Monday, July 30, 2018

Nine Inch Nails-Quake OST




Released on June 22, 1996 from id Software, the music soundtrack to the video game Quake is a soundtrack album of instrumentals written by Trent Reznor and performed by members of the live version of Nine Inch Nails in Reznor, drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna, guitarist Robin Finck, multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, and keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser. The album would be a mixture of industrial rock that NIN had popularized along with some ambient music that Reznor would later explore into his film score work more than a decade after the release of the soundtrack.




The album opener is its main theme as it is driven by pulsating beats, looped guitar riffs, soothing synthesizers in the background, and looped screams by Reznor as it would soften up into this eerie ambient piece in the middle. Aftermath is this haunting track filled with sounds of winds mixed in with warbling and soothing synthesizer textures with soft beats in the background as it help maintains a mood for the game. The Hall of Souls is another ambient-based piece with sounds of droning and buzzing synthesizers in the background with some siren-like textures in the background and other warbling noises that help add to horror of the game as the sound would intensify as it goes on with sounds of dripping synthesizer drones. It is Raped is a mesmerizing track that is also ambient-based but with its layers of buzzing synthesizers and pulsating beats in the background under the sound of soft yet siren-like synthesizer swirls and electronic textures that fade in and out as it includes bits of saxophones.

Parallel Dimensions is based mainly on loops though sounds of a thumping beat and fan-like sounds in the background with warbling synthesizers as it maintains this repetitive sound of loops as it appears on one of the game’s levels to help maintain that dark atmosphere. Life is this hypnotic track led by this sound of warbling yet heartbeat-rhythmic synthesizer loop with swirling electronic backgrounds that appear as it help add to the sense of terror and suspense. Damnation is a cut that is largely-based on dark ambient textures with its eerie and soothing synthesizers, buzzing electronic sounds, soft yet metallic percussive beats, and sounds of insects that would intensify in sound as it help play into the suspense.

Focus is this cut that slithers with its synthesizers and warbling electronic textures that would build up with sounds of bubbling guitar textures as it would maintain this atmosphere of terror that goes on in the game. Falling is a short three-and-a-half minute piece of droning and ominous sounds of electronic textures with low-key beats in the background that appear in the middle with windy and machine-like sounds. The album closer The Reaction is a track that feature crackling sounds that would appear in the background with soft metallic percussion loops and dissonant electronic textures that would by layered by sounds as if it’s playing underwater which add to the dark atmosphere during the game.

The soundtrack to Quake is an excellent album from Nine Inch Nails as well as fans of the game series. Though it’s more of an experimental record of sorts that would later pre-date some of the recordings Trent Reznor would make more than a decade later. It is still a fascinating album that showcase a brief period of Reznor doing a small project that would later be a precursor of the work he would do in the world of film. In the end, the soundtrack to Quake is a superb soundtrack album from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)

seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)

Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Lost Highway OST

Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/18 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

© thevoid99 2018

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Nine Inch Nails-Further Down the Spiral (halo 10)




Released on June 1, 1995 from nothing records and Interscope Records, Further Down the Spiral (halo 10) is a remix album that feature many remixes of material from The Downward Spiral that are mixed by not just Nine Inch Nails but several other artists and producers. Among them are NIN cohorts Sean Beavan, Brian Pollock, and then-live keyboardist Charlie Clouser as well as Rick Rubin, members of the industrial group Coil, J.G. Thirlwell, and a couple of original compositions by Richard D. James as Aphex Twin. The record showcases new interpretations of the songs from The Downward Spiral as well as pushing the art of what remixes can be in what is certainly one of the finest records from NIN.




The album opens with a remix of Piggy subtitled (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) that is produced by Rick Rubin that starts off soft with sounds of creaking noise loops and smooth yet distorted beats by famed session musician Kim Bullard that is followed by melodic pianos until the chorus kicks in with pulsating beats and thrashing guitars by Jane’s Addiction/then-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro as the remix moves back and forth in structure. The Art of Self Destruction is a remix of Mr. Self Destruct that is featured in three different mixes. Self Destruction, Part One by the then-live line-up of NIN in vocalist Trent Reznor, guitarist Robin Finck, multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser, and drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna along with engineers Sean Beavan and Brian Pollock is really a re-interpretation of the song with Reznor whispering the song’s lyrics with wailing and layered guitars from Finck and Lohner, warbling beats from Clouser and Vrenna, and other electronic textures as well as a noisy guitar solo by Finck and a hammering and thrashing instrumentation towards the end.




The other two remixes in The Art of Self Destruction are by J.G. Thirlwell as Self Destruction, Part Two emphasizes on the chugging beats, layers of electronic noises, and Adrian Belew’s wailing guitar work as it would include other layers of sounds including samples of different percussions and noises that include a sample of Time by David Bowie. Self Destruction, Final is a continuation of its predecessor by Thirlwell with its emphasis on bopping percussions, noisy synthesizers, and looped guitar tracks by Belew that starts off as an instrumental until Reznor’s vocals appear after three minutes of instrumental as the chorus would include more beats and guitars as well as samples of Bowie’s Time that would pop up later and in a loop.




A remix of The Downward Spiral subtitled (The Bottom) by Peter Christopherson, Jhon Balance, and Drew McDowall of Coil with Danny Hyde is an atmospheric remix that starts off with warbling sounds of synthesizer textures and Reznor’s soft vocals with some distortion that would then be followed by sounds of sprinkling synthesizer melodies that is carried by sounds of guitars, pulsating beats, and synthesizers in the background as it is one of the album’s standout cuts. A remix of Hurt subtitled (Quiet) by Trent Reznor is essentially a cleaner mix of the song from its album version as it has less of a static filling in the background along with a cleaner guitar sound and a climax that is less impactful.




The first of three remixes of the song Eraser by Coil and Danny Hyde feature different takes on the song as the first remix subtitled (Denial; Realization) opens with sounds of swirling guitar and electronic loops that becomes clearer by the song’s guitar riffs and screams in the background that would intensify with its beats and Reznor’s vocals in parts of the songs that he sings. The second remix subtitled (Polite) is a calmer version of the song that is driven by a melodic yet swooning synthesizer with some strings in the background as Reznor sings lyrics of the song. Erased, Over, Out is the third remix as it emphasizes on the warbling synthesizers being looped with slow screams that would reverberate throughout the entire track.




The first of two contributing tracks by Aphex Twin in At the Heart of It All as it is this track with distorted yet throbbing beats with metallic drum beats as well as sounds of bass-drone synthesizers that is definitely inspired by NIN that has James emphasizing on atmosphere and distortion. The second Aphex Twin contribution in The Beauty of Being Numb is a track in two parts with the first by NIN with Beavan and Pollock is Mr. Self Destruct being played backwards with additional instrumentations that goes on for more than a minute-and-a-half until it becomes a completely different track by James that is largely an ambient pieces with warbling noises in the background to James playing a smooth piano track as it would crossfade into the album closer Erased, Over, Out.



The international version of Further Down the Spiral (halo 10 v2) is a different version of the album that is presented in ten tracks rather than the 11 in the U.S. version with some major differences. Tracks such as Self Destruct, Part Two, Hurt (Quiet), Eraser (Polite), Erased, Over, Out, and The Beauty of Being Numb are replaced in favor of a live version of Hurt, Self Destruct, Part Three, and two remixes of Heresy and Ruiner by Charlie Clouser. The live version of Hurt which was the version used for the song’s music video is powerful with the piano replacing the guitar on the song with Reznor being more emotive in the song vocally. Self Destruct, Part Three by J.G. Thirlwell is the remix that follows closely to the original song with additional textures in some of the quieter parts as well as in Belew’s guitar.




The remix of Heresy subtitled (Version) by Charlie Clouser that emphasizes on a pulsating yet steady beat with warbling vocals and other textures such as samples from a TV show in the remix as it is standout. Clouser’s remix of Ruiner subtitled (Version) as it is a synthesizer-driven remix with Reznor’s whispering vocals as the verses are switched from the original as it include some rhythmic beats, pulsating live drums, and warbling vocals for the song’s bridge as it’s another example of Clouser’s brilliant contributions to NIN. The Japanese version of the album included an extra track which is a remix of Reptile in Reptilian by Dave “Rave” Ogilvie that appeared previously in the single for March of the Pigs.




Further Down the Spiral is an incredible remix album from Nine Inch Nails. Not only the album, in its two different versions, is an exciting album that gives listeners ideas of what songs can be in their different interpretations but also show that NIN can do so much for others in manipulating their songs or be inspired by the group such as Aphex Twin in the 2 contributing tracks Richard D. James provide. In the end, Further Down the Spiral is a spectacular remix album from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 11halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)

seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)

Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST

Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

© thevoid99 2018

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Various Artists-Natural Born Killers OST




Released on August 23, 1994 from nothing records and Interscope Records, the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers is an audio companion piece to the Oliver Stone film of the same name. Produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails with music direction from Stone and supervision by Budd Carr, the album is a mixture of songs that appear on the album as well as musical pieces that is mixed in with audio from the film. The result is one of the most intense and mesmerizing film soundtracks of the 1990s.




The album’s opener and penultimate track both come from Leonard Cohen as the former in an edited version of Waiting for the Miracle is a haunting ballad while the latter in the more upbeat The Future play into the chaos and joy of Mickey and Mallory Knox as they’re top-notch songs from Cohen with the former seguing through dialogue of a man trying to flirt with Mallory as it kicks in towards the song Shitlist by L7 that is this intense, hard-rocking song. The song appears to introduce Mickey and Mallory in their element as killers as it would segue into Dan Zane’s instrumental Moon Over Greene County as it is this country music piece with dreamy guitars and harmonicas as Mickey and Mallory threaten the diner’s sole survivor. A remixed version of Patti Smith’s Rock N’ Roll N***er by Mark “Flood” Ellis appears in the film’s opening credits and in a scene at a super pharmacy as it is this blazing punk rock song that is fierce and abrasive.


Nine Inch Nails: Burn (1994) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.



A shortened version of the Cowboy Junkies’ cover of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane is presented in a somber ballad to express the love between Mickey and Mallory which is a standout track as is another ballad in a cover of the 1950s pop ballad You Belong to Me by Bob Dylan as it’s this simple acoustic ballad from Dylan that is one of his finest recordings. An edited version of Duane Eddy’s instrumental The Trembler with its electric guitar twangs and riffs is a standout as it play into Mickey’s escape from prison. One of the new tracks made specifically for the film’s soundtrack is Burn by Nine Inch Nails that feature these intense trash-can sounding beats, layers of melodic and droning synthesizers, Reznor’s angry vocals, and an odd structure that includes a fast-paced bridge with swirling guitars and keyboards that live drum tracks from NIN cohort Chris Vrenna. The track is one of three tracks Reznor contributes to the album that include an edited/expanded version of Something I Can Never Have that expands on the instrumental for a stark scene with Mickey and Mallory while the other contribution is the ambient-based instrumental A Warm Place that play into a confrontation between Mickey and Jack Scagnetti.




Route 666 that is mainly a score piece by one of the film’s editors in Brian Berdan that features dialogue spoken by the character Wayne Gale who talks about a highway that is considered deadly as it segues into another audio collage piece in Totally Hot that features an edited excerpt of Kipenda Roho by Remmy Ongala and Orchestra Super Matimila as it is this vibrant Latin-jazz piece mixed in with dialogue of the film as it relates to the media coverage of Mickey and Mallory Knox. Patsy Cline’s Back in Baby’s Arms is a standout track as it is this upbeat country song that is a rich song that play into the love life of Mickey and Mallory. An edited version of Taboo by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel is this eerie song filled with Ali Khan’s chants and Gabriel’s ambient background as it play into the dark world of Mallory as it would lead into another audio collage track Sex is Violent that features excerpts of Jane’s Addiction’s Ted, Just Admit It and Diamanda Galas’ cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You that play into Mallory’s sexual desire and a bad encounter with a young man.




The edited version of History (Repeats Itself) by A.O.S. is a haunting ballad that play into the dark journey of Mickey and Mallory that would segue into the edited/extended version of Something I Can Never Have and a score piece entitled I Will Take You Home by Russel Means that is essentially an audio version of a scene with Mickey, Mallory, and Means’ character as this Navajo doing a chant that would unfortunately give Mickey nightmares. An edited version of Drums A Go-Go by Hollywood Persuaders is a percussion-based piece with bombastic horns and percussions that play into the terror that Mickey and Mallory is dealing with. Hungry Ants is a music piece that features excerpts of two instrumentals by Barry Adamson in Checkpoint Charlie and Violation of Expectation as it play into Scagnetti’s meeting with Warden Dwight McClusky with the first part being this smooth yet pulsating piece and the second half being this ambient-like piece.




Dr. Dre’s The Day the Niggaz Took Over is this throbbing yet sonically-intense song with its broad production of beats and electronics as the song feature lyrics about the 1992 L.A. riots with Dre, Snoop Dogg, RBX, and Dat Nigga Daz rapping about the riots as it plays into a scene in prison. A cover of Cissie Cobb’s Born Bad is a scene that has Mallory singing the song with Scagnetti entranced by her singing as it’s a great piece for the scene. Fall of the Rebel Angels by Sergio Cervetti is this dark ambient music piece that play into Mickey’s meeting with Wayne Gale as it would segue into the fast-paced industrial song Forkboy by Lard as it is this intense and aggressive song that features blazing vocals from Jello Biafra in a side-project from Al Jourgensen of Ministry. Batonga in Batongaville is an audio collage piece that features excerpts of A Night on Bare Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky that is performed by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra as it is this intense track of Wayne Gale reporting a prison riot as it would lead into the NIN instrumental A Warm Place.




Allah, Mohammed, Char, Yaar by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party that features except of Diamanda Galas’ Judgement Day is a music piece that play into the prison riot as it this vibrant chant piece with traditional instruments that layered vocals from Ali Khan and Galas. Appearing at the end of Leonard Cohen’s The Future is a comedic dialogue that relates to Wayne Gale and his fate which would lead to the album closer in Tha Dogg Pound’s What Would U Do? as it is this song with its upbeat yet bopping beats, swooning synthesizers, and fast-paced raps from Dat Nigga Daz and Kurupt that features contributions from Snoop Dogg and Jewell which is this upbeat gangsta rap song that is really a bonus track on the album since the song doesn’t appear in the film.




Among the material that isn’t on the soundtrack but appeared in the film are excerpts of Rage Against the Machine’s Bombtrack and Take the Power Back, Marilyn Manson’s Cyclops, Leonard Cohen’s Anthem, the Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack, the Specials’ Ghost Town, two cuts by Peter Gabriel in The Rhythm of the Heat and In Doubt, and the Cowboy Junkies’ If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man as they appear in brief moments in the film whether it’s in darkly-humorous pieces or something violent.

The soundtrack to Natural Born Killers is a tremendous film soundtrack thanks in part to the work of Trent Reznor. Not only does it serve as this great audio companion piece to the film but it also play into the idea of what a music soundtrack should be rather than just a compilation of songs from a movie. In the end, the Natural Born Killers soundtrack is a sensational soundtrack album from Trent Reznor and Oliver Stone.

Related: Natural Born Killers

© thevoid99 2018

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Nine Inch Nails-Closer to God (halo 9)




Released on May 30, 1994, the Closer to God remix EP (halo 9) is a singles release to promote the song Closer as it include five remixes of the songs plus the original song, two other remixes, and a B-side cover of Soft Cell’s Memorabilia. The EP doesn’t just showcase variations of the song through its remixes and reinterpretations but also showcase material that presents ideas of cuts from The Downward Spiral in a re-interpreted and remixed form. With NIN leader Trent Reznor heading the compilation along with collaborators such as live band members Chris Vrenna and Robin Finck as well as studio collaborators in Sean Beaven and Brian Pollock. The record include contributions from Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto, the industrial group Coil, Adrian Sherwood, Bill Kennedy, Scott Humphrey, Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, and several others. The result is a marvelous and enthralling remix EP from NIN.




The closing track of the EP is Closer as it is the song where many of the remixes in this record comes from. With its heartbeat rhythm sampled from the Iggy Pop song Nightclubbing, layers of synthesizers that range from melodic, eerie, and unsettling, spurts of guitars, and Reznor’s haunting lyrics of sex and loneliness. It is definitely one of the definitive songs of the 1990s as it has this layer of richness in its production while also being dangerous in its lyrical content. The opening track of the EP is a rework of the song in Closer to God that is produced by Reznor, Sean Beaven, and Brian Pollock that has different arrangements to the lyrics and sound where it’s more upbeat in its presentation with distorted and warbling beats, melodic synthesizers, driving guitars, and Reznor’s snarling vocals to re-worked lyrics of the song. The first of four remixes of Closer in (Precursor) by Coil and Danny Hyde as it’s a remix that is emphasized on atmosphere by distorting Reznor’s vocals on the song with warbling layers of synthesizers, smooth yet throbbing beats, and bass grooves that would scratch through the track.




The (Deviation) remix by Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto and Craig Silvey is mainly driven by droning bass lines, gangsta-funk whistles, a steady yet throbbing rhythm, and droning guitar loops as it play with song’s arrangements and instrumentations. The (Internal) remix by Bill Kennedy, Scott Humphrey, John “Geetus” Aguto, Paul Decarli, and Eric Claudiex is emphasized on its vocals panning left to right and vice versa in its stereo setting along with some of its instrumentations and more emphasis on the beats to help drive the remix as it is one of the record’s more complex mixes. The (Further Away) remix by Kennedy, Humphrey, Aguto, Decarli, and Claudiex is a mix that is emphasized on atmosphere with its warbling synthesizer loops, a slower beat with samples from another B-side in the instrumental A Violet Fluid, distorted vocals, and twangy guitars as it another layered remix that help play into the richness of the song.




The remix of Heresy known as (Blind) by Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, Anthony Valcic, and Joe Bisara is a fast-paced and dance-driven mix of the song with more emphasis on pulsating beats and warbling synthesizers as well as a mix of Reznor’s vocals in a whispered tone from its demo and other textures. The cover of Soft Cell’s Memorabilia by Reznor, Beaven, Pollock, Chris Vrenna, Robin Finck, and John Van Eaton as it feature scratchy layers of synthesizers and sequencers with a warbling beat, distorted guitars from Finck, and Reznor’s smooth vocals as he sings Marc Almond’s sexually-driven lyrics as it include samples from a prank sex phone call to someone named Sugar and a friend. March of the Fuckheads by Adrian Sherwood is a track that takes many of the instrumentation of tracks from The Downward Spiral into layers of warbling marching beats, sprinkling synthesizers, and other layers of electronics.




The record was released in two versions as the U.S. version features all of the tracks on one entire CD while the British imported version was released in a 2-disc set for collectors as the first disc featured Closer and its remixes while the second disc featured Closer to God and the three non-Closer cuts.

Closer to God is a phenomenal remix EP from Nine Inch Nails. It’s a record that showcases the outfit at its most complex with its approach to remixes as well as creating reinterpretations of the song as well as an offbeat yet fun B-side cover of a song by Soft Cell. In the end, Closer to God is a sensational record from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 10halo 11halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)

seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)

Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OSTQuake OST - Lost Highway OST

Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

© thevoid99 2018