Beautifully haunting

And with the toss of a t-shirt, Trent Reznor has audaciously signaled the beginning of the end.

The hidden message on the back of one of Nine Inch Nail's tour t-shirts ignited an intricate maze of cryptic Web sites and USB drives, that will bring us to Reznor's conceptualized end - life in the "year zero."

The artist's recently released "Year Zero" is a self-described concept album, dealing with everything from political corruption, to mind control, to religion. Needless to say, our future appears bleak.

However, NIN's socially fueled music is anything but listless.

All-star marketing behind this release and even the disc itself, which has a thermo-chrome coated face that, when heated, changes colors and reveals a binary code that further elaborates Reznor's wicked web, shows that not even the minutest detail has been overlooked.

Sounding as if it's the lost album between "The Fragile" and "With Teeth," "Year Zero" plays off of Reznor's industrial roots. He mixes hip-hop-esque beats, computerized noise, and of course, beloved distortion all throughout the album.

"God Given" is a prime example of this diverse sound, generating Reznor's most dance-friendly track to date. "God Given" sounds like NIN's sarcastic version of "Sexy Back." Never has a lyrical critique been so enjoyable.

" Put your faith in me / I sure wouldn't want to be / praying to the wrong piece of wood / you should / get where you belong / everything you know is wrong / come on, sing along everybody now," Reznor sings.

For the most part, "Year Zero" blows by in an upbeat, yet emotionally distraught nature, serving as an appropriate compliment to 15 years of Reznor's tantrums.

"Capital G" describes the not-so-futuristic blending of church and state and the extreme regret of electing a trigger happy, power-hungry man into the presidency. Farfetched?

"I pushed a button and elected him to office and / he pushed a button and it dropped a bomb / you pushed a button and could watch it on the television / those motherf*ckers didn't last too long ha ha," Reznor sings.

Similar to "With Teeth," Reznor brings "Year Zero," disc one to a beautifully haunting end. "In This Twilight" and "Zero Sum" are musical ascensions that manage to incorporate messages of regret and shame that will leave listeners with shriveled up hope for the future.

Regardless of how brutal a picture Reznor has painted with "Year Zero," the future for Trent and his nine nails looks undeniably bright. "Year Zero" is one of NIN's best releases, and it is likely that when combined with next year's final effort, it will be the apex of his career.