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 10 – halo 11 – halo 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

Nine Inch Nails-Fixed (halo 6)

Released on December 7, 1992 on nothing records through TVT Records and Interscope Records, Fixed is a remix EP by Nine Inch Nails that serves as a companion piece to the Broken EP as it features six different remixes to songs on the album. The record is the first of several remix recordings Trent Reznor would release as it would often serve as companion pieces to any album or record that was made. The record would feature remixes from Reznor as well as NIN cohorts Chris Vrenna, James Wooley, and engineer Sean Beavan along with members of the industrial group Coil, producer Butch Vig, producer J.G. Thirlwell, artist Paul Kendall, and performance artist Bob Flanagan. The result would be a standard bearer of what a remix record should be in the realm of alternative music.




The opening track is a remix of Gave Up by Coil with Danny Hyde as it starts off with these warbling layers of vocals and keyboards as it turns into something speedy and frenetic with its beats, pulsating vocal sounds, synthesizers, and guitar spurts as it is a major standout of the record which kicks things off to a great start. The first of two remixes for the song Wish is by J.G. Thirlwell who emphasizes on loops of the song’s beats and synthesizers while extending pieces on some of the instruments and creating new sound effects for some of the instruments and for Reznor’s vocals. The remix for Happiness in Slavery by Trent Reznor and Chris Vrenna with loops by Paul Kendall is largely an electronic take on the song with more emphasis on its synthesizers and drum machine beats as they’re extended to serve as an instrumental piece with screams from Bob Flanagan’s from the song’s video.




Throw This Away is a remix of Last as it’s a remix in two parts with the first section by Reznor and Vrenna that emphasizes on the bass line from Suck with windy sounds in the background that would warble through soft vocals of the song as it would build up into something more intense with hammering beats and driving guitars from an edited and aborted remix by Butch Vig that would later be released publically in 2007 in its full version. The second remix of Wish in Fist Fuck by J.G. Thirlwell that is largely an instrumental take on the song with extended loops on the drums and guitars as well as warbling synthesizers and distorted samples from the musical Showboat and a speech by Timothy Leary as it would become intense toward its coda. The closer is a remix of Happiness in Slavery entitled Screaming Slave by Reznor, Vrenna, Sean Beavan, Bill Kennedy, Martin Brumbach, and screams by Bob Flanagan. It’s essentially an instrumental take on the song that features warbled synthesizers and loops with bits of the original song appearing with waves of noisy synthesizers in the remix.




Fixed is a phenomenal remix EP from Nine Inch Nails. Not only is it a fitting companion piece to Broken but it’s also a record that serves as what Trent Reznor could do in bringing others to create new interpretations of his songs and make it sound unique. In the end, Fixed is an incredible remix EP from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 7 – halo 8 – halo 9 – halo 10 – halo 11 – halo 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