Matt Matasci December 16th, 2016 - 11:50 AM
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
After promising all year that 2016 would feature new music from Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor and company have made good with the announcement today of a new 5-song EP titled Not The Actual Events. It will be self-released on December 23. Pre-orders are available now.
Last week, Reznor hinted that an announcement could be pending when he reminded the world that there are still a few weeks left in 2016. The speculation of impending news grew to a fever pitch yesterday when the band scrubbed everything from their site. All that remained was the ubiquitous NIN logo, a sign that the site was undergoing maintenance in preparation for a new announcement.
That is not the only big Nine Inch Nails news to be revealed today. The short description that announced the new EP also indicated that long-time collaborator Atticus Ross has become an official member of the band.
NIN.com describes the new EP as “an unexpected left turn from Hesitation Marks, the band’s eight studio album which was released in 2013. The album is also “unrecognizable” compared to Ross and Reznor’s work on film scores like Before the Flood and Gone Girl. Reznor described the record as being “fairly impenetrable” and “unfriendly.”
There are two physical formats available for Not The Actual Events. The first is a one-sided 180 gram vinyl record while the other option is a unique, limited-edition digital release with a “physical component” version. As of press time it is not clear what exactly that “physical component” entails.
Then today, this was posted to Trent Reznor’s Instagram account:
The band’s official site also added this photo of the EP’s cover:
Not The Actual Events
01. Branches/Bones
02. Dear World,
03. She’s Gone Away
04. The Idea of You
05. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
Some may have been hoping for a full-length release from Nine Inch Nails, but as Reznor puts it: “It’s an EP because that ended up being the proper length to tell that story.”
Simultaneous to the announcement of a new EP and Ross’s membership in Nine Inch Nails, the band also revealed the release of The Fragile: Deviations 1, which will be a limited edition 4x LP. The collection will feature 37 instrumental, alternative and unreleased cuts and was created by Ross and Reznor. It too is available for preorder today.
UPDATE (12/21): Those clamoring to get a taste of Nine Inch Nails’ latest release, the EP Not The Actual Events, will have a chance a day early. The album will be premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio program tomorrow, December 22 at 8 pm PST. As mentioned above, the record will be available digitally on Dec. 23.
.@nineinchnails x @zanelowe.
Hear #NotTheActualEvents on #Beats1 this Thursday before it’s released on @AppleMusic. https://t.co/Qxp6GTZZ8D pic.twitter.com/ooJlwtHal1— Beats 1 (@Beats1) December 21, 2016
UPDATE: (12/23): Following the premiere of Not The Actual Events on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 program, Trent Reznor revealed that Nine Inch Nails has not one, but two major works on tap for 2017.
Now that the album is available to the music-buying public, the album credits have been revealed, and some of the biggest names in modern rock contributed to the EP. Dave Grohl lent a hand to the penultimate track on the album, “The Idea of You.” On the most recent single “Burning Bright (Field on Fire),” Dave Navarro makes an appearance. The last big name guest to appear on the record makes a lot of sense, as it is the wife of Reznor and bandmate in How To Destroy Angels, Mariqueen Maandig.
