The new Nine Inch Nails album, Year Zero, releases today, which is unusual because the other NIN albums were all released about five years apart. The last album, With Teeth, was released only two years ago. According to Trent Reznor, he was inspired and suddenly the album just poured out of him. The main theme of the album is of a future Orwellian totalitarian state and the loss of individual rights.

The album is being promoted with a viral marketing campaign similar to the alternate reality game that surrounded the movie AI. I kept up with the AI game when it first came out, because it told a compelling story and had some fun (although extremely difficult) puzzles. I don’t have the time to get into another game like that (the AI game did take up a lot of free time), but I’m certainly curious if it’s as good as the AI one.

Anyway, I already listened to most of the album from the official website and I’m impressed. I thought With Teeth was decent but not the masterpiece that The Downward Spiral was. This new album is definitely more innovative and I’m looking forward to listening to it a few more times to form a stronger opinion.

Curious? Go to the official website and listen to the entire album.