Listening to a Nine Inch Nails album has always been a musical experience unto itself, with highly repetitive, heavily synthesized sounds of electric shavers, guitars, machinery and beeps and buzzes straight out of a Tandy 1000 computer (circa 1985). Without question, as soon as Reznor finds a way to make a Rubber Ducky musical, it will be part of a track — assuming he hasn't already, of course. If you were to attempt to assign Mortal Kombat characters to contemporary musicians, there would certainly be a great amount of debate over who should be Sub-Zero or Liu Kang, but without question, Nine Inch Nails would be Shang Tsung, the shape shifter. No, Reznor isn't a sorcerer, nor does he have a ponytail down to his knees or the ability to actually change himself into Kurt Cobain, or Milli Vanilli, for that matter. In the acoustic sense, however, Reznor — who is the sole creative force behind Nine Inch Nails, writing all and playing most of the material — has been able to change the approach of NIN from album to album, while still maintaining its fundamental sound, much like a modern-day David Bowie (though not nearly as visual, of course). With the release of his latest album, Year Zero, Reznor has once again shifted shape, gears and focus, all while staying true to his unique industrial-rock sound. Reznor is calling Year Zero a concept album — which is interesting since you could almost consider all of NIN releases to date conceptual — exploring how today's government is going to affect the world down the road, specifically 15 years from now, in the year 2022. The title is assumedly in reference to the year when the climax of the global conflict leads to a new starting date in history, essentially a reboot. What's it all about? Well, it takes place about 15 years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power have continued to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from the perspectives of various people in this world, Year Zero examines these various viewpoints against an impending moment of truth. It's clear that the picture painted is a bleak one — what else would you expect? — with songs like "The Beginning of the End" and "The Great Destroyer" seemingly describing mass attacks and atrocities. The general feel of the album is very apocalyptic, in the vein of Gary Numan's oft-covered cult single "Down in the Park," and George Orwell's "1984." In the wake of last week's Virginia Tech massacre, "The Great Destroyer" comes across as an almost haunting tune, describing the mind of a ticking time bomb. At one point, Renzor croons, "I hope they cannot see the limitless potential living inside of me to murder everything." The first single off the record, "Survivalism," has been out for some time and was immediately an obvious change of pace for NIN, with an interesting blend of vocals and sound and an uncharacteristic bubbly, energetic beat. However, more classic Nine Inch Nails distortion and sci-fi sounds can be found later in songs like "Vessel" and "In this Twilight" Interestingly enough, the promotion of Reznor's new album has been distinctive: The album is being released with an alternative-reality game that essentially functions as a worldwide scavenger hunt of clues and information geared toward revealing the full message and story behind Year Zero, which is slated to eventually be accompanied by a feature film. Luckily, while Reznor may be the Shang Tsung of modern music, it's hard to imagine that any celluloid exploration he might take could possibly be as bad as the Mortal Kombat movie. Grade: 4 out of 5