Something I Stumbled Upon...
For Any Nine Inch Nails Fans Out There...You're Going To Like This...
The album "Year Zero", by Nine Inch Nails, was released back in 2007. Taking more than 2 years, only now have I discovered something so interesting about this album!
The album is part of a WAY BIGGER project and there is an entire alternative reality that can be experienced through "Year Zero"!
What does this mean? Firstly, it is apparent that the album was a concept album that criticizes contemporary United States government polices by presenting an estimated vision of the world in the year 2022. However, the album itself is just a part of a whole bigger "Year Zero Project" that includes a remix album, a potential film project and an entire alternative reality experience which expands upon the album's fictional storyline by using other websites, pre-recorded phone messages, and murals.
The Story
The Year Zero story takes place in the United States in the year 2022, or "Year 0" according to the American government, being the year that America was reborn. The United States has suffered several major terrorist attacks, and in response the government has seized absolute control on the country. The government maintains control of the population through surveillance and the secret drugging of tap water with a mild sedative. In response to the increasing oppression of the government, several corporate, government, and subversive websites were transported back in time to the present by a group of scientists working secretly against the authoritarian government. The websites from the future were sent to the year 2007 to warn the American people of the impending dystopian future and to prevent it from ever forming in the first place.
You Have To Work To Continue The Story
The Year Zero game consists of a series of websites, phone numbers, e-mails, videos, MP3s, murals, and other media that expands upon the fictional storyline of the album. Each new piece of media contains various hints and clues to discover the next, relying on fan participation to discover each new facet of the expanding game.
It all started in 2007 at live concert venues, where a USB drive was purposely left behind in bathrooms, or on the floor, or any random spot in the venues for a fan to find. The USB drives contained messages leading to additional websites and images of the game, as well as unreleased songs. The clues would also appear on Nine Inch Nails t-shirts, where the highlighting of certain letters spelt out the words "I am trying to believe". This phrase was a website URL that could be entered by fans to progress the development of the game.
Once at the websites, the page leaves clues for the visitor who has to put together information in order to continue the story. The solved clue was the next URL link that needed to be typed in the http address to move forward.
The CD itself is part of the clues. The disc is black in colour until it heats up, for example, after being played in a CD player. Then the disc turns white and numbers appear on it. These numbers are a part of a code that is used in the alternative reality game. Crazy!!!
Source: Wikipedia
I tried this alternative reality game for myself, and believe me, it is so mind blowing! The time, effort, imagination, and work put into this fictional, alternative reality is worth checking out.
This alternative reality game is still out there for anyone to discover for themselves. So, if you're a Nine Inch nails fan I thought you'd want to know this information. After all, it took me more than 2 years to figure this out!
For more information check out: Nine Inch Nails
Page by Matthew Bundas - 018500074