Most of the buzz on Nine Inch Nails' new album isn't on the music but on the marketing strategy surrounding it. As my friend explored the massive fictional online world that expands on the apocalyptic themes of "Year Zero," she became increasingly hesitant.
"I like the idea," she said, "but I don't think Trent Reznor's head is somewhere I want to visit."
She shouldn't worry, though. "Year Zero" is easily front man Reznor's least intimidating, most accessible work of his career.
Of course, pretty much anything sounds optimistic after a listen to NIN's brutal classic "The Downward Spiral." More than 10 years later, "Year Zero" marks the first real lyrical turn away from the litanies of self-hatred and despair that "Spiral" practically pioneered.
Much better than 2005's unremarkable "With Teeth," Reznor's latest turns its focus outward, from self-destruction to the destruction of American society.
Not to say it's heavy-handed - along with the FBI piracy warnings on the back of the booklet is a similar-looking notice from the fictional "United States Bureau of Morality," asking the listener to report suspicious activity.
And it isn't mere satire -- the phone number works, connecting callers to a recording that is just the tip of a much broader online iceberg. Several sites flesh out the tense apocalyptic world in which "Year Zero's" songs take place, forming a compelling fictional experience along the lines of other "alternate reality games" of its kind.
The compact disk itself even sports heat-sensitive ink, which changes from black to white after being played, revealing binary code scattered across the disc. A handful of lucky listeners who decoded the puzzles online were rewarded with a secret private concert by the band, which was then raided by a fictional SWAT team.
"It's not just some gimmick to get you to buy a record - it is the art form," Reznor explained in a posting to his fan club.
Several songs from the album were leaked to the Internet in February by fans at Nine Inch Nails shows in Europe, who found unmarked USB drives in bathroom stalls loaded with "Year Zero" MP3s.
The leaked tracks are actually among the worst - "Me, I'm Not" and "My Violent Heart" are plodding and morose, while lead single "Survivalism" is too wordy for the shout-along anthem it wants to be.
The real meat is in the album tracks, and they're often shockingly upbeat. One track features Reznor's voice multi-tracked, so he sings a sweet harmony with himself - pretty sunny for a track called "The Great Destroyer."
"Another Version of the Truth" sounds like a refugee from Reznor's underrated masterpiece "The Fragile," with instrumental discord giving way to soft piano.
"Capital G" is new Trent at his finest, marking a transformation from political apathy to genuine concern first hinted at in his 2005 cloaked-protest anthem "The Hand That Feeds."
"Year Zero" is a success of both content and form - even those put off by Nine Inch Nails' previous work should try to take a few steps into Trent Reznor's head to experience this great album.
Reach the reporter at: samuel.gavin@asu.edu.
