":
1. HYPERPOWER!
411: We start our journey into Year Zero with an abrasive instrumental intro. It’s mostly poundings with distortion mixed in. You hear audible screaming in the background as it winds down into a huge mess. It sets a very strong tone for what could come and is my favorite NIN album opener to date. Rating: 9.0
2. The Beginning of the End
411: The drumming instantly reminds me of Dope’s “Debonair”, but it’s a Nine Inch Nail’s song so that instantly fades when Trent’s voice hits. It’s a nice and short radio-friendly rock song. Musically it feels like a track from “With Teeth”, but the lyrics help bring some of the concept to life. Rating: 8.5
3. Survivalism
411: This is the first single and the second song “leaked” as part of the ARG thanks to a certain LA radio station. Many say this is “The Hand That Feeds” of this album, but I disagree after a few listens. The lyrics are strong and the chorus is very catchy. Musically it’s layered so well that it doesn’t seem that much to take in. The more you listen to this song, the more it grows on you. Rating: 9.0
4. The Good Solider
411: One of the more mellow tracks on the album. The coolness of a mellow loop and then says “and the bass goes bump” and the bass kicks it. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s very cool when it’s put together. I guess you could say it’s comparable to The Fragile’s “Even Deeper”, but I like this better. Rating: 9.0
5. Vessel
411: It’s starts off a bit harder than “The Good Solider”, but the ambiance fades over. The lyrics are a bit like “Closer” starting off, but then the chorus goes into “Oh. My. God. Can we got any faster?” and takes a different direction. My favorite lyric of this track is “I am turning into God”. It sounds like Nine Inch Nails, but not really comparable to anything else. Overall, it’s an awesome song that should see itself as a single. Rating: 9.5
6. Me, I’m Not
411: This track was leaked as part of the ARG and seems to get a lot of radio play in Chicago. It has a more menacing of a mellow opening loop. Trent’s vocal talents come through on this one when he busts out the falsetto in the verses. The chorus is really unique to your ears the first time you listen to it, but it sticks with you. The part that makes me laughing is how Trent stresses “Heeeeeeeey!” because it reminds me of Fonzie from The Happy Days. Rating: 9.0
7. Capital G
411: Why it starts off with the drums from “The Way You Make Me Feel” is something I’m not sure about, but it turns out to a great song. Trent vocalizing in a manner he has never before and from the point of view of a different character of the story. “Don’t give a shit about the temperature in Guatemala/Don’t see what the fuss is about” stands out lyrically. It’s basically an angry song about giving up on your morals but in a very danceable atmosphere. You can’t help but nod your head to this one. Rating: 9.5
8. My Violent Heart
411: This was the very first leaked track in the ARG and my favorite of all the leaks. Nine Inch Nails has the stigma of being dark and evil and this generates a great sense of why that is. At the same time, Nine Inch Nails is respected and revered by their peers for being talented and knowing how to put a song together. To me, this song defines a certain side of Trent Reznor that draws the angry eyeliner fans to his shows. I don’t mean that as a bad thing. Rating: 10.0
9. The Warning
411: Noise, Distortion, and a beautiful guitar loop starts this song off. As it all blends together Trent’s vocals start. In the “Year Zero” world there’s an unexplained “hand of god” type of thing that comes from the sky and this tracks gives a great abstract visual of why something like this would happen. In the same vein as “I tried to save myself, but my self keeps slipping” from “Into The Void”(Fragile), Trent sings “Your time is tick-tick-ticking away”. It all fades into… Rating: 9.0
10. God Given
411: It starts with a more pulse pounding bass with distorted guitar riffs built in. Then the synths into Trent’s sarcastic vocals. In a very danceable song, Trent goes into “Religious” mode. The result is the most danceable song on the album. It’s got the dance-ability of “Closer” or “Only”. Trent even musters up the balls to sing “Come on sing-a-long! Everybody now!” before the chorus. The main attraction of the song is after the chorus when Trent rapidly whispers. This song will be remixed, played over and over, and will be played in clubs. That is for certain. Rating: 10.0
11. Meet Your Master
411: The opening drumming reminds me of “Burn” with more background distortion. Trent opens with an awesome verse that goes into a balls out chorus. I’ve heard this track a few times now and I always hear things new when listening. It’s a very decent track, but clearly isn’t my favorite on the album. Rating: 8.5
12. The Greater Good
411: It starts with a very low tempo opening that builds up to something. Trent quickly whispers “breathe, breathe us in” and then goes into a very quiet and unsettling track. It’s obviously building into the next track… Rating: 9.0
13. The Great Destroyer
411: It starts with listenable sonic noises and then builds to Trent breaking in with the verse. The chorus is “I am the Great Destroyer” and the second time it’s said is one of the oddest vocals I’ve heard in a NIN song. However just when you’re raising an eyebrow over the way it was sung it, a sonic assault is waged on your ears. It’s distortion, noise, and organized static. A friend said it sounds like a cool video game and the more I think about it the more I can’t argue. Rating: 9.5
14. Another Version of the Truth
411: A more mellow piano instrumental. It starts off very distorted, but opens up more for the music. On this “Year Zero” journey, it sorta winds you down from the past few abrasive tracks and gives you some time to breath. A lot of people say this is one of Trent’s best instrumental tracks, but I’m still not sure. I enjoy it, but comparing it to others is rough. Rating: 9.0
15. In This Twilight
411: This was another leak from the album. Upon first listen, I really couldn’t get into it. Soon after that it became a regular on my play list and a song that’s made its way to a few Car Mix CDs. This is the softer song on the album, yet it still has edge and grit tightly packed in. Easily one of my favorites on the album. Rating: 10.0
16. Zero-Sum
411: The closing track starts with beat and fades to piano. Trent has faint spoken words put behind this music and then it goes into an awesome ending. The chorus really feels like a really good Peter Gabriel song, but only in a comfort type of way. I like how The Downward Spiral ends with “Hurt”, but this ending is perfect for the album. This song doesn’t just end the album; it fades it into your thoughts. Rating: 10.0
The 411: Many people are already saying “Year Zero” is the best Nine Inch Nails album to date. It’s an opinion you can respect, but for me it’s not as much of a spectacle as “The Fragile” but neck and neck with “The Downward Spiral”. It’s definitely an album that you have to listen to a few times to fully take in. The ratings and thoughts on these sixteen different songs have changed every time I have listened to it. Whatever mood you’re in when you listen to it will effect which song you enjoy the most that listen. I’m not sure of the impression some of the lyrics and thoughts would be on someone who didn’t avidly follow the ARG like me, but regardless it’s a very good album. It’s the best album I’ve heard in a long time and brings Nine Inch Nails back to frontlines of innovative music.
NINE INCH NAILS: AT A GLANCE
