Year Zero

So, while I am a NIN fan, I was rather unhappy with With Teeth. Luckily, however, Year Zero is a pleasant surprise. Year Zero is a concept album intended to reflect the views of various individuals in the dystopian US of the near future. While I am a fan of dystopian works in general, this album far surpasses the efforts of other artists in their attempts to create dystopian concept albums (e.g. Fear Factory's Obsolete - but I wonder if Pink Floyd's The Wall could be considered a dystopian concept album).

While ign failed to realize the ingenuity and worth of Reznor's latest work, I attribute this to complacency on the part of the media in general. It is difficult for the media to accept anything that doesn't sound generic without a substantial payment (luckily, however, Elliot Spitzer got the ball rolling to eliminate payola). Regardless of what the media in general thinks, at least "The Great Destroyer" is worth a listen before dismissing the album.