How To Destroy AngelsAn Omen EP
Columbia

- Most of the world seemed to relinquish any care they had for Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails as his industrial 90s angst gave way to a weird, creatively sparse, "downer" period, one millennia crashing into another and ushering in a new and unknown era for so many artists that had forged and sustained a niche for so long. After several years living life in the shadows, reluctant to throw even his most die-hard fans a bone, Reznor finally reemerged over half a decade later, re-tooled and re-invigorated, bringing out 4 albums in as many years, shifting seamlessly from synth and guitar driven rock, a re-imagining of the Nine Inch Nails of old, to brooding electronic soundscapes that crescendoed into the once social outcast standing up and accepting an Academy Award for scoring David Fincher's Social Network a couple of years back.

After officially putting Nine Inch Nails on hiatus and around the same time as Reznor found himself canoodling with Hollywood's a-list, his latest beast was already crawling to the surface. That group, How To Destroy Angels, for better or worse, sounds more like a collaborative effort from its founding core, a departure from previous endeavours, that always saw Trent solely at the helm, with band members coming, going and being kicked out mercilessly at will.

How To Destroy Angels is a slightly odd amalgamation of personalities and talents, Reznor coming together with his wife and mother of his children, Mariqueen Maandig, Social Network and Nine Inch Nails collaborator, Atticus Ross and nob-twiddler Rob Sheridan, a guy whose main role seems to be that of art director, continuing Trent's increased focus on visuals, larger concepts and the bigger picture.

Some people would assume that being in a band with your spouse may or may not very well be a great idea, but Nine Inch Nails mastermind and all round endearing dude Trent Reznor has never taken the easy way out. Over the course of Reznor's 20+ year musical career he has stayed strangely on point and focused, adapting and morphing his approach to creating and performing music. The clean, healthy and emotionally stable Trent of today is far removed from the husk of a human being, caught up in a dangerous downward spiral and hell-bent on destroying himself,

After an interesting yet not totally engaging debut EP two years ago, How To Destroy Angels have struck late in the year, delivering a follow-up EP entitled An Omen. An Omen is just that, 6 tracks of dense, moody, electronic music that sees the group continue to mutate and morph its sound, a precursor to a full length proper, something, incidentally, threatened to receive a 2013 release. Similar to their previous effort, An Omen takes cues from the trip-hop coming out of England at the turn of century mixed with Reznor's post-Fragile musical mindset. It's subtle, deliberately paced music where the vocals are pushed lower in the mix than ever, the record feeling universally cold and stark. While previous releases have had Reznor battling with the darkness, at this point in his existence it feels like he's finally in control of the beast, or at the very least, found some way to keep it in check, probably some half-nod to the power of love or some such nonsense.

An Omen is an interesting prospect, another enjoyable, if not quite essential recording from an artist that refuses to burn out, a dude that despite few having faith, has remained far more relevant and vital than most ageing rockers of his period. I'll never loose faith Trent. Never. I'll definitely have an eye firmly planted on the full-length when it rolls around, let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic.

- Jay Edwards.

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