Nine Inch Nails: Year Zero
Several years ago I read an interview with some American rock band in which they claimed that the new Bush administration would do untold harm to their country but would give rise to some great music. I can’t recall their exact words or even who said them, but in recent years some very startling politically-inspired music has been released. Joining the likes of NOFX and Pearl Jam in criticising the US government, Trent Reznor has taken the fears and negativity of the current political climate and looked ahead fifteen years to an age of government control and abject pessimism.
The Orwellian worldview of Year Zero might seem like drug-addled paranoia, or perhaps the events surrounding the release of NIN’s new album only two years after their last to be a marketing gimmick; as far as the latter’s concerned, Reznor’s cult status in the industry would make the myriad of websites and related oddities somewhat unnecessary for mere self-promotion. The former aspect does indeed draw on the likes of Nineteen Eighty-Four and the dystopian futures of Philip K Dick but to its credit it is very believable, and crucially well-executed.
A good selling-point to Year Zero for those who aren’t interested in the background surrounding the record is that it is a thoroughly solid album musically. With_Teeth may have been a repectable comeback but its title was rather ironic in that the relaxed vibe and relative lack of originality made it sound somewhat toothless. Year Zero on the other hand is full of menace and conviction: Hyperpower makes for a powerful opener and the layers of fuzzy distortion that smother guitar and drums alike give it a multilayered and complex feel. Interestingly, Reznor has moved away from the metal influences and returned to his synthesised industrial roots; it does not sound so much like the desparate and punchy material from Broken onwards but instead gets your attention more slowly with textured drumbeats and samples.
That is not to say that Year Zero is without its more energetic moments: The Beginning of the End, My Violent Heart and Meet Your Master all show the venom and chaos that NIN are renowned for and Capital G, with its thinly-veiled jabs at the government again, rumbles along with an infectious groove. Some numbers, such as The Good Soldier and Another Version of the Truth, give moments of (relatively) soothing introspection.
Surprisingly the moving away from personal issues to political ones works in favour of the lyrical side of things. For all the nihilism and guitar-smashing energy, Reznor’s ability to pen lyrics has never been quite as strong as his technical ability or grasp of melody; here it sounds more convincing and of course relevant. Parallels to inner strife and personal issues can be found in here if you look carefully but the focus is very much on the pitiless and inhospitable future world - every bit as harsh and artificial as the sound of the album itself. The world of Year Zero is cold and frightening - even moreso because it sounds so much like the world that our own society is turning into.
In Summary
Year Zero trades raucous metal riffs and personal angst in for more restrained but no less menacing industrial sensibilities and a very strong political slant. It is a very ‘noisy’ record with distortion permeating every aspect of the instrumentation but the infectious beats and hooks subtly and firmly draw the listener in. It may have been only two years in the making but this is the best that Trent Reznor has sounded in over a decade.
Tracklisting
- Hyperpower!
- The Beginning of the End
- Survivalism
- The Good Soldier
- Vessel
- Me, I’m Not
- Capital G
- My Violent Heart
- The Warning
- God Given
- Meet Your Master
- The Greater Good
- The Great Destroyer
- Another Version of the Truth
- In This Twilight
- Zero Sum
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