That might be a misleading headline, and I apologize if you came here thinking you were gonna see news of live dates for How to Destroy Angels. Actually, just the opposite – The PRP reports that during a recent online fan Q&A, HTDA  announced that they “have no plans to tour in the immediate future and will instead be focusing on their full-length effort which is expected out early next year.”

Which is news that I’m actually okay with. For one thing, it doesn’t say they’ll never tour – just not right now. For another thing, it means they’re working on new music, and even though their EP just came out this week, I could certainly stand to hear even more. And, finally, there’s the fact that the idea of a HTDA live show just doesn’t really get me that excited. Not that I don’t like them – I obviously do – but other than Trent’s usual sweet live light show, I can’t really see this group being all that exciting in a concert setting. It’s obviously very technology-driven music, and in the past I’ve found shows where most or all of the people on stage are playing synths and computers to get kinda tedious after awhile. Of course, I would go see HTDA live and hope I was completely wrong about that – and those aforementioned Trent light shows are always 110% kick-ass – I’m just saying, if I don’t attend a HTDA concert before 2011 or whenever, I’m not gonna bang my head against the wall.

The above photo is from the shoot for the video of “The Space in Between,” by the way, and you can check out more here.

-AR

I know I mentioned this on Friday, but I also know that a lot of you spent the last three days destroying a vast percentage of your brain, so I just wanted to remind you: as of today, the debut self-titled EP from How to Destroy Angels – a.k.a. “Trent Reznor’s new project with his wife” – is available for free download.

As we’ve been saying all along, it’s basically Nine Inch Nails with female vocals – which isn’t a bad thing. The sad news is that the group has already released half the tracks in some form or another, and, unfortunately, I think we’ve already heard the album’s best material. That’s not to say I don’t like the remaining songs; I had just hoped that HTDA had some ace up their sleeve that they were waiting to unveil. But nothing really tops “A Drowning” and “The Space in Between.”

Of course, you may very vocally disagree with me, as is your right to do so; and one way or the other, the album is free, so you really have nothing to lose by at least checking it out. Download it here.

-AR

I will switch teams for Trent Reznor right now and I don’t care who knows it. He really is just making a strong play for the title of “Coolest Dude EVER.”

It was exactly a month ago today that we first heard about How to Destroy Angels, Renzor’s new project with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and frequent Nine Inch Nails collaborator Atticus Ross; and it was just a few days ago that we heard that the group’s debut EP would be coming out July 6. Well, that release date either only applies to physical copies of the album, or has been scrapped, or was never real to begin with, ’cause now HTDA have announced that they will be GIVING THE EP AWAY FOR FREE in 320 kbps mp3s THIS TUESDAY, June 1. If you “pre-order” the album right now – pre-ordering in this instance basically amounting to joining an e-mail list – you can download a new song, “The Believers,” right now.

Click to read more…

Well, clearly, Trent Reznor has been using all the downtime from not touring productively. Not only have How to Destroy Angels, his new project, announced a July 6 release date for their six-song debut EP, but he’s now written, recorded, and released his first Nine Inch Nails track of the post-live show era. It’s a theme for the upcoming movie Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, the latest entry in director Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo series.

I’ve been hearing about the Tetsuo movies for years, but I’ve never actually seen one, so, uh, geek fail, I guess. But I know that this latest movie is the first to be filmed in English, and that it got a good reception at the Venice Film Festival last year (before Reznor had actually delivered his contribution) and the Tribeca Film Festival this year (after Reznor had delivered his contribution), so take that for what it’s worth. In any case, the NIN track is – do I really have to say it? – awesome. It’s instrumental, and for large chunks of it my mother would probably argue that “it’s just noise,” and it would be hard to argue with her – if this was the sound of my alarm clock, I’d never hit the “snooze” button again. But it’s epic; awesomely, epicly epic, in fact. You can listen to it below, or just download it from Some Kind of Awesome.

And I’ve put the trailer for after the jump. It certainly looks like Reznor-appropriate.

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Photo credit: EmpyreLounge.com

My interview with Coheed & Cambria guitarist Travis Stever got off to a bit of a slow start. I believe I was his first interview of the morning in a long line of many, and he was audibly a bit groggy after a rough night of sleep on the bus. But after a few questions Stever got into the flow of things, and started talking at length about his band’s new record Year of the Black Rainbow, their current tour with Circa Survive and Torche, working with ex-Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie, the Neverender series of shows and the thrill of playing Madison Square Garden.

We only had fifteen minutes to talk before Stever was whisked away to his next interview, but we got plenty accomplished in that time. Our chat, after the jump.

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I don’t think that Nine Inch Nails have ever made a bad video, and Trent Reznor isn’t about to start now – the new clip for How to Destroy Angels’ “The Space in Between” is provocative, possibly pretentious, morbidly beautiful, and wholly memorable (which is really the entire point of a music video, I suppose). Insofar as what the video “means,” well… I’m not entirely sure I know. Assuming the titular “in between” is some kind of purgatorial state, well… I guess we can interpret the fact that Reznor and his wife/vocalist Mariqueen Maandig are lip synching while clearly “deceased” as being somehow related to said purgatorial state. I’ll have to ponder it some more, though.

Whatever the heck the video is supposed to mean, it is, like I said, morbidly beautiful, and the song is gorgeous. As with “A Drowning,” it pretty much sounds like NIN with a female vocalist… but I have absolutely no problem with that.

HTDA will release a six-song EP sometime this summer. Longtime NIN collaborator Atticus Ross is also involved in some capacity; he’s the dude smoking a cigarette and watching T.V. in this video.

-AR

In the last few years, something seemed to happen and I barely noticed. Suddenly, I’m no longer the young kid at the show. I’m one of the guys hiding out by the bar. I’m not crowd surfing, not covered in sweat with my shirt off, and I’m certainly not moshing. I’m also not randomly yelling “Slayer!”, but that seems to span all demographics. I became… (gulp)… an adult. I don’t know what the range is in the ages of the followers of MetalSucks, but I’ll assume that it’s a mix of younger and older metal fans. I am 29 years old, but I still feel relatively young and energetic considering my opening salvo. I’m the youngest member of my band, and younger than a good majority of my friends in bands and the industry.

With that said, I think there comes a time for all metal heads, and probably all adults for that matter, when you look at what is popular amongst the true youth culture (16-24), and you feel as if not only do you not relate to it, but it feels alien, as if it’s creation was not meant for your consumption (which it wasn’t) – and it also seems inferior to music that you grew up with. I’m only 29, and I’m already having “back in my day” moments. It kind of scared me, and I began to wonder if I was being obtuse and a little too set in my ways, or if my analysis was accurate.

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It was just last week that we first heard about How to Destroy Angels, the new outfit from Trent Reznor and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig; and now here we are, and Pitchfuck already has the group’s debut song, “A Drowning.”

So what do we think? Personally, I fucking love this song. I predicted that HTDA would “sound more or less like late-era NIN,” and it does; swap out Maandig’s vocals for Reznor’s, and this basically sounds like a hybrid of “All the Love in the World” and “The Line Begins to Blur” from With Teeth.

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It was just a few months ago that Trent Reznor announced that not only was he working on some new material for Nine Inch Nails, but also some new material for “something else that isn’t Nine Inch Nails.” Of course that got us all foaming at the mouth – What non-NIN project could Trent be working on? WHAT NON-NIN PROJECT COULD TRENT BE WORKING ON???

The answer, it would seem, is How To Destroy Angels (a process that is apparently quite different from training your dragon), a new outfit he’s starting up with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig. There’s already an official website for the group, which is very NIN in design, and word of an EP to be released this summer.

I wasn’t really a fan of Maandig’s last band, West Indian Girl, although my problem with them wasn’t her vocals – it was just that the music wasn’t my pace. But the below teaser video for the group would suggest that HTDA is going to sound more or less like late-era NIN, presumably with some combination of Maandig and Reznor on vocals – which is fine with me. The last time I can recall hearing Reznor doing vocals with a woman was when he did some backing stuff for Tori Amos on her song “Past the Mission,” which I thought was pretty swell… so I’m game for whatever.

-AR

Trent Reznor might be a rockstar prima donna doucheturd in real life, but he’s certainly managed to maintain the appearance of being a cool, down-to-earth dude – whether it’s because he’s telling fans not to pay for his albums that the record labels are charging a ridiculous markup on, or giving shit away for free, or publicly criticizing his peers that have gone soft.

No wonder his fans follow suit – the dude is leading by example. First, after Nine Inch Nails performed The Downward Spiral in its entirety as part of the “Wave Goodbye” tour, some fans who had filmed the concert edited it all together in a semi-professional package so all the world could share in the goodness (and Reznor actually endorsed their actions, calling it “the best concert film of the year” and offering it for free download on their site). Now, a group of fifteen-plus fans who also happen to be professionals in various audio, video, and other media fields have put together NIN: [after all is said and done], a concert film of NIN’s three-and-a-half-hour (allegedly) final live performance. And they’re selling it on DVD and Blu-Ray for a whopping ten bucks, none of which is actually for profit – they just wanna share the love with their fellow NIN devotees. How awesome is that?

The group call themselves A Tiny Little Dot, and you can order a DVD or Blu-Ray from them here (and, yes, I did just order one). The trailer is above. The footage looks pretty incredible, and the show featured guest appearances by Gary Neuman, Dave Navarro, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and more… plus, it’s Nine Inch Nails, who absolutely kill(ed?) live. So this is totally worth your money if you’re fan. Go get it.

-AR

[via Blabbermouth]

Longtime readers of MetalSucks will know that I’m a big fan of Continuum’s 33 1/3 books series. Each one is by a different writer, and each one is devoted entirely to the study of a different classic album – and “study” has a pretty broad definition here, as the manner in which the books approach the album-in-question really depends on the author. Sure, Eric Weisbard’s entry on GN’R's Use Your Illusion albums was basically one long apology by an ironic hipster who couldn’t bring himself to admit that he actually enjoys those records. But the great John Darnielle’s book, on Sabbath’s Master of Reality, is one of the most creative pieces of music writing I’ve read in some time – the entire thing takes the form of journal entries written by a teenager who has been committed to a psychiatric center – and I loved D.X. Ferris’ take on Slayer’s Reign in Blood that not only did I interview him, but I basically bullied him into writing some pieces for MetalSucks (Most recently, he did an incredibly in-depth interview with the one and only Tom G. Warrior).

So far those three books have been the only ones in the series that deal with metal or sorta-kinda-metal (which isn’t to say the other books in the series aren’t worth reading, just to say, y’know, metal will always be my first and greatest love). Which is why I’ve been so excited to read Daphne Carr’s contribution, on Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine. The book was announced for-ever ago, and I kept seeing release dates on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s web site, which would come and go without the thing ever actually getting released. It was like 33 1/3‘s version of Chinese Democracy.

Well, Mr. Ferris himself, writing for Cleveland Scene, now reports that the book is finally coming out! Just don’t ask when:

Click to read more…

There are a handful of bands that I can say changed my fucking life. Nine Inch Nails are one such band. As a prematurely jaded adolescent, I’d been introduced to the violent industrial metal of the Broken EP and was intrigued. I bought the CD-single for “March Of The Pigs” the week it came out, and played it on repeat on my all-in-one stereo as well as in my Discman. The Downward Spiral hit stores the following month, and I eagerly snatched it up. Then fascinated with serial killers and true crime legends like Charles Manson, reports that the album was recorded in Sharon Tate’s house immediately grabbed me. But the music was more than mere gimmickry. I heard sounds I’d never encountered before, abrasive metal that didn’t come across as chauvinistic or boneheaded. Poring over Trent Reznor’s lyrics with the type of passionate attention only a teenager can, I connected with his rage, depression, and lust. Moreso than any other band before, I felt that I had found in Nine Inch Nails a band that I could get behind in a big way. Little did I know that their imminent success would spawn some of the most pathetic imitators, wannabes, and clowns ever to “grace” hard rock and metal with their presence.

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The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato is ripped. But it would never even occur to me to accuse the dude of taking steroids, for the following reasons:

1. He might kick my ass.
2. To make an accusation like that requires something known as “evidence,” and I have none. In fact, I’ve never even heard a rumor about the guy taking ‘roids.
3. He might kick my ass.
4. It seems perfectly feasible to me that Puciato spends the hours and hours of downtime that come with touring working out.
5. He might kick my ass really, really bad.

None of these issues gave pause to James Montgomery, though. I have no idea who Montgomery is, but in what has to be the stupidest act of 2010 so far, he’s written a piece for MTV in which he accuses ten musicians – including Puciato, Trent Reznor, and Glenn Danzig – of taking steroids. “Proof?” Montgomery actually bothers to raise the issue in his intro. “Who needs it when you’ve got pure suspicion?”

As far as I know, Reznor and Danzig haven’t weighed-in (no pun intended) yet about this absolutely moronic article – but Puciato has, and he ain’t happy about. He tells our friends at Noisecreep:

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When Trent Reznor waved good-bye to touring last year, he never said he was waving good-bye to Nine Inch Nails, too; he was basically just going the “studio only” route. So I’m not surprised that Reznor is working on a new Nine Inch Nails album for 2010.

The second part of this statement from the NIN website, in which he announces new music from NNIN (Not Nine Inch Nails), does kinda surprise me, though:

Sorry I haven’t been around much lately, I’ve been working on not working for a couple of months, which for me is hard work. 2010 has a number of things planned including new material from nine inch nails and something else that isn’t nine inch nails.

“Something else that isn’t Nine Inch Nails.” What could it be? I’d love for that Tapeworm album to finally see the light of day, but that can’t be it. And I imagine talk of that collaboration with Dr. Dre probably died right around the time Eminem got famous.

Wait, I know what it is, I KNOW WHAT IT IS!!! Trent Reznor is the new singer for Velvet Revolver!!!

No, wait, that can’t be right.

Hopefully we’ll get more details soon…

-AR

[via Metal Insider]

When Trent Reznor announced he’d be taking NIN on hiatus after this most recent tour we were naturally skeptical. But apparently he spoke the truth, at least for the immediately forseeable future — why else would he be selling hundreds of pieces of road and studio-tested NIN gear? According to a post on the NIN official website [sent in by TomB via Pitchfork], Reznor:

Hundreds of items will be listed over the next several weeks such as guitars, keyboards, amplifiers, drums, staging, anvil cases, cables, rack/outboard gear, guitar effects, and pedal boards. Check the eBay page regularly for new listings, or follow @nineinchnails on Twitter for updates. More information can be found in the descriptions of each item.

Props to Reznor for using eBay to once again utilize the power of the Internet to connect directly with fans and cut out all the middle-man bullshit. There are currently about 20 items listed on the NIN eBay page — all guitars — with more promised in the near future. For my money (or someone else’s… ahem! <cough>Axl<cough>Hanukkah<cough cough>), the coolest item currently posted is the ESP guitar custom-painted with The Fragile album cover artwork (pictured above). The bidding is currently at $2,274 with 18 bids already in and over 5 days left. Good luck to whoever wants to win that one.

Save up for those instrument cables that may or may not have once been used by Trent, kids!

-VN

Back in August, Gary “Lucky Motherfucker” Suarez got to see Nine Inch Nails perform their seminal release, The Downward Spiral, in its entirety as part of their “Wave Goodbye” tour. For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be there, I attempted to compile video bootlegs of the entire performance. Turns out, I shouldn’t have wasted my time. Our friends at Metal Injection report:

One NIN fanatic searched far and wide and found 11 different people at the show who bootleged it (in HD nonetheless!), they edited it and now, presumably with Trent’s blessing, the entire show is online and downloadable for FREE. You can stream it above, download a torrent, iPod version or just a DVD burn. Click here to download it.

Even if Trent hasn’t approved of this yet, I have a hard time imagining that Mr. “Fuck the Record Labels, Steal My Album” would have a problem with it. But whatever the case, I’d like to applaud this awesome fan for all his hard work, which will now allow the rest of us to live vicariously though some means other than a critics’ description.

Here’s a video from the performance, now edited together:

-AR

No, Trent Reznor won’t be fucking you like an animal anytime soon: he has apparently tied the knot with some chick named Mariqueen Maandig, formerly of a band I’ve never heard of called West Indian Girl. A half-dozen reader e-mails pointed me to Pink is the New Blog, where photos from the wedding have been posted, and I wanted to re-post them here for two reasons:

1. Romantic wedding photos somehow seem to go against everything Reznor stands for. And to that end…
2. …he looks SO UNCOMFORTABLE in the first, posed photo. I’m not blaming the guy – I’m completely incapable of looking natural in cheesy pictures myself, so I sympathize – but still, kinda funny. Also, why is hand on her ass?

Enjoy the pics.

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A tweet from former Nine Inch Nails touring member Danny Lohner has alerted us to the fact that Pretty Hate Machine, Trent Reznor’s awesome debut, was released twenty years ago today.

Wow. Hard to believe that that’s true – and it’s funny that so many people forget that Reznor actually started doing his thing in the 80s.

Anyways, to celebrate, here’s the video for “Head Like a Hole.” Like most people, I imagine, this video made me aware of NIN for the first time. And it’s still an awesome song.

-AR

In honor of Alaskan metalcore band 36 Crazyfists’ new DVD, Under a Northern Sky (in stores October 27), a list of 35 other famous, metal, heavy, and/or crazy fists:

Click to read more…

We’ve covered industry pundit Bob Lefsetz in this space before (most famously his public debate with Ki$$ scumbag Gene Simmons); Lefsetz’s rants against the music industry are sometimes pure genius while his take on modern music is more often than not woefully out-of-touch, but he’s nothing if not endearing in his conviction and passion for the art form of music. His latest notable quotable (as deemed so by Bram Teitelman of Metal Insider) heaps praise upon Nine Inch Nails opening act Dillinger Escape Plan, whose noise/math metal we’ve of course been following for years but who’ve just reached the level where they’re on the radar of walled-up industry higher-ups like Lefsetz:

Encore two was performed with the Dillinger Escape Plan. An act I’d never heard of, but I’ll never forget. A complete band, a NIN doppelganger, who took the stage with such energy that you could feel it blasting in your face. The drummer pounded, then they kicked around his big bass drum, threw it in the air. The guitarist twirled his guitar around his body, again and again. And the lead singer jumped into the audience. Rick Mueller said it was the most exciting act he’d seen all year, Jim said he wanted to see them again. All I’ll say is they got my attention!

Click to read more…