History Music / YearZero

''Year Zero'' '''I'''s the fifth studio album by Music/NineInchNails, released in 2007. A concept '''A'''lbu'''M''' se'''T''' in the yea'''R''' 2022 (dubbed 0000 or "'''Y'''ear Zero"), the album tells the story of a corrupted American government bent on absolute control on the rema'''I'''ning people of the world. by usi'''N'''g the drug, known as parepin as an alle'''G'''ed belief '''T'''hat it w'''O'''uld protect the people from future '''B'''iot'''E'''rrorist, the government added the drug into the drinking and water supp'''L'''y of all the general publ'''I'''c. However, the side '''E'''ffects from parepin came at a much higher threat instead of a use of help, some reporting a '''V'''ision of a ghostly hand, call'''E'''d "The Presence".

''Year Zero'' '''I'''s the '''F'''if'''T'''h st'''U'''di'''O''' '''A'''lbu'''M''' by Music/NineInchNails, released in 2007. A concept '''A'''lbu'''M''' se'''T''' in the yea'''R''' 2022 (dubbed 0000 or "'''Y'''ear Zero"), the album tells the story of a corrupted American government bent on absolute control on the rema'''I'''ning people of the world. by usi'''N'''g the drug, known as parepin as an alle'''G'''ed belief '''T'''hat it w'''O'''uld protect the people from future '''B'''iot'''E'''rrorist, the government added the drug into the drinking and water supp'''L'''y of all the general publ'''I'''c. However, the side '''E'''ffects from parepin came at a much higher threat instead of a use of help, some reporting a '''V'''ision of a ghostly hand, call'''E'''d "The Presence".

''Year Zero'' '''I'''s a concept '''A'''lbu'''M''' released in 2007 by Music/NineInchNails. Se'''T''' in the yea'''R''' 2022 (dubbed 0000 or '''Y'''ear Zero), the album tells the story of a corrupted American government bent on absolute control on the rema'''I'''ning people of the world. by usi'''N'''g the drug, known as parepin as an alle'''G'''ed belief '''T'''hat it w'''O'''uld protect the people from future '''B'''iot'''E'''rrorist, the government added the drug into the drinking and water supp'''L'''y of all the general publ'''I'''c. However, the side '''E'''ffects from parepin came at a much higher threat instead of a use of help, some reporting a '''V'''ision of a ghostly hand, call'''E'''d "The Presence".

The album is Reznor's vision of a {{dystopia}}n future he saw as the logical conclusion of [[MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting the then-current policies of the American government]] ({{based on a dream}} he had about what would lead to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]]). He began work on it while touring for his previous album, ''With Teeth'', completing it in around five months. The limitations his work environment brought him -- namely mostly being arranged on Reznor's laptop -- were instrumental in defining the [[NewSoundAlbum considerably more electronic]] sonic direction of the album.

* ExcitedShowTitle: "''HYPERPOWER!''"

%%* StopAndGo: "God Given".

The album is Reznor's vision of a {{dystopia}}n future he saw as the [[ForegoneConclusion logical conclusion]] [[MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting of the then-current policies of the American government]] ({{based on a dream}} he had about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt what would lead to the world's end]]). He began work on it while touring for his previous album, ''With Teeth'', completing it in around five months. The limitations his work environment brought him -- namely mostly being arranged on Reznor's laptop -- were instrumental in defining the [[NewSoundAlbum considerably more electronic]] sonic direction of the album.

[[caption-width-right:350:'''''I’̷VE͡ E͘X͞P̕ȨR҉I͝E͡NCED͟ A ̶FEEL͘ING ͜THAT I̡ H̡ADN͞’͞T̡ EVEN R͡EMEM̧B̨ERED''''']]

* AudienceParticipation: The project is intended as a wake-up call to the audience about the way current politics and society at the time were going. For instance, in the liner notes a warning from the fictional United States Bureau of Morality (USBM) can be found, complete with a phone number to report people who have "engaged in subversive acts." When you dial it a recording is played with the message:

-->''I pushed a button and elected him to office, and uh\\

* TheOner: You could say that "Survivalism" could be counted as one, as it still one shot.

* {{Dystopia}}: The story is set in the future year of 2022, showing what Trent thought the future would go if the Bush Administration's policies continued unchallenged, and it ain't pretty.

* {{Dystopia}}: The story is set in the future year of 2022 to criticize contemporary American politics in the year the album was made.

The album is Reznor's vision of a {{dystopia}}n future he saw as the ForegoneConclusion [[MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting of the current policies of the American government]] ({{based on a dream}} he had about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt what would lead to the world's end]]). He began work on it while touring for his previous album, ''With Teeth'', completing it in around five months. The limitations his work environment brought him -- namely mostly being arranged on Reznor's laptop -- were instrumental in defining the [[NewSoundAlbum considerably more electronic]] sonic direction of the album.

The album is Reznor's uncompromising vision of a {{dystopia}}n future he saw as the ForegoneConclusion [[MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting of the current policies of the American government]] ({{based on a dream}} he had about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt what would lead to the world's end]]). He began work on it while touring for his previous album, ''With Teeth'', completing it in around five months. The limitations his work environment brought him -- namely mostly being arranged on Reznor's laptop -- were instrumental in defining the [[NewSoundAlbum considerably more electronic]] sonic direction of the album.

However, you simply can't talk about ''Year Zero'' without mentioning its extensive usage of AudienceParticipation and AdaptationExpansion through an AlternateRealityGame, using variations of websites that were scattered through the album/concerts/''[=USBs=] left at concerts'' and slew of creative ways to create the album's world. These methods took a lion's share of the album's reported ''$2 million'' budget, and while the websites aren't active anymore (due to the websites expiring with the ARG company that worked on them), fans still consider them to be the key element behind the album's success.

* StopAndGo: "God Given".

* ZeroesAndOnes: Word by word on "Zero-Sum".
--> ''Shame on us, doomed from the start''
--> ''May God have mercy on our dirty little hearts''
--> ''Shame on us for all we have done''
--> ''And all we ever were. Just zeroes and ones''

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: "The Great Destroyer" has a speech like that printed in the liner notes: ''"I hope they cannot see the limitless potential / living inside of me to murder everything / I hope they cannot see I am the [[LargeHam GREAT]] [[BigWordShout DESTROYERRRRRR]]..."'' Coming out of the guy who created ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral'' and wallowed in angst and depravity for much of TheNineties, this is kind of a triumphant moment for Trent Reznor.

''Year Zero'' '''I'''s a concept '''A'''lbu'''M''' released in 2007 by Music/NineInchNails. Se'''T''' in the yea'''R''' 2022 (dubbed 0000 or '''Y'''ear Zero), the album tells the story of a corrupted a'''M'''erican government bent on absolute control on the rema'''I'''ning people of the world. by usi'''N'''g the drug, known as parepin as an alle'''G'''ed belief '''T'''hat it w'''O'''uld protect the people from future '''B'''iot'''E'''rrorist, the government added the drug into the drinking and water supp'''L'''y of all the general publ'''I'''c. However, the side '''E'''ffects from parepin came at a much higher threat instead of a use of help, some reporting a '''V'''ision of a ghostly hand, call'''E'''d "The Presence".

* TheFutureWillBeBetter: Averted in [[https://www.headstuff.org/entertainment/music/music-features/ten-years-later-nine-inch-nails-year-zero/ Headstuff's]] reflection of the album ten years later:
--> With Donald Trump in office and in our minds every day, with white nationalism surging David Duke celebrates, with climate change denial having a new day, Trent Reznor’s deepest fears that are so methodically documented and illustrated through the lens of dystopic science fiction are now becoming more realized than ever, and Year Zero seems like a fitting soundtrack to our current times a decade later. If he released it now, we’d call it on the nose, but as a document of once-imaginary extensions of fears, it’s a sobering, frightening artifact from a time that reminds us that all of this was predictable, that our current mess should not come as a shock.

----

* OminousMessageFromTheFuture: The entirety of the ARG is this, with the earliest quantum computers suddenly receiving a bunch of websites from their future selves, depicting a dystopic future and the end of the world in 2025. Unfortunately, the messages sent back were partially corrupted by the future computers being damaged during the upload, either by government agents or The Presence. Nonetheless, the implication remains that [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong having received the messages has changed the timeline and averted the events of the story]].

* HumanoidAbomination: The Presence, a giant, ghostly hand that reaches down from the sky, thought to be a side effect from the drugs, Parepin and Opal. [[spoiler:But it turns out to be the cause for the end of the world.]]

** DevelopmentHell: The upcoming miniseries just kind of evaporated at some point.

* HumanoidAbomination: The Presence, a giant, ghostly hand that reaches down from the sky, though to be a side effect from the drugs, Parepin and Opal. [[spoiler:But it turns out to be the cause for the end of the world.]]

* Music/SaulWilliams: backing vocals

* AdaptationExpansion: The album was accompanied by an alternate reality game with the same themes: ''VideoGame/YearZero''. A remix album, ''Year Zero Remixed'' was also released in 2007, with remixes from artists such as Music/TheFaint, Music/{{Ladytron}}, Music/BillLaswell, Music/SaulWilliams, Olof Dreijer (''Music/TheKnife'') and Music/SamFogarino (''Music/{{Interpol}}''). A TV miniseries is also in development, with involvement of Creator/{{HBO}} and Creator/{{BBC}}.

* AudienceParticipation: The project is intended as a wake-up call to the audience about the way current politics and society at the time were going. For instance: In the liner notes a warning from the fictional United States Bureau of Morality (USBM) can be found, complete with a phone number to report people who have "engaged in subversive acts." When you dial it a recording is played with the message:

* ComedicSociopathy: An instance in "Capital G" that isn't meant to be funny in the slightest:

* EarthShatteringKaboom and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: "In This Twilight" and "Zero-Sum".

* OminousMessageFromTheFuture: The entirety of the Year Zero ARG is this, with the earliest quantum computers suddenly receiving a bunch of websites from their future selves, depicting a dystopic future and the end of the world in 2025. Unfortunately, the messages sent back were partially corrupted by the future computers being damaged during the upload, either by government agents or The Presence. Nonetheless, the implication remains that [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong having received the messages has changed the timeline and averted the events of Year Zero.]]

''Year Zero'' '''I'''s a concept '''A'''lbu'''M''' released in 2007 by Music/NineInchNails. Se'''T''' in the yea'''R''' 2022 (dubbed 0000 or '''Y'''ear Zero), the album tells the story of the corrupted government bent on absolute control on the rema'''I'''ning people of the world. by usi'''N'''g the drug, known as parepin as an alle'''G'''ed belief '''T'''hat it w'''O'''uld protect the people from future '''B'''iot'''E'''rrorist, the government added the drug into the drinking and water supp'''L'''y of all the general publ'''I'''c. However, the side '''E'''ffects from parepin came at a much higher threat instead of a use of help, some reporting a '''V'''ision of a ghostly hand, call'''E'''d "The Presence".

What of the most special things about Year Zero was the usage of AudienceParticipation and AdaptationExpansion through an alternative reality game, using variations of websites that were scattered through the album/concerts/''[=USBs=] left at concerts'' and slew of creative ways to create the world of Year Zero. While the websites aren't active anymore (Due to the websites expiring with the ARG company that worked on them), fans still consider them to be the key element behind the album's success.