Nine Inch Nails: “Burning Bright (Field On Fire)” (Not The Actual Events, The Null Corporation 2016)

Brand new music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as Nine Inch Nails. It’s a sharp contrast to their collaborations on film scores of recent years, and seems to be throwing NIN fans a curveball (I’ve read a lot of negative comments from fans and non-fans alike). Like most artists who evolve, Trent Reznor is likely in a very different place in life than when he was making The Fragile 20 years ago, and so I’m hardly surprised that he’s exploring something different. This last track of its five is my favorite, a wall of sound with a triumphant chorus. I like that this doesn’t sound much at all like his last one, and hope that he continues to push himself out of the confines of genre and presumption. I’m curious as to whether his impending 2017 “major projects” will continue this trajectory or if they will present something entirely different.