Broken | The Downward Spiral | The Fragile | Ghosts series | EP Trilogy
Not the Actual Events:
- Not the Actual Events can be entirely classified as this, from "Branches/Bones" ending on a cut-off loud scream of Trent Reznor to the creepy, mechanical, dead sounding "Dear World" the paranoid whispery and suddenly frantic "The Idea Of You" or the rage fueled "Burning Bright (Field On Fire)", yet special mention goes to "She's Gone Away" which features heavy beats stomping all over the track while Trent's voice and screams echo throughout the entirety of the track, Trent's screams get a special mention as he sounds as if he was in genuine anguish."She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away, she's gone, she's gone away AAAAAARGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
- It should be noted that "She's Gone Away" was originally written for the band's performance for
the third season of Twin Peaks, which brings an extra bit of nightmare fuel to the song by associating with David Lynch, Laura Palmer and the acid trip that is episode 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return. Lynch rejected Trent's first draft of a song for not being "dark enough" for Twin Peaks. You can definitely say that this has filled the void. - If you rip and play the B-Side in reverse, you'll hear the three remaining tracks heard from The Downward Spiral until reaching "Reptile". There's a theory that the protagonist of the EP is the same one as in The Downward Spiral, and the reversed tracks may represent a flashback of his (presumably failed) suicide attempt.
- If you open the package after purchasing a digital copy of the said EP, you'll get a rather nasty surprise! You'll find an envelope containing a series of liner note sheets in addition to a black powder and cryptic note. The said black powder will easily stain your hands and many, MANY people who discovered it believed that the powder is dangerous regarding the warning sticker "may contain subversive elements that produce feelings of euphoria and may be harmful and unsettling to the consumer". Fortunately, it's actually made out of a non-toxic material known as graphite. No wonder why Trent had the idea of packaging like this.
- Another strange example comes within the search of the supposedly planned ARG for the original concept for the EP trilogy. When Not the Actual Events was physically released, fans noticed strange phrases on the packaging. Although Trent is known for adding extra things in lyrics, something about this seemed to be quite off. Particularly the use of a phrase "Blood and Cocksucking Chicken Wing" which in terms of lyrical content, would seem a bit too extreme and too jarring for Trent to use, even if he did use the phrase "Fist Fuck" once. Fans did some research and stumbled upon a Wordpress blog known as Schizophreniasdiary which dates as far back as 2011 which eerily shares similar concepts to the EP, including the very odd phrase 'Cocksucking Chicken Wing' as well as several phrases that were used in the song "Branches/Bones". The actual diary is very disturbing to read and the fact that the original poster has not updated it since 2011 makes things very uncomfortable. As of July 2019, it has not been fully debunked or confirmed that the website was part of a potential ARG or if Trent or Atticus had any involvement in this at all. The image linked here shows some of the similarities to the blog post and the lyrics given for "Branches/Bones" on the physical component and the Vinyl/CD releases.
Add Violence:
- "The Lovers" is a very disjointed yet hypnotic track which can make people feel quite uneasy upon the first few listens. Lyrically inspired by a poem Trent wrote about addiction and his experiences with addiction and withdrawal whilst in New Orleans in the 1990's during his stint in rehab within the early 2000's after the death of his friend in a presumably drug related attack and accidentally overdosing in London in 1999. Each of the spoken-word verses are recorded through a dictaphone giving the effect of a stream of consciousness rant over a percussion loop until Trent breaks into a more melodic chorus with Trent using some falsetto. The second spoken-word verse features these particularly haunting lines, "Maybe I could stop it if I wanted to but I’m not the one driving anymore. I know who I am but I know who I am, Right? Please don't leave me here with them".
- "The Background World", the EP's final track (and the longest original song in NIN's discography) starts off calm with vocals from Trent and backup vocals from Mariqueen, but builds to this epic chorus of voices, and roughly halfway through, the music suddenly stops and gives way to a distorted buzzing noise. What begins is an incomplete tape loop that repeats itself approximately 52 times becoming increasingly distorted with every loop until the loop finally and abruptly ends becoming very incoherent and an all out assault on the ears of anyone who may be listening. This "experience" goes on for 7 MINUTES with some fans liking the experience to a panic/anxiety attack or slowly being consumed by something evil or dark. Zane Lowe from Beats 1 called the last 8 minutes "some of the most sonically destructive music I've ever heard." when interviewing Trent and Atticus before the EP's release, and boy, was he right.
- It's actually more uncomfortable if you read the theory about the incomplete loop: It's believed the reason behind the 52 incomplete loops as it distorts is to fit the concept of degeneration of age. Why is it so? Trent Reznor became 52 in 2017.
Bad Witch:
- The album's cover art is pretty unsettling, as it contains two frames featuring human remains and a Humanoid Abomination that will send chills down your spine.
- "Play the Goddamned Part" sounds like a mental breakdown personified through music, with horns and a claustrophobic atmosphere to say the least. It feels like an eternity of tense uncertainty despite the fact being around close to five minutes.
- "Shit Mirror", while an epic opener, has a random Smash to Black, making you think the song ended... only for it to start off with a strange melody and different atmosphere compared to the angry opening of the song.
- "I'm Not From This World" sounds like it comes straight from the Quake soundtrack, and is one of the most eerie and foreboding NIN instrumental tracks since anything from Ghosts I-IV. A standout moment is halfway through the song is the use of a looped scream at around 3 minutes 10 seconds which then gets locked into a repeating loop until with each loop it gets more distorted and gradually louder, and louder, and louder, AND LOUDER! Until it abruptly ends and the track continues sounding how it started with a gradually pulsating synth and hammering percussion.
- Albeit crossing into Tear Jerker, the prolonged droning noise from "Over and Out" may count as this to some.
