Tuesday, May 4th 2010
News: How To Destroy Angels
One Way To Destroy Angels: Drowning
Last week, me brought to you the news of what was supposedly a new project from Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, entitled How To Destroy Angels. This morning, the first track from their forthcoming 6-track self-titled EP surfaced, and Trent Reznor confirmed via Twitter that this is indeed his gig. You can check out the 7-minute slow-jam A Drowning below.
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The band appears to be comprised of Trent, Mariqueen, and Atticus Ross.
So what’s the verdict, Mr. Fernando? Let’s get some actual subjectivity going on, brother! Show your opinion tits! Sounds to me like a mediocre singer is wheezing over a throwaway instrumental track from a while after the Downward Spiral sessions. Entirely uninspiring and void of innovation. There’s a hell of a lot of things Trent could’ve done as a first step out of the NIN shadow, but he decided to play it safe with a John & Yoko reenactment that adds virtually nothing to the tapestry of what he’s created thus far. Anyone getting excited over this most definitely has an account on a NIN fan forum. There’s simply no way around it.
I’m trying not to sound like a dick, but I say “poor man’s Portishead”, so far.
That’s almost a compliment.
You know lets see you two create something before throwing out the crap.
Hes has always done great work and now just because hes doing something with his wife it Yoko and John.
You create what he has then say shit if you want!!
:( perhaps its too early to say somethin bad bout this, but this is nothin compared to the old stuff he used to do.
Johnny Firecloud, yes that is exciting et I do have an account on nin.com
@Blackrosestudios So according to you, we all have to be in the industry making things to critique it? Can’t critique GM, I don’t make cars. Can’t critique Apple, I don’t make iPads.
Well, it sounds very reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, no doubt about it. That’s no plus to me. On it’s own, I think it can be taken a bit out of context, dull if you may. Perhaps in the EP it will make more sens? Hope so…
But only 6 songs? Come ON!
It sounds like a Year Zero outtake for sure. Mariqueen’s voice is nice though, I just wish the material was more “unique,” if that makes any sense. Still excited for the EP.
For me, I am loving this. I wish Alan Wilder would also make an EP, with Toni Halliday, and both these EP would come out this summer! :-) Count me attracted to Destroying angels already.
exactly as blackgrease said. i don’t criticize things based on my own abilities. who does? like you’d live with a car with a faulty engine just because they did better than you could. i bet blackrosecatlady up there would be bitching just like anyone else. she should probably just get off trent’s nutzors. this stuff is a snoozefest. it ain’t john and yoko, but it’s never a good idea to be in a band with your woman. like he’s gonna be as open with her if he doesn’t love something as he would be if it was danny lohner sitting there.
Horrible idea like Slim said, but it’s ok. And the EP will probably be “good”. As in, it will sound cool and be well produced and have a chick with a “good” voice on it. Nothing that anyone is likely to care about in 5 years from now.
what a let down
@Blackrosestudios Oh man, I totally forgot about the “DON’T CRITICIZE ANYTHING YOU CAN’T DUPLICATE” rule. Close down the website, immediately!
Oops, I feel asleep at the 1:11 mark. Did I miss anything?
boring. tricky and martina did it zillion times better, 15 years ago.
You guys are real idiots CRITICIZE when you are able to know how much work actually goes into making a product or album or anything like this website and people trash your ideas or your vision.
thank you for your patronage, crazy cat lady.
Why are you here then? Did you get lost?
Trent is a big boy, he can handle people not liking his music.
This is boring, but I finally got to hear the whole new Deftones album and holy balls is it good. Your review was way to early for those who buy albums legally and I was like a crack head that finally got his smack.
Today I learnt an important lesson: never listen to a 7 minute song that starts boring, expecting it to get un-boring at some point.
You guys are such bitches.
The track is indeed sort of trip-hoppy/Year Zeroish but with the NiN mark all over it.
Some of you feel that this is uninspiring? fair enough.
But c’mon, it’s only a preview out of a freakin EP!
I don’t think that it’s that awful to go bashing this into oblivion and hypothesise on the doomed fate of the band because of the start presence of the missus.
rubbish can’t edit this stuff.
*sort of trip-hoppy/Year Zeroish with the NiN mark
*because of the star presence
How come people on here are always saying “don’t judge him unless you can do what he does?. I’m pretty sure that’s the entire premise of being a music critic. And everyone’s a critic; you can’t tell me that you don’t ever say “this music sucks”. Being judgemental is being human.
C’mon guys, it was a good song, had some cool atmospheric sounds, and was not boring. Theres a difference between a slow song and a boring song. Why all the negativity? Its new music from Trent.
The only bad thing about this song is it doesn’t sound 100% new from Trent’s recent material. Its about 86.4% new.
But all that about this being unused Downward Spiral tracks or Year Zero tracks, being uninspiring, and just playing it safe is just damn stupid. The EP isn’t out yet.
Yes, it’s boring. Yes, it has been done a few times before, and better at that. Will I still listen to it? Absolutely. I guess I don’t listen to the NIN and anything Trent Renznor produces for the musical excitement of it all. I listen to it because it sets a mood very few artists have the ability to accomplish. I mean, what did we really expect? He’s been recycling lyrical themes since the year 2000 and has definitely used the same process and media of creating since… he became a big deal?
Why do we automaticlly have to worship something just because Trent has his name on it. Yes, there are some cool atmospheric sounds, but there isn’t any emotion in this song at all. It’s all deadpan. I’ll blame it on the monatone vocals the whole way through. There isn’t any excitment. There are plenty of people who play the same stuff, but they make you feel something.
She’s got no guts in her vocals. The music is definitely YZ, but I don’t mind that so much. I think I shall strip out her vocals and have it be Ghosts.
Ditto to these people: @FernandoDante, @adrian, @JohnnyFirecloud.
Yoko
@rapiddave: Thanks for pointing out that there is a difference between slow songs and boring songs. I wasn’t aware of this. Armed with my new found knowledge, I’ll amend my statement – this song is slow AND boring.
To those defending the song with the non-argument “The EP isn’t out yet” or “it’s just a preview of an EP”, I have this to say: the EP maybe not be out, but this track is, and it’s kind of lame. The EP will be judged upon its own merits upon release, but as a preview track, “A Drowning” should be able to stand up on its own.
I have all the respect in the world for Trent and zero for Lennon……that being said, Trent and Mariqueen wish they were John and Yoko. This is flat out dull and whoever said “Trent sets a mood” blah blah bullshit bullshit is just smoking his cock. This didn’t set a mood, and if it did it was one worth starting a lynch mob over. Her vocals were mediocre AT BEST and there was barely any substance to the instrumentals. The ascension around 4:20 into the song had some girth but it was just a cock tease for what could have made a 7+ minute song decent. Also, the 15-20 seconds of silence at the end of the track? Mood setting or wasting my time?
I actually like it quite a bit, it took a few listens but its really grown on me.
hahaha man i love our site. i’m on a plane for a day and the batshittery hits a new high.
There’s about 152 misogynist jokes waiting to be posted here: http://www.last.fm/music/How+To+Destroy+Angels/+images/45993963
I’m curious to hear the other 5 songs, but this track was rather dull.
Boring
Okay, I’m not losing my shit over this song, but honestly, I kind of like it. It’s somewhere between Massive Attack and “Still,” and considering that they named themselves after an old Coil track, I get the feeling that there’s gonna be a lot of atmospheric shit like this on the EP. I’m kind of looking forward to it. It’s probably not gonna change the way we look at music or anything like that, but at the very least it sounds interesting.
I think some of you were expecting too much from this. I mean come on, its a 6 song ep with his wife. Im just glad it doesn’t suck. I mean its not like he going to make another fragile or downward spiral, not to mention he’s like 45 now. Personally, I like it alot and based on the other teasers on their site the others songs are going to be alot different. This actually has me really exited for the ep.
Year Zero is sort of my favorite NIN album. Trent Reznor wrote that in his 40′s. And it kicks major ass. Let’s not lower our standards when criticizing this EP.
After one more day, I am still loving this, probably even more than yesterday.
It’s not a bad song, but I keep hearing Trent singing in my head and not her. The vocal melody is right from the NIN playbook. It sounds like a demo that, if properly worked up, could be a great song. YZ influence is all over it. And being 45 has nothing to do with creative output. That’s just absurd.
The more I hear this, the more it reminds me of a few girls I knew in high school who, on top of wearing too much eyeliner and piercings, were convinced that their brooding, quiet singing was actually good, and their terrible poetry actually made sense. This is just totally weak, start to finish.
The song has really grown on me and is VERY NIN, the only thing is I keep wishing it was Trent singing and not Mariqueen. I expected a little more from her voice. Sorry Mariqueen …
Of course a 6 song EP from a side project isn’t gonna quite equal the brilliance of his concept albums, but I’ll probly take this any day over radio singles like The Hand That Feeds or Survivalism.
DUET!!!!! all I gotta say….