by Brandi Charles & Dasha Black
In its second to last album, With Teeth, Nine Inch Nails shifted its original industrial-rock sound to pop. That move left most fans disappointed. But singer-songwriter and founder of Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor, must have heard that disappointment loud and clear. His latest release, Year Zero, takes the band back to its industrial roots.
Year Zero is an experimental work channeling the spirit of the band’s earlier material. And although it is co-produced by both Reznor and celebrity producer Atticus Ross, who also co-produced mainstream-ready With Teeth, Year Zero manages to sound edgy and dark, an alternative to Top-40 music trends. The opening song, “Hyperpower” is a stark, short, and powerful instrumental number featuring crunchy guitars, muffled drums, and muffled screams. The remaining songs revert back to basic songwriting structure and arrangement, which makes them catchy, loud, and powerful.
Year Zero is a concept album warning listeners of a possible near future, one that may be ravaged by war and ruined by religious fanaticism. It is designed from start to finish to open listeners’ eyes to that possibility. Conspiracy theorists and skeptics alike may find their anthem in Year Zero, with its paranoid, dark themes, and sometimes hypnotic sounds.