Way back in 2003/2004 there was a group that consisted of Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails), Leopold Ross and Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion). This group came about when Atticus was messing around in the studio and came up with some very interesting sounds that could become songs. Not long after the inception of the songs, Atticus recruited his brother Leopold to play drums and Bad Religion guitarist to play guitar and bass. On vocals Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) was asked to take on the vocals for the EP.
The end result of this collaboration brought 5 songs of pure electronic hardcore with a healthy dose of industrial. You can tell from listening to this EP, why Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross work so well together. The songs are blistering and uncompromising. After the 5 songs finish, the EP leaves you wanting more but, it also leaves you pumped up and ready for anything.
Sadly though it is unlikely that Error will return anytime in the future as discussed in a 2009 interview. However, in a 2011 interview with Greg Puciato, he discussed the possibility of doing a second EP with Error. I personally would love to hear a new EP. Greg will be done with Dillinger soon, so why not!
Trent Reznor promised new Nine Inch Nails before the end of 2016 and he delivered. Not The Actual Events, the new EP (and first EP since 1992’s Broken) finds Trent and now full time member Atticus Ross, delving deep into the industrial landscape with a bit of shoegaze, and erratic sensibilities. There are moments among the 5 songs that hark back to the Broken days along with bits of The Downward Spiral. I can say this about the EP, if you’ve been wanting Nine Inch Nails to go back to their heavier days, then you are going to really enjoy this.
Starting off with “Branches/Bones” you know that this is Nine Inch Nails. “Dear World” is a song that take a right turn, but doesn’t lose the identity of it being a part of this EP. “She’s Gone Away” is a song that takes you on a journey all on its own. There is a real epic feel to this song. I could really see this one becoming a fan favorite like “Reptile.” “The Idea Of You” is absolute classic Nine Inch Nails from the Broken era. The distorted guitars and thrashy drums (courtesy of Dave Grohl) really make this a true stand out. This song is the type of Nine Inch Nails song, the “old school” fans have been clamoring for. “Burning Bright (Field On Fire)” is dark, heavy and deeply poetic. The screaming guitars are plyed by Dave Navarro (This marks the first time he’s played on a NIN track since the Further Down The Spiral remix album) I could see why Trent decided to put this out first.
There is a real darkness to this collection, all the while providing a sense of life, hope and relief. Trent and Atticus aren’t afraid to reach back into what Nine Inch Nails has done before, but they do it in a way that makes it feel fresh and not rehashed. Not The Acutal Events is short and sweet but, it does leave you wanting more. Either way, there is new Nine Inch Nails out there, and that makes me happy.
Concept albums are very unique and at times take a long time to fully understand. Listening to select songs doesn’t give you the full effect. And a lot of the time the story that accompanies the album is very convoluted. Though there are many cases when the above statements don’t apply. Pink Floyd, The Who and more recently Mastodon and Nine Inch Nails have been able to create epic concept albums that can stand on their own or as separate entities. In 2007, Nine Inch Nails released Year Zero.
“The Year Zero story takes place in the United States in the year 2022. The United States has suffered several major terrorist attacks, and in response the government has seized absolute control on the country and reverted to a Christian fundamentalist theocracy. The government maintains control of the populace through institutions such as the Bureau Of Morality as well as increased surveillance and the secret drugging of tap water with a mild sedative. In response to the increasing oppression of the government, several corporate, government, and subversive websites were transported back in time to the present by a group of scientists working clandestinely against the authoritarian government. The websites-from-the-future were sent to the year 2007 to warn the American people of the impending dystopian future and to prevent it from ever forming in the first place.”
So with that all mind one would think that this is just a mess, but in fact it’s the complete opposite. Trent never misses a step with creating this apocalyptic epic. This album was also the next step in Trent’s revitalized state of mind and musical odyssey. There are a lot of uses of noise, static, and strange yet amazing distortion. Certain songs stand out amongst the album as a whole such as “The Beginning Of The End,” “Survivalism,” “In This Twilight,” “The Great Destroyer,” and “My Violent Heart.” Furthermore there was something else about this album, was that it opened up the visual aspect even more than before. Since Trent has described Year Zero as a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t even exist, it’s not hard to let your imagination take you off on quite a little trip.
Year Zero is not The Downward Spiral or The Fragile, but it is one of the most artistic and well thought out releases that Nine Inch Nails have ever released. One other strange thing about this album, was that touring for this album was not very prevalent. The people at Interscope records really dropped the ball on handling the marketing and promotion for this album, hence why it never got the due it deserved. So give yourself some time and delve back into Year Zero and see for yourself what you might have missed.
I’m not a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s at all but this version of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is fantastic. The arrangement from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as well as the visuals from the opening sequence of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo make this great.
AUDIOECLECTICA 