Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D [LP]

Performer: Nine Inch Nails
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: On his 2007 full-length studio follow-up to WITH TEETH, Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor steps away from the relatively straight-ahead rock aesthetic of that record, opting instead for an intentionally abrasive sound lined with sharp shards of noise and static. Tied together by an enigmatic, X-FILES-like concept involving an apocalyptic scenario, YEAR ZERO is marked by tell-tale tracks such as "Survivalism," a fierce number that harkens back to THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL, and "In This Twilight," a bleak, distortion-filled song. Reportedly influenced by the Bomb Squad's spare, hard-hitting production on vintage Public Enemy releases (a point driven home by the stark, stuttering "My Violent Heart"), ZERO also reveals that Reznor picked up a few experimental tricks from tour-mates TV on the Radio, as best exemplified by the guitar squalls of the aforementioned "Survivalism." Less personal and more cinematic than preceding outings, YEAR ZERO is arguably NIN's least-accessible album, and proves that Reznor hasn't abandoned his SPIRAL-era post as a sonic agitator who has infiltrated the mainstream. Despite its imposing and impossible title, Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D is actually a highly accessible record. That's meant literally. As an addendum to the Nine Inch Nails remix album on disc one, disc two comes on a DVD/CD ROM that features the multi-track masters of all the original tracks, allowing listeners to revise and remix the tracks themselves. Who would have thought Trent Reznor would release the first industrial-pop "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style album? That remarkable novelty aside, disc one of Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D contains some excellent remixes of tracks from 2007's YEAR ZERO. Not only is the material strong (YEAR ZERO was the best NIN effort in years), but the remixes, which include work from Kronos Quartet, Bill Laswell, the Faint, and Olof Dreijer from the Knife, bring a fresh spin to NIN's music by highlighting its dancey and experimental tendencies. Much happened on the pop scene between April of 2007 and the close of the year. First, Radiohead released their 2007 album, In Rainbows, in virtual form over the Internet, where fans could choose to pay what they wanted for it without digital rights management -- even if the download was free. Saul Williams, in partnership with Trent Reznor as his producer, then released The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, which went one step further. While Radiohead's album would inevitably be released in CD form (they neglected to tell anyone this), Williams' recording sold either for free or for five dollars (with full cover artwork scans included in the deal so you could burn your own -- the difference was in the bit-rate quantity), and no CD was forthcoming. Reznor has left his label, and it appears that this remix project is the final offering -- or is it? Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (Year Zero Remixed) contains two discs. The first is a rather eclectic, unpredictable collection of Year Zero's tunes in remix form by some rather curious candidates, which in and of itself makes for compelling listening. It starts ordinarily enough with Williams kicking off a brief, ranting, drum-heavy "Gunshots by Computer" ("Hyperpower!"), with him rapping over the top with the Rez guitar and bass throb just barely underneath. His take on "Survivalism" is even better -- a completely stretched-out violent and barely walled-in monolith of noise accompanied by skittering, clashing rhythms playing counterpoint to one another. Williams is perhaps the only expected choice here. Ladytron's remix of "The Beginning of the End" is an entirely different animal. Never have paranoia, death, destruction, and calamity sounded more attractive. They do a seductive, Kraftwerk-cum-D.A.F. reading of the tune with those sexy backing vocals behind Rez's harsh truth from the margins. This track sounds like it could be the soundtrack to one of Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs cyberthrillers, particularly Woken Furies. Pop meets cyber meets industrial meets space -- Solaris meets Blade Runner with Krautronica floating in from the ether. Modwheelmood's mix of "The Great Destroyer" needs to be heard to be believed. It's almost a complete rewrite -- but it works. Nuff said. There are two remixes here by New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, of "God Given" and "Zero Sum," respectively. The trademark NO programming sound is pumped throughout the mix, pulling the more extraneous fragmentary elements in the originals and wrapping them into something warmer, bass heavy and hypnotic with repetitive programming loops, an escalation of the vocals in the mix, and a subservience of everything to rhythm -- even on the funereal atmospheric slowness of "Zero Sum," which of course transforms itself into a cut-time pulseadelic dancefloor workout with atmospheric bubbling underneath the rhythm tracks to add density and stretch the notion of time to the breaking point. But if you thank that is a weird choice, stranger still is the Kronos Quartet with Enrique Gonzalez M�ller's reworking of "Another Version of the Truth." With strings playing along with the rhythm track, dissonantly attacking the body of the tune with the guitars padded underneath them, this is one of the most corrosive and compelling intros of the year, but it gives way to a beautifully elegiac interlude with clever understated atmospherics hanging about the edges of the tune's frame. (And please don't go thinking this is The String Quartet Tribute to Nine Inch Nails; for one thing, these folks can PLAY.) The stink of obviousness is plain in Bill Laswell's utterly unimaginative and completely lazy take on "Vessel." It could have been phoned in from any of his countless projects that all sound the same with the exception of the original vocal. It's too bad, too, since it is one of the best cuts on the original set. Fennesz, Olof Dreijer, Paul Epworth, and Stefan Goodchild with Doudou N'Daiye Rose all turn in fine tracks using sky-is-the-limit approaches. The enormous drums on "The Warning" (Goodchild and Rose) are just stunning. In addition to the remix disc, Reznor has included a DVD with all the tools necessary for doing your own remixes of virtually every cut on Year Zero. Programs for use with both the Mac and PC are available, such as Ableton (a demo version) and Garageband for the Mac as well as generic 16-bit, 44K files for audio editing. Instructions are included, as well as a website invitation to upload creations and interact with others who've done the same. The bottom line is that Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D -- even without the DVD or original Year Zero recording, works on its own as a stand-alone listening experience. There is much to enjoy here, and although it doesn't have the hard, kick-in-the-guts, breathless feel of the original album, it is nonetheless compelling in this new context as well. [Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D was also made availabile in a three-disc vinyl edition with music featured on five of the six vinyl sides.] ~ Thom Jurek

Rolling Stone (p.111) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007". Entertainment Weekly (p.61) - "[H]e drives his messages home with the whisper-to-a-scream vocal melodrama and the most chaotically catchy tunes he and his arsenal of machines can generate." Alternative Press (p.158) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "For YEAR ZERO, Nine Inch Nails chairman Trent Reznor sets his machinery on 'kill' and points it toward authority and herd mentality, dicing up guitars and laptops synths like an Enron paper trail." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.70) - Ranked #8 in Kerrang's "The Top 20 Albums Of 2007" -- "[A] spectacular, chilling record..."

Before Nine Inch Nails, electronic-based rock was often considered devoid of feeling and danger. Leader Trent Reznor merged synths with tortured vocals/lyrics, distorted guitar, and repetitive, slamming rhythms into an unpredictable amalgam, helping to popularize industrial rock in the '90s. In the process, Nine Inch Nails became one of the biggest alt-rock acts of the era, responsible for enduring hits like "Head Like a Hole" and "Closer," while inspiring legions of younger bands. The ever-stoic Reznor continued to evolve and create innovative music well into the band's third decade.

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