Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the message of this CD is anything but cheerful, obsessed as it is with the end of the world. There are some sex and death metaphors in the poetry, as well as a lot of other dark imagery. Parents of moody, depressive teens might want to listen to the entire album to decide if their kids should steer clear.
Families can talk about real fear in a terrifying world. What scares you when you see a newscast about bad things happening in real life? Is it easier to talk about actual events or to imagine a futuristic fantasy in which the world comes to a cataclysmic end?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Nine Inch Nails' sixth studio album is about the end of the world, fifteen years in the future. Not a jolly, life-affirming subject by any means, this visceral audio collage employs repetitive sound effects, a strong rhythmic anchor, musical and lyrical hooks, and expressive vocals in a musical pastiche that is passionate, dense, nihilistic, and fascinating.
According to the artists' notes, YEAR ZERO began "as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a tour bus somewhere…(and) led to a daydream about the end of the world" and the lyrics support this description with references to events such as "gun fire in the street/where we used to meet/echoes out a beat and the bass goes/bomb right over my head/step over the dead" ("The Good Soldier").
There's also a dalliance or two with sex and death metaphors: "I should have listened to her/so hard to keep control/we kept on eating but our bloated bellies still not full/she gave us all she had but we went and took some more/can't seem to shut her legs/our mother nature is a whore" on "Survivalism," the album's first single.
Richly textured, dark and dreamy, Year Zero showcases Trent Reznor and company's development as artists on this ambitious conceptual dreamscape of sound. Forget about the lyrics (they're mixed pretty far back anyway) and get lost in the intense, hypnotic moment. Sometimes life -- and fantasies about the world's future -- can be terrifying, and there are far worse ways to come to terms with fear than musical expression.
Fans might also like music by Tool, Kings of Leon, and Linkin Park.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual ContentSome sex and death metaphors that might be confusing to younger kids. |
 |
 |
 |
|
ViolenceMany references to violent acts in a traumatized (futuristic) world. Screaming and scary sounds can be heard on the first track. Photo of automatic weapon in CD art. |
|
|
|
|
Language"Those motherf--kers didn't last too long" and "Don't give a s--t about the temperature in Guatemala." |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social BehaviorNihilistic doomsday fantasy might spark discussion of real fears in a scary world. |
 |
 |
|
|
Commercialism |
|
 |
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
|
|
