Trent Goes Soylent Green... and is it his best work yet?

A riddle wrapped inside an enigma, wrapped inside a concept album. "Year Zero" is certainly Nine Inch Nails most interesting record thus far. Moving on from the emotional concept of previous releases, "Year Zero" is something else entirely different : in this Trent goes Soylent Green.

"Year Zero" isn't just a record : it's an experience - a collection of loosely linked songs, a set of websites (so many, in fact, you lose track), and an idea. In 2023, America has become a police state. The population are dosed on a drug called Parepin, the world is subject to the appearance of The Presence - a gigantic hand from the sky, and terrorism, or the threat of it, has made America a paranoid and autocratic dictatorship. There's an awful lot more like this, reams and reams of the stuff. But that's not important.

What is important is that "Year Zero" is gutsy, artistically brave, and yet another damn good Nine Inch Nails album. Thankfully, it's also the first NIN release that manages to step beyond the limited, one-dimensional artistic straitjacket Trent previously inhabited - a world where nothing exists but the pain of a failed relationship. Instead, NIN now inhabit a violently paranoid world, built on minimal soundscapes, driving rhythms, undulating motifs, and sounds like the kind of intimate paranoia brought about by hyperaware isolation. Lead single "Survivalism" is no stranger to the NIN template. At first listen it appears almost underwhelming, with no discernable big chorus, but repeated exposure reveals what radio programmer's call a "grower".

After spending several weeks with the record, "Year Zero" is certainly the most interesting and mature Nine Inch Nails album : it manages to avoid the tedious one-dimensional clichés of some of his previous, easily-parodied work. It's difficult to pick one song that stands out, primarily because as a complete tapestry of work, the album is a coherent and consistent piece, with no obvious fillers or stinkers on. Overall, "Year Zero" is a triumph of vision and could possibly be Trents best work thus far. Highly recommended.

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