Nine Inch Nails - 'Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D'

Another Nine Inch Nails release (the ridiculously sexy Year Zero) has brought with it another NIN remix companion, Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D, which translates to “Year Zero Remixed” (aka the less annoying-to-type title). Just as the Every Day is Exactly the Same EP did for With Teeth, this release provides quality dance tunes that emphasize immediate beats and thrills, as opposed to the mind-boggling experimentation of previous remix discs like Fixed or the just-barely-different remixes found on the likes of the “Down In It” and “Sin” singles.

Overall, “Year Zero Remixed” is a solid listen, re-imagining 14 of its source material’s 16 tracks (Although vinylphiles can have 17 remixes on 180 Gram vinyl). While its middle section sags under minimalist changes that do not add new ideas or expose old grooves, the album is nicely bookended by six appealing dance tracks up front and four somewhat difficult, but rewarding, experimental mixes at the end.

The first six dance floor-oriented tracks are all beautiful in their own ways. Rapper Saul Williams, who worked with NIN mastermind Trent Reznor on this year’s online-only release The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, delivers strong interpretations of “Hyperpower!” and “Survivalism.” Granted, “Hyperpower!” is an instrumental track over which Williams raps, leaving the song more or less musically as it was before, but his emphatic delivery of lines like “Gunshots by computer” suit the militaristic tones of the song incredibly well. The same goes for his take on “Survivalism.” Reconstructed as a slow-burning hip-hop tune, Williams keeps the hooks and politics while inverting the vibe, and it works.

Other stand-out cuts up front include the two-hit combo of “My Violent Heart” and “The Beginning of the End,” as reinterpreted by Pirate Robot Midget and Ladytron. Midget smoothes out the loud/quiet dynamic of “My Violent Heart,” replacing these sonic valleys with a steady rave-up of a beat to turn this song about an Orwellian future into a party track. Ladytron does the same thing, adapting the tune to its own style with electronic bleeps and moody, gothic flourishes.

The album capsizes after the goofy fun of Bill Laswell’s “Capital G” remix, unfortunately, as it sinks beneath the depths of lackluster effort. The best songs on this album try to present Year Zero in a new light, á la Modwheelmood’s chilled-out take on “The Great Destroyer.” When the guest musicians here try to preserve too much of the songs’ original aural identity, they flounder.

Track 11, Olof Dreijer’s take on “Me, I’m Not,” rights things by converting the tune into a subtle whisper of techno song. At 14 minutes long, though, it might test one’s patience. Still, it’s kind of interesting how the most difficult track on the album is also the quietest. Feel free to come down to this cut after a late night rage-a-thon of a cram session.

The album also comes with audio files of all of Year Zero’s songs in various formats for fans to make their own remixes. Head to remix.nin.com to hear what’s been created thus far.