Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Finally came out today. Though, I am glad that Trent didn't decide to take another five years off before making yet another album. If you are picky about it, Year Zero came out JUST under two years from the release date of With Teeth. I think I'll do what I did for With Teeth...review every track!
1) Hyperpower!-- A very interesting opening instrumental. This track does a good job telling you what's in store for the rest of the album. Cool drums, power chord driven guitar, if you're a NIN fan you know the drill. It sounds like a riot is going on in the background too.
2) The Beginning Of The End-- The opening drum beat kind of sounds like "My Sharona" for a second! Anyway, this actually kind of sounds like NIN's cover of "Metal" by Gary Numan. However, like a lot of NIN songs, the song slowly builds up by adding new sounds as it goes on.
3) Survivalism-- This is the current radio single. I have heard people say this album sounds like With Teeth, but I only think this is the only track that does. With that said it has it's own unique flavor. Very political song. Heavy on the electronics.
4) The Good Soldier-- While this is another beat driven song, this also has a nice soft feeling to it. The music really syncs well with the lyrics. This is probably one of my favorites off this album. I don't know, it just drew me in.
5) Vessel-- Those of you who love the gritty, dirty side of NIN will love this song. This song has a ****ing NASTY beat. If you want to show off your superpowered sound system to someone, this would be a good song to show off.
6) Me, I'm not-- Another favorite of mine. I dig the splashing sound effects from the drums. I like the pace of the lyrics, too. Once again, good use of electronic sounding effects. Though I doubt it will happen, I really want to see this one live.
7) Capital G-- An obvious shot at George W. Bush throughout the whole song. The way the lyrics are sung have a childish feel to them--but in a good way. It makes sense. This is going to be another weird anology, but it sounds as if the insturments themselves are drunk at parts. Once again, that's a good thing. This might be the next single by the way.
8) My Violent Heart-- Another gitty track, at least during the chorus and the end of the song. The verses almost sound narrated, and they are carrying a nice beat right along with them. This is the best example of how Trent Reznor can take noise and make like it is a natural part of song structure.
9) The Warning-- Trent wasn't kidding when he said this album would sound noisy and beat oriented. However, this track has some nice funk to it. I like how the song itself flows. It doesn't slow down and it doesn't need a chorus.
10) God Given-- This is yet another favorite of mine. The high sound effect heard throughout most of the song is simply haunting. This is another classic NIN track where it builds and builds into a well placed chatoic mess.
11) Meet Your Master-- Very cool bass line. This is a song I can easily be performed live. It has that attitude about it. If you are a NIN fan, you know what I am talking about even if you haven't heard this track. Also, this is one of the most industrial sounding songs on the album. Then this song slids right into...
12) The Greater Good-- This is where things start getting more ambient. Don't get me wrong. A nice beat is still present, but the lyrics sound more like instructions. Like something is taking somebody over. One of the most eerie NIN tracks. The most common lyric you hear whispered is, "Beathe us in...slowly...slowly."
13) The Great Destroyer-- This song has alot of melody to it, and it is also one of my favorites. The climax to this song is simply excellent and comes out of nowhere. I'll probably end up overplaying this song!
14) Another Version Of The Truth-- Another insturmental. The most ambient track on the album. I like it a lot. Very peaceful sounding. It almost sounds as if it were something you were to hear on The Fragile.
15) In This Twilight-- If Trent Reznor decided to make music for a Silent Hill game, this would what it probably would sound like. Not to say that the music is all distorted and TOTALLY ambient or anything. There is a very solid song structure here.
16) Zero Sum-- As usual, Trent decides to put heavy empahisis on piano for a closing track...BUT...like most of the album, there is a heavy beat that is in your face. It's a perfect closing track for Year Zero. The verse sounds like he is talking to someone with a regretable attitude while the chorus is amazing. What's cool about this song is that the beat and the piano sound as if they are battling one another, but at the same time they are working together.
Overall: I love the album a lot. I already like it better than With Teeth, but time will tell if I decide I like it better than The Downward Spiral (my favorite NIN album to this day so probably not) or The Fragile. Trent already said the next album he releases will be tied into this one, and I already can't wait!
Oh! And here is something that's REAL cool about the CD itself...
****SPOILERS FOR SENSITIVE PEOPLE****
When you first see the CD, it is all black and at the bottom you see in small font "Year Zero". After I listened to it the CD is white with a lot of random lines and binary code written on it! If you let it sit for awhile it goes back to being all black (at least it looks like it is doing that now)!
EDIT: Actually it fades more to a biege color, but gets brighter when you play it and take it out. UPDATE: It IS fading back to black now!
EDIT2: I forgot to mention that the CD package has this paper attached to the back of it that has a fake "US Bureau of Morality" message on it with a number. Call it, it's pretty funny. 1-866-445-6580.
