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
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