 | |
| | Salesrank: 425164
|
| Our Price: $6.45 |
| Used Price: $6.44 |
|
| Media: Audio CD |
|
Editorial Review:
From the Artist This record began as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more. I believe sometimes you have a choice in what inspiration you choose to follow and other times you really don't. This record is the latter. Once I tuned into it, everything fell into place... as if it were meant to be. With a framework established, the songs were very easy to write. Things started happening in my "real" life that blurred the lines of what was fiction and what wasn't. The record turned out to be more than a just a record in scale, as you will see over time. Part one is year zero. Concept record. Sixteen tracks. All written and performed by me, produced / programmed by me and Atticus Ross, mixed by Alan Moulder, mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner. Release date: April 17, 2007. What's it about? Well, it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point - politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, "year zero" examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth. How does it sound? You will hear for yourself soon enough, but given the point of this document is to provide information... This record is much more of a "sound collage" than recent efforts from me. A lot of it was improvised. It is very tedious describing your own music. It's not just music. It's probably too long, but it felt like the right thing to do to paint the complete picture. It will sound different after a few listens. You can think about it and it will reveal more than you were expecting. You can dance to a lot of it. You can f*** to a lot of it (maybe all of it depending on what you're into).
Description of Year Zero:
Nine Inch Nails' sixth studio release, Year Zero takes the concept album further than it may have ever gone before. In advance of its release, URLs were hidden in tour t-shirts, music- and image-filled USB drives were 'found' at concerts, and dozens of websites have been packed with conspiracy stories that all involve the year 2022 or 'Year Zero.' Each clue is part of a cohesive whole, requiring a listener to follow an exhaustive web trail to grasp the entire tale. Focusing specifically on the music, "The Beginning of the End," the powerful first vocal track, is like the sonic and lyrical equivalent of an emotional ascension to a rollercoaster's peak, with the last few cacophonic seconds equaling the fall of individual freedoms. "Survivalism," Year Zero's first single, follows with guest vocalist/Slam artist Saul Williams pumping up the passion in its urgent chorus. While still industrial in genre, it's clear that Trent Reznor's musical evolution finds him bringing more mellow songs to the mix than he has on previous discs ("The Good Soldier," "The Greater Good," "In This Twilight") as well as an increased number of funk-affected rhythms, specifically in standout tracks "Capitol G" and "Me, I'm Not." Devotees of NIN's harder sound will appreciate the metallic crunch of "My Violent Heart" and "Meet Your Master." On the whole, the Nine Inch Nails we hear on Year Zero is less focused on producing heavy music and more focused on delivering its heavy, conspiratorial doomsday message. --Denise Sheppard
Year Zero Reviews:
Rushed, disappointing and I feel a bit insulting 
2009-12-23 - A huge NIN fan and honestly dumbfounded by all the rave reviews here. This album is average. It was devised/recorded on a laptop on tour and sounds like it.
This is an insult to NIN fans, because given time as with previous albums this could have been the brilliantly realised concept album that warranted all the hype and buildup. But instead the songs are rushed and then overladen with noise, as with many other reviewers I find only a few tracks have replay value. Of course they are catchy Trent songs but have barely played this album 5 times in 2 years.
As with anything when the focus is not on the primary goal ie the music.. the 'Year Zero project' including a remix album, an alternate reality game, and a potential television or film project.. then the primary goal suffers. And instead of working in a studio with guitars worked on the road.. coz it was fun.. maybe for him but not for me.
This had potential after the relatively shallow but poppy With Teeth, with the subject matter and music given time to focus and develop it properly instead of just layering noise could have been another superb album. Just listened to Fragile again the other day and was blown away by the detail.
I read that during concerts he told people to steal this album because of the ridiculous pricing, I think (maybe sub-consciously) he was also saying that he didn't feel he had put in the effort he did with all previous albums that loyal NIN fans were expecting and deserve. An album rushed together on tour for fun maybe should have been given away for free.
Always in Love with Nine Inch Nails! 
2009-12-12 - Certainly enhances my collection and always a joy to listen to the best band in tecno-industrial-metal or whatever the most popular catch phrase is now- don't go without this CD, and get the entire Nine Inch Nails Halo Collection of music. Trent Reznor is the BEST!
Good, but Different 
2009-10-03 - i will admit i was dissapointed with this at first, but it grew on me. i am one insane NIN fan. i have been trying to collect everything by them!but anyway this album is OK for the most part. different but still good.
2007 Nine Inch Nails CD
2009-09-24 - Good record, interesting sounds, unusual songs as well. Sort of more raw sounding than the With Teeth record. All in all, a record worth checking out if you like NIN, or even if you don't.
Disappointing 
2009-09-03 - I always try to take glowing reviews with a grain of salt, but every previous NIN album has been good enough (and With Teeth, carrying alot of production value) that I took it on faith that this album would be a "masterpiece". Well, it's not. The lack of live instruments leave the whole work sounding flat. I tried to listen to it straight through but found myself getting bored and skipping the last minute of several tracks. There's certainly some cool rhythms here, and I suspect it would be much more engrossing live or at least played loud in a large room that's alive, but on headphones it's nothing special. I'll give the remixed release a shot since the big empty spaces in this album seem to need something.
