Year Zero album: Out

Moojuice

New NIN album is up on the site. released tomorrow. Sweet jebus its good. I know a few people her are fans. Definitely an Autechre influence. Give it a lash and see what you think. CD quality sound too. Its actually been leaked online too, some say by the man himself.

http://yearzero.nin.com/

top right has a player to play the whole album. You can enter any old email address. Its well worth it.

Numina

ehh, Survivalism is released tomorrow, Year Zero is out next week

Moojuice

I know.

Numina

Moojuice wrote:

New NIN album is up on the site. released tomorrow.

It's just you seem a bit confused is all...

Moojuice

Ahh.....I see sorry, I actually am a week ahead of myself. Apologies. I thought Tomorrow was the 13th. Dammit...........Yeah you are right. I am wrong.My punishment is to listen to the album in the sun............damn life is hard.

buck65

Is it good though...so sick of buying NIN albums that are subpar.
Really since Downward Spiral they haven't excited me .. but if you swear etc. i might chance it...but if youre wrong....$$$%%%6^66
various expletives etc

flogen

Numina wrote:

ehh, Survivalism is released tomorrow, Year Zero is out next week

Yeah, was thinking there for a minute

Album sounds pretty good so far - far, far better than WT IMO.

It's not perfect and the songs don't seem to sit as well together as I had expected, possibly because it's supposed to be from a number of different Points of view. That said there is an overall sound to the album and the songs make a lot more sense than WT (which sounded like a random assortment of tracks to me).

A few songs aren't great (God Given annoys me a bit, it's lyrically strong except for the "sing along" bit), but it's generally a strong album... The Good Soldier, Me, I'm Not, Capital G, Another Version of the Truth, In This Twilight and Zero-Sum are probably the strongest tracks on there at the moment IMO.

Trying to figure it all out in terms of the concept over on Echoing the Sound - but given that the whole ARG will continue for another year or so (including another album, the tour and possibly even a film!) I won't get too worked up just yet!

Moojuice

buck65 wrote:

Is it good though...so sick of buying NIN albums that are subpar.
Really since Downward Spiral they haven't excited me .. but if you swear etc. i might chance it...but if youre wrong....$$$%%%6^66
various expletives etc

Well I have liked everything since Downward Spiral, so maybe I'm not the person to ask in your case if the album is good or not. Give it a listen on the site though. I love it. I would like to see the film of the concept and I always welcome a new NIN album. Personally some NIN stuff is not as good as other NIN stuff but he has never done anything bad, just not as good as it could have been. In terms of whats out there at the moment its a different album.

Listen to God Given.....54 secs in......... Sexy back?

And Capital G........the way you make me feel by M. Jackson.

flogen

Moojuice wrote:

And Capital G........the way you make me feel by M. Jackson.

Yes, without a doubt... not sure about the other one though

smackbunnybaby

anyone listen to With Boots - its a remix of With Teeth with songs from artists like Joy Division and Depeche Mode. Cant remember where i found it, think it was a french site. its quite good.

the new one is good.thanks to Moojuice who posted the link, much appreciated.

Moojuice

How do you mean? Joy Divison are no more so how could they do a NIN re-mix? I dont understand what you mean .....Year Zero sounds very depeche modey in places.

brianthebard

I think he means a third artist or artists came together and merged JD and NIN's....

brianthebard

Listened to it a good bit over the weekend, I like it. Seems to be taking cues from all the previous albums, there are hints of DS, WT, etc. Not sure about the whole concept of the album, will have to listen to the lyrics more closely.

smackbunnybaby

brianthebard wrote:

I think he means a third artist or artists came together and merged JD and NIN's....

exactly

Patricide

This album seems sub par to me, especially after listening to black light burns debut.

Moojuice

Listening to the BLB album now. Not bad so far.

Moojuice

Iv'e given the Black light Burns album a few listerns. I like it but its nothing more than radio friendly goth rock, very cliched in places and in no way compares to Year Zero. To me it sounds very sub-par. I expected so much much more from these guys. Its not bad but its not good either.

dimerocks

I love Year Zero thus far, can't wait to get the cd. Didn't realise that BLB was out yet, have been looking forward to that for quite a while so I must get that too.

Moojuice

You will be disapointed. Its nothing special at all.

Numina

brianthebard wrote:

I think he means a third artist or artists came together and merged JD and NIN's....

wasn't this the with_boots compilation that a user called Totom made? that has an amazing mash up of Bowies "Heroes" and Beside You In Time on it

flogen

Numina wrote:

wasn't this the with_boots compilation that a user called Totom made? that has an amazing mash up of Bowies "Heroes" and Beside You In Time on it

Hadn't heard of With_Boots until now, googled it and found a site which streams the whole thing (and you can probably download from too)... won't link to it here because it may be legally iffy.

Listening to "Beside You Heroes" now, have to say I'm quite unimpressed... not a very compatible mix and it's just Heroes with different vocals in parts - not a great example of a mash-up IMO.

Will check out the rest and see what I think

dimerocks

I just gave them all a really really quick skim and wasn't initially impressed with any of them. May give them a proper listen tomorrow.

Patricide

Moojuice wrote:

You will be disapointed. Its nothing special at all.

I disagree, but hey check it out and make your own mind up.

flogen

Wandered into a certain music shop today to see if YZ was released tomorrow or Monday and was told they'd already put it on the shelf... happy days.

Have to say, though, I'm somewhat disappointed by the packaging - the images on the cover are nice, but it's a standard digipack... the much-lauded 24-page booklet is also pretty average, it just has lyrics where I was expecting some expansion on the concept (although I'm sure it's packed with clues for the more eagle-eyed fans to spot and divulge!).

I know with WT Reznor said he wanted to make it so the fan who bought the digital release didn't miss out on anything available to buyers of the physical release - hence making the lyrics sheet downloadable online... but still, when you look at the route Tool have taken with Lateralus and 10,000 Days (I know, they're not into the digital downloading thing) you have to realise that some pretty imaginative things can be done to those who are willing.

dimerocks

To be honest if digital downloads replace cd's I would probably never buy a cd again. Part of the reason I still buy cd's is for the packaging. And cd's like 10,000 days sold incredibly well probably due in part to the efforts they made to make interesting box art. WT was a bit of a cop out I felt, it kinda felt impersonal if ye get me. Artists should be giving the fans who buy cd's something to thank them, it's too easy to illegally download things.

flogen

dimerocks wrote:

To be honest if digital downloads replace cd's I would probably never buy a cd again. Part of the reason I still buy cd's is for the packaging. And cd's like 10,000 days sold incredibly well probably due in part to the efforts they made to make interesting box art. WT was a bit of a cop out I felt, it kinda felt impersonal if ye get me. Artists should be giving the fans who buy cd's something to thank them, it's too easy to illegally download things.

I agree about WT feeling impersonal, and the lyrics thing was a complete failure IMO, because it cost so much for anyone to print out, as many fans wanted to do.

I think the whole YZ concept has been a great way to hook fans in and discourage against piracy, but I figured the whole story would be continued within the album artwork, meaning those following the story would be left behind without (buying) it.

And while I appreciate the point that iTunes downloaders shouldn't miss out on something, I think there are ways of rewarding them AND the people who physically buy the CD.

Anyway - the music is great and the concept continues, so that's enough for me!

Moojuice

Was that certain place a cellar of sorts? I meant to head in today but ill pick it up tomorrow at some stage.

dimerocks

Oh and I quite enjoyed the BLB album, must give it a few whirls yet though. It isn't amazing but it is enjoyable.

flogen

Moojuice wrote:

Was that certain place a cellar of sorts? I meant to head in today but ill pick it up tomorrow at some stage.

Nope - it was a chain-store, although I think it was just this one that decided to start selling!

BTW - forgot about the thermo-CD thing, that's pretty impressive and a nice little extra to have (as well as being a clue)

Numina

picked it up today along with survivalism, i was unimpressed with the Year Zero packaging at first, then i started to notice a lot of small details, such as the symbols on the wrists, and the numbers scattered throughout the booklet. and the thermo thing rules also

projectmayhem

so i got year zero and am listening through. have to say it's caught me off guard. i came in expecting very little after with_teeth (despite loving the stuff on myspace [survivalism, me i'm not, etc.]) but i love year zero. absolutely love every song on it.

however, it doesn't sit well next to "old" NIN. i know people are drawing comparisons to pre-downward spiral NIN (broken & phm) but i'm not getting that vibe at all.

flogen

projectmayhem wrote:

however, it doesn't sit well next to "old" NIN. i know people are drawing comparisons to pre-downward spiral NIN (broken & phm) but i'm not getting that vibe at all.

Interesting - I've been battling myself to see where this sits in the grand scheme of all things NIN...

I have to agree that I don't see it connecting too well with PHM (frankly I found that album to be far shallower, in musical terms alone, than anything else he's done)... maybe there are comparisons with Broken in the very "metallic" and harsh kind of sounds some of the tracks have, but overall that EP was far more guitar led, while this one is a more reasonable mix between guitar, drum and synth...

I do think it has some comparison with TDS, though... maybe not lyrically (besides both being concept albums), but musically, albeit in a less industrial way... I was struck at first by how "poppy" songs like The Good Soldier and Capital G sounded, while Vessel, My Violent Heart, The Warning etc. sound really gritty... but if you think about it Closer and Ruiner are both very poppy songs in musical terms (I think Reznor described Closer as a great pop song burdened by its lyrics) while March of the Pigs, I Do Not Want This etc. provide the grittier side of that album.

That said I don't think you can really compare any NIN release to the other (Broken was a huge departure from PHM, TDS was a major leap forward in complexity from Broken etc. etc.) - I'd probably like them a whole lot less if you could draw too many comparisons.

John

Just listening to this now. I was deeply disappointed with With Teeth but so far I really like this. Does the phone number on the back of the album work from Ireland? I haven't bothered ringing it.

dimerocks

Yeah i saw that today, didn't have the cash to buy the cd though. Bugger, check echoing the sound it'll probably tell you on there what the phone number gets you.
Just an aside, www.myspace.com/thevugarera
New QOTSA song with Trent on it.

projectmayhem

flogen wrote:

(frankly I found that album to be far shallower, in musical terms alone, than anything else he's done)... maybe there are comparisons with Broken in the very "metallic" and harsh kind of sounds some of the tracks have, but overall that EP was far more guitar led, while this one is a more reasonable mix between guitar, drum and synth...

PHM was shallow because it was an album written by a man who was basically just out of his teens moaning about some chick in college, so you can forgive it for it's shallow misgivings.

as for this album, to me it feels like it was written alone in a dark room with some simple synth stuff, then he went to studio and layered it a bit with somewhat live instrumentals. i'd be surprised if any of the usual suspects got to play a note on the album...

flogen wrote:

I'd probably like them a whole lot less if you could draw too many comparisons.

and that is the beauty of NIN

flogen

projectmayhem wrote:

PHM was shallow because it was an album written by a man who was basically just out of his teens moaning about some chick in college, so you can forgive it for it's shallow misgivings.

Well exactly - I see PHM as an album showing Reznor's potential rather than his peak - keeping in mind that it was also recorded (if I'm remembering this right) as a kind of side-project while he worked in a studio - basically using it at midnight for free and working there as a dog's body during the day.

as for this album, to me it feels like it was written alone in a dark room with some simple synth stuff, then he went to studio and layered it a bit with somewhat live instrumentals. i'd be surprised if any of the usual suspects got to play a note on the album...

Maybe - not sure about the layered bit though - WT was done using this method and it came out quite differently, although those songs were all recorded on piano/guitar and then finished in the studio, I think he said he was writing this album during tours, messing around with sounds on his laptop before taking it to the studio, so you could be right.

and that is the beauty of NIN

Yup! It would never had worked if The Fragile sounded like TDS part 2 or anything like that, and am glad to know that every release will be different, for better or for worse... although I wonder how much YZ.2 will sound like this album, or if it'll be another departure.

projectmayhem

have a gander at a free, impromptu live show why don't you...

dimerocks

That's highly cool, comes on after 13minutes if anyone wants to skip the speech.

brianthebard

To those asking how this album fits into the back catalogue; I feel you are missing the point somewhat. This is a sober Trent who is consciously breaking away from the introspective music he's made in the past and trying to expand his inspirations and creations. As flogen mentioned there is a connection to TDS ito concept albums. I think that its great to see NIN trying to be fresh and new and not being content to sit back and make a few crappy albums that trade on past glories. Its a really exciting album and the concept, especially the way it has been spread across the different media, is definitely an interesting idea that I want to find out more about.

fitz

Have to agree.
I think WT was Trent relearning how to do things, or at least making a concious effort to do something different because he'd gotten sober and wanted to distance himself from his past mistakes.

I think YZ sits together much better as an album than WT. He's obviously found his conceptual stirde again.

Klept0

Having never heard WT, I can't honestly make a comparison (I've been told to avoid it >_>), however I've listened to Downward Spiral, DS is better, but YZ still holds its own in my opinion.

Worth getting Fragile and the rest or just stick with the two?

John

The Fragile is NIN's best in my opinion, others may pick The Downward Spiral over it but it's definitely a million times better than Year Zero or With Teeth.

flogen

John wrote:

The Fragile is NIN's best in my opinion, others may pick The Downward Spiral over it but it's definitely a million times better than Year Zero or With Teeth.

Musically I think The Fragile is fantastic - lyrically (for the most part) it's his worst (and as I said already I find PHM to be pretty bad in that area too, just not this bad).

It's worth getting though - has some superb tracks on it, if not a little fat too.

Numina

After listening to the album for 2 weeks, I have to say that this is the funnest album I've ever heard, my first listen was basically a one man party. With every listen I'm more impressed, my initial favorite was The Great Destroyer, but that has since been moved to second place by Zero-Sum, which probably contains the most powerful message I've heard in music so far in the chorus. the rest of the album is holding up also, although I don't think Meet Your Master has lived up to the hype that I've seen it recieve.

11/10

I was afraid that this would be the first crap NIN album (not including With Teeth of course )but jesus was I wrong!