Add Violence

[Ryan Tollefson]

It is great reading these descriptions, as I have to live vicariously through them xx I don't get why the files couldn't be downloaded to my iP7+ , so I wait...

Download the zip extractor app from the App Store. You can then at least listen the EP, but it's through the zip app


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sweeterthan]

Yeah, I'd love an edit of the song with that down to about a minute. I like it in the context of the story. But not for listening. Rest of the song is so good too

It's at the end. Just skip it when you're ready.
I love the song and I don't hate the end but I'm only on my second listen.

[OSLIN]

Listening to the new ep and with the lyrics, I have a theory that this is like the scrapped Bleedthrough concept mixed with the Year Zero concept. I will go into detail after I listen a dozen more times and go back through NTAE. Plus half way through the outro on The Background World my nose began to bleed. That's normal right?

[Callahan]

Finally getting a chance to listen through, almost done The Background World! which is interesting. I wonder if the context is tied into Copy of A? It reminds of of old school VHS/Cassette bootlegs. Each copy always degraded, losing it's integrity and quality, no longer recognizable. Reference to the state of the world maybe? Same shit, different day, getting worse every time?

I also think there'll be a reason for all these abrupt endings to some of these songs, like they should be paired along side of another song, and they'd mix together.

[thefragile_jake]

Still a little iffy on This Isn't The Place ... but it isn't the worst thing ever. However, HOLY SHIT NOT ANYMORE IS INCREDIBLE

[ThinkIcouldburn]

These EP's are like Trent's self written musical biography. It's absolutely fascinating.

[Shadaloo]

Have you ever just looked at your phone or personal device or audio player and you were like FUCK YOU YOU MUST BE PLAYING IT WRONG NOTHING CAN BE THAT AWESOME and then you just stopped in the middle of a song and restarted because you couldn't believe what you were hearing?

^Not Anymore

It's like music for angry vampires to mosh around to, like Trent did Bauhaus and said fuck predictable time measures.

[Paul]

Bleedthrough concept mixed with the Year Zero concept

I've always assumed the two were part of the same :-)

[thefragile_jake]

The ending of The Background World is fine, but doesn't need to carry on for as long as it does. I like me some noise groups like Merzbow and Prurient, but even they find a way to keep me a little more invested in the chaos they're crafting. I do like the track though. Overall, I really do like the EP. I think it's just as much on the same level as Not The Actual Events ... and maybe surpasses it just slightly? Not Anymore and The Lovers are some of the most interesting songs Trent has crafted in awhile. I'm loving the atmosphere and Fragile vibes from them.

I think what I like about this EP as well too is that if there is some kind of political context it's handled far better than Year Zero. Honestly, the ARG stuff does nothing for me and I still find Year Zero to be Trent's weakest record. The lyrics were far too on the nose and hokey and the production just reminded me of lazy GarageBand loops. I know I'm in the minority here for that one.

These EPs, on the other hand, have had a lot of organic and electronic elements to them and the song writing has great production and structure to it. I wonder how the last set of songs will end up, but I'm enjoying these releases.

Gonna give this thing a second listen now!

[Reznor2112]

Anyone else think that these 3 EPs may see a full album release with a few additional unreleased songs and alternative track listing like the ††† full length album?

Just seems like The Background World would end the entire thing as opposed to being smack dab in the middle IF we are looking at the 3 EPs in sequential order as a concept album.

[shagg_187]

i'm with the "seven minutes of anxiety" group. i struggled to finish it.

weird as hell release. "less than" is a pop oddity on this.

Anyone who got anxiety with the background world needs to wear the 'anxiety' cap.

[Blade3327]

Thoughts after first listen:

Less Than - Already listened to it for a week and my views haven't changed much. It's okay. Meh. THTF is better.

The Lovers - Great stuff.

This Isn't The Place - Liked it yesterday. Still like it today. Solid. Appreciate the experimentation.

Not Anymore - Feels like it would be at home on NTAE, but missing that inexplicable quality, that spark that keeps me coming back to the song to understand its secrets. Like the atmospherics, not crazy about the chorus. Kind of irritating (weird coming from a guy who worships The Idea Of You, I know).

The Background World - Bloody brilliant atmosphere, beat, and attitude -- up until that first 'record skip'. About a minute or two after that, I went ahead and started skimming through the next seven minutes. Just as I predicted after hearing Zane Lowe's description. Those seven minutes are unfortunately not more music. Just Trent taking time. It could very well fulfill some kind of concept (in fact, I'm sure it does) but I certainly don't have to stick around for it.



Enjoyed NTAE more on my first listen even though that EP in its entirety confused the hell out of me. Will spend more time with this one as always, but Not Anymore will be a tough wall to break through and The Background World will always end at 4:14.

[pretty.hate.machine]

Holyyyyy fuckkkkkk it's so good!!! blurs the line between killing and fucking.

[neorev]

Shockingly, This Isn't The Place seems to be my favorite song from the EP at the moment. The Lovers in 2nd.

[EndlessLoveless]

So many of you skipping through the end of the background world...i dare you to listen from start to end. There's more there than a knob being turned ever so slightly.

Maybe it's challenging you to be patient, as someone else said, we are too used to instant gratification/information. Just enjoy.

[Alexandros]

This EP is a very strange and unsettling experience, it leaves me feeling confused, but I like it. Kind of like how I feel about David Lynch's stuff.

I enjoy all the songs, each one has its own thing going. Agree that maybe 7 min of sonic mayhem may be a bit too much but I'm fine with it in a contextual sense.

[Blade3327]

Third listen on The Background World. The "are you sure?" bit is probably my favorite NIN moment in recent memory. His voice increases the wetness. Goosebump-inducing.

EDIT: Seriously worried about overplaying this song. I can tell it's releasing way too much dopamine and in my smashing of the replay button, I just know it'll lose its kick right quick. But hey, that ain't Trent's fault.

[cashpiles (closed)]

The Background World's looping ending into disintegration is indeed a statement. It ties into our attention spans... it also ties into something else.... how our brains operate... memories can be erased.. neuroscience has proven it as well (check Moran Cerf). the mechanism by which memories are altered or erased is that they are brought up again and again.. and each time they are brought up they are altered by the current situation, thoughts, and sensation inputs. This is Trent describing the process in musical form.

I fuckin' love it. I really love how he (and Atticus?) wanted to make some kind of statement with this ending. And some people here find it repetitive..but I find it cool as fuck. The loop itself is awesome.. and then the degrading of it overtime ties into how memories are burned into our brains or altered or erased... awesome.

Less Than and This Isn't The Place are incredible. My favorites. (edit: Less Than is the most explosive and adrenaline/emotion pumping song I've heard in years. It's more powerful than THTF.... because it's deeper... you know Trent is like 1000 percent committed to his art. He bends himself to his art.

Not Anymore is fairly insane. I like it. The chorus reminds me of Ain't It Funny? by Danny Brown from his Atrocity Exhibition album.

The Lovers is a weird one. Trent's choice of melding that certain vocal melody in the chorus with the rest of the song playing underneath with a very different melody.. yet it does meld together.. Trent is a musical genius again (joke on "again").

Final... NINal thoughts: Trent's arsenal is so far-ranging that it blows my mind.

I like this EP more than NTAE and NTAE was pretty good. The thought that entered my mind is "Trent is a fuckin' weirdo." Love how "out there" his music is.


EDIT: My mind is fucking blown. The feeling I get from this EP is some person decides or has been forced to become imprisoned mentally or in some simulation. At the end... The Background World with the lyrics, no past, no future point in time, and then the oppressive and loss of all hope final shout out from the other side call for help as this person disintegrates or is trapped in this ever present time loop.... it's fucking sick. Amazing.

sidenote: notice all the TDS elements in The Background World once the "are you sure" part kicks in. It signifies this character's choice to loop himself out of existence... it's insane


This is the first NIN album where I like every single song since TDS.

[EndlessLoveless]

Less than is the odd song out, in my opinion. The rest of the album creates tension and dread and anxiety. Maybe he should've named it add anxiety.

[EndlessLoveless]

So I'm just noticing, the end of the background world....does the loop get tighter as the song progresses? Like, back in beat little by little. That short gap disappears. Can't tell if it's just the distortion.

[cdm]

So I'm just noticing, the end of the background world....does the loop get tighter as the song progresses? Like, back in beat little by little. That short gap disappears. Can't tell if it's just the distortion.

Someone on Reddit recorded the loop times. It's in one of these threads.

found it: https://www.reddit.com/r/nin/comment...oops_52_times/

[|mando|]

So I'm just noticing, the end of the background world....does the loop get tighter as the song progresses? Like, back in beat little by little. That short gap disappears. Can't tell if it's just the distortion.

Just looped a snip of the first sample over the remaining loops of the track, confirmed that the loop timing is constant through the end, though the 'space' eventually turns into noise instead of lack of sound.

[Wolfkiller]

I hate all of you for the next 7ish hours until I'm off work.

[LexTron6K]

I've been thinking a lot lately about convolution reverb, for various reasons, and one aspect specifically that I've been thinking about is the idea that you can use the convolution process to extract and process data in ways that don't actually involve reverb.

My first time listening through ADD VIOLENCE the thought struck me that using the convolution process the distortion profile data could be extracted from the end of The Background World, since there is a very clear example of the the phrase sounds like non-distorted followed by many examples of what the phrase sounds like with various levels of this distortion applied.

Perhaps then this distortion data profile could be applied (in reverse?) to the footage of the Burning Bright video to reveal whatever may be hiding within that noise?

[GregBull]

I just listened to it for the Third time BUT with Headphones this time, If you listen to it from just speakers you will miss alot of things, I missed probably 50% of what he put in there out of good speakers... If hasnt tried it beginning to the very very end with headphones no interruptions you will not get many of the " Simulated Emotions" you are guaranteed to get with headphones. I dont think its a "Test" But for those who want to get what he meant you to "feel" from it ..... Headphones , alone , no distractions TRUST ME please, The album is even more brilliant and incredible that way.

[GregBull]

I just did the whole EP again but with headphones , and i know what he did that can only be noticed with headphones and its friggin genious, people with anxiety should use caution with headphones lol.

[Tommy_Macbeth]

Here's my like 5 minute after listening review:
Less Than - still great, love the energy/sound of the song
The Lovers- holy creepy batman! no but really this surprised me and really drew me in
This Isn't The Place- beautiful...ominous song that captures the whole feel of the EP really
Not Anymore-!!! This is like "The Idea of You" of ADD VIOLENCE, the heaviness is perfect and warranted and kicks ass apologetically
The Background World- reminds me of "She's Gone Away" in the droning/relentlessness of the beat. Perfect way to end it. Now off to listening to it like 20 more times tonight

[GregBull]

i Just noticed something Very very very familiar about This Isn't the Place listen to the background very closely and its alot more than 1 thing familiar in there there is alot more.

[Tommy_Macbeth]

Anyone feel like Trent's voice at a few moments sounds exactly like how it did on With Teeth? I can't pinpoint the moments right now, but they certainly feel there...just random thinking out loud

[GregBull]

I'm pretty sure that there's No Way Out...