zoopertrip
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Note : I write freelance reviews for the Rock Street Journal, India's premier rock n roll magazine. I was the sub-editor of that mag before I moved to Singapore. I still contribute with my reviews now and then. Please do give me feedback on these reviews and do ask me if you wish me to review any particular album. Cheers 
Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero
Interscope
There is a school of thought that dictates that all good art must continuously push the envelope, test boundaries, break down barriers and, in a nutshell, be “experimental” and original “in form as well as in concept”. Music, as is widely agreed upon, falls in the realm of art. However, unlike other art forms, there is a converse twist to the “Original form/concept” issue, for a parallel school of thought states that experimentation, for the sake of it, is contrived and goes against the prime ethos of art, which is that great art must first and foremost be true to the emotion that drives it. Therein lies the crux of the problem, for it is impossible for us, as listeners, to determine the integrity behind a particular work of art unless we ourselves were involved in its formative stage. While the great debate rages on, some musicians try and occupy that grey space, balancing between being an artist and being a musician.
Right since Pretty Hate Machine, Trent Reznor has continued to tread that very vicarious grey-space, the latest creation of which is the highly anticipated concept album Year Zero.
Set 15 years in the future, modeled on Reznor’s view of the US breaking down into a dystopian police state, where free will, thought, religion and action are outlawed, leading to an eventual meltdown. Musically, Reznor turns the clock back to the days of PHM, trading in a lot of the guitar-heavy parts of The Downward Spiral and the hookladen, radio-friendly bits from With Teeth for a more electronica-heavy approach, with noisecore elements thrown in as well, possibly symbolizing the rise of the machines (sic) and humanity’s downfall. Thick grooves dominate, with minimalist guitar work over which the sampler goes berserk. The acidic breakdown on “The Great Destroyer” typifies this, with industrial shrieks, bleeps, overdriven drums & white noise threatening to blow out your speakers. Lyrically, while not matching the visceral catharsis of The Downward Spiral, Reznor has, as usual, moments of inspired prose. Case in point, on “Capital G”:
“I pushed the button and elected him to office; and
He pushed the button and he dropped the bomb.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whom he’s alluding to. Or on “The Greater Good”: “Breathe us in slowly, slowly breathe a sin” showcase Reznor’s bitter but subtle fury. There is little by way of angst-ridden vocal delivery on show, with Reznor adopting a calm, meditative style, at odds with the psychotic, almost deranged music, akin to soothing oil over rough seas.
This is not ordinary music.
This is music that is closer to Aphex Twin & Squarepusher than Marilyn Manson and Rammstein. The lead off-track “The Beginning of the End” and the by-now popular “Survivalism” are aberrations, in that they follow a more conservative template, bordering on electro goth-pop. The hushed vocals over the manic electro-grind tempo of “Vessel” are absolutely stunning. There are moments of exquisite serenity, typified by “In this twilight” and the album closer “Zero Sum”, bringing the theme of futuristic anarchy to its logical, humbling, deadening outcome, completing the cycle, so to speak.
This is more than just music.
This is art. Creative, ingenious, confrontational - challenging, almost attacking the listener. It is precisely this sort of experimentation, the
ability to think beyond the ordinary, the mundane, that sets Reznor apart. This is not my favourite NIN release by far, but it is here that Reznor, after all his years in the music industry, has finally found his zen-space, the ultimate chi, to be able to bring out just as forcefully, the artist and the musician within, with equal conviction. There are messages and interpretations galore, to be explored by each of us, in our individual perception but if there was a solitary message from Reznor to the youth of America and the world today, it would probably be best exemplified in the words from “Survivalism” that go
"I got my fist. I got my plan. I got survivalism."
It is the only way.
Welcome to the future.
Welcome to the machine.
Rating: 5/5
Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero
Interscope
There is a school of thought that dictates that all good art must continuously push the envelope, test boundaries, break down barriers and, in a nutshell, be “experimental” and original “in form as well as in concept”. Music, as is widely agreed upon, falls in the realm of art. However, unlike other art forms, there is a converse twist to the “Original form/concept” issue, for a parallel school of thought states that experimentation, for the sake of it, is contrived and goes against the prime ethos of art, which is that great art must first and foremost be true to the emotion that drives it. Therein lies the crux of the problem, for it is impossible for us, as listeners, to determine the integrity behind a particular work of art unless we ourselves were involved in its formative stage. While the great debate rages on, some musicians try and occupy that grey space, balancing between being an artist and being a musician.
Right since Pretty Hate Machine, Trent Reznor has continued to tread that very vicarious grey-space, the latest creation of which is the highly anticipated concept album Year Zero.
Set 15 years in the future, modeled on Reznor’s view of the US breaking down into a dystopian police state, where free will, thought, religion and action are outlawed, leading to an eventual meltdown. Musically, Reznor turns the clock back to the days of PHM, trading in a lot of the guitar-heavy parts of The Downward Spiral and the hookladen, radio-friendly bits from With Teeth for a more electronica-heavy approach, with noisecore elements thrown in as well, possibly symbolizing the rise of the machines (sic) and humanity’s downfall. Thick grooves dominate, with minimalist guitar work over which the sampler goes berserk. The acidic breakdown on “The Great Destroyer” typifies this, with industrial shrieks, bleeps, overdriven drums & white noise threatening to blow out your speakers. Lyrically, while not matching the visceral catharsis of The Downward Spiral, Reznor has, as usual, moments of inspired prose. Case in point, on “Capital G”:
“I pushed the button and elected him to office; and
He pushed the button and he dropped the bomb.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whom he’s alluding to. Or on “The Greater Good”: “Breathe us in slowly, slowly breathe a sin” showcase Reznor’s bitter but subtle fury. There is little by way of angst-ridden vocal delivery on show, with Reznor adopting a calm, meditative style, at odds with the psychotic, almost deranged music, akin to soothing oil over rough seas.
This is not ordinary music.
This is music that is closer to Aphex Twin & Squarepusher than Marilyn Manson and Rammstein. The lead off-track “The Beginning of the End” and the by-now popular “Survivalism” are aberrations, in that they follow a more conservative template, bordering on electro goth-pop. The hushed vocals over the manic electro-grind tempo of “Vessel” are absolutely stunning. There are moments of exquisite serenity, typified by “In this twilight” and the album closer “Zero Sum”, bringing the theme of futuristic anarchy to its logical, humbling, deadening outcome, completing the cycle, so to speak.
This is more than just music.
This is art. Creative, ingenious, confrontational - challenging, almost attacking the listener. It is precisely this sort of experimentation, the
ability to think beyond the ordinary, the mundane, that sets Reznor apart. This is not my favourite NIN release by far, but it is here that Reznor, after all his years in the music industry, has finally found his zen-space, the ultimate chi, to be able to bring out just as forcefully, the artist and the musician within, with equal conviction. There are messages and interpretations galore, to be explored by each of us, in our individual perception but if there was a solitary message from Reznor to the youth of America and the world today, it would probably be best exemplified in the words from “Survivalism” that go
"I got my fist. I got my plan. I got survivalism."
It is the only way.
Welcome to the future.
Welcome to the machine.
Rating: 5/5
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