CD review: “Year Zero”

By Jesse Davis

Posted on April 26, 2007, at 12:00 a.m.

“Year Zero”

Nine Inch Nails

Interscope

April 17, 2007

A scant two years after the release of the fourth Nine Inch Nails album, Trent Reznor has seen fit to release a monster. “Year Zero” is a 16-track concept album backed by a bizarre and complex storyline.

Leading up to the album’s release, Reznor leaked three tracks via thumb drives left in bathroom stalls at venues in Europe during performances. Around this time obscure Web sites were discovered through tour shirts, pictures and even in the odd noise at the end of one leaked track. Together, they tell the story of a totalitarian future based on our current government, religion and global conditions through multiple perspectives.

The album is a return to heavy programming for Reznor, whose new project is full of electronic bleeps and screeches. Think “Deep,” only more layered. That being said, most of the songs are fairly low key and lack the thickness that caused “The Downward Spiral” to skyrocket. Fans of Massive Attack will enjoy the slow crawling beat of “Me, I’m Not,” “Survivalism” and “The Beginning of the End” are exceptions, sounding more like throwbacks to the last album.

Pop hooks abound, especially in tracks like “Meet Your Master,” whose bouncy rhythms pull listeners through. For the most part, they balance well with the programming. The only song that may go a bit too far is “Capital G,” which will raise a combination of ire, eyebrows and laughter from hardcore Nine Inch Nails fans when they hear how Reznor chose to sing.

The lyrical work on “Year Zero” is some of his best in a while. At the end of the second verse in “Zero-Sum,” the last song on the album, Reznor whispers “and I guess I just wanted to tell you / as the lights start to fade / that you are the reason / that I am not afraid / and I guess I just wanted to mention / as the heavens will fall / we will be together soon / if we will be anything at all.” Many of the lyrics also reference the underlying story.

There are, however, some musical drawbacks that take away from what it could be. Several of the tracks have beats that are almost interchangeable and close to half of them end in the same fashion with extended instrumental outros.

Its packaging is certainly a step above “With Teeth,” with a different style of digipack fold and a full booklet. Opening the flaps of the album reveals an arm on the left in a suit sleeve holding a bible and one on the right, bare and muscular, holding an assault rifle. The CD itself has a thermo-chrome heat-sensitive face that changes color when its temperature rises. Normally it is black with the title in a small silver font. After the color change, which turns the background off-white, zeros and ones are visible along with the copyright information. The special edition of the album will feature a color-changing metal case.

Overall, it is not the best Nine Inch Nails album, but it is certainly not their worst.

Reznor has commented that “Year Zero” is the first of two concept albums and that a movie based on the story may be in the works.

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