==About==
In a 2005 interview with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerrang%21 Kerrang!], Reznor expressed his intentions to write material for a new release during the [[Live: With Teeth|''With Teeth'' tour]], and it was confirmed that he was working on it by September 2006. ''Year Zero'' began its mixing stage in January of 2007, and Reznor stated on his blog on [[The Spiral]] that the album was finished as of February 5, 2007. The album marks a new style of lyric writing for Reznor:
The album marked a new style of lyric writing for Reznor:
<blockquote>...for the first time in my life, I wanted to break away from the idea of opening up my journal and transferring that into song lyrics. And I really thought about what was at the forefront of my concern, and, at the state I'm at right now, at the age I'm at, just the state of being an American citizen, a lot of concern I have about the direction the country's headed in, and uh, kind of the erosion of freedoms that seems like we're experiencing, and the way we treat the world and our own citizens felt like something I needed to comment on. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr8FXnur5Z4]</blockquote>
==Alternate Reality Game==
{{see also|:Category:World of Year Zero}}
[[Image:artisresistance.jpg|thumb|Art Is Resistance Poster]]
An alternate reality game was constructed by Trent Reznor and [[Rob Sheridan]], then run in partnership with and developed by [[wp:42 Entertainment|42 Entertainment]] to provide listeners with a greater understanding of the album's concept. Reznor paid for the ARG himself, trying to keep it a secret from his record company as much as possible[http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_args], stating: ''"What you are now starting to experience IS 'year zero'. It's not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a record - it IS the art form... and we're just getting started. Hope you enjoy the ride."'' The game ran from roughly February 12, 2007 to May 2007, beginning when a string of mysterious websites was discovered around the internet related to the album; the game has since been nominated for two Webby Awards[http://www.theninhotline.net/news/#1207737486]. Learn more at the [[Year Zero Research]] page and view the [[Timeline of Year Zero Discovery|timeline of discovery]] for an explanation of how things unfolded, also, 42 Entertainment has a complete overview of the project [http://www.42entertainment.com/work/yearzero here]. A glossary of terms related to the world of ''Year Zero'' can be found [[Year Zero Glossary|here]].
===Year Zero Hints===
==External Links==
*[httphttps://vimeo.com/3554852 3523800 ''Year Zero'' teaser trailer]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071231180324/http://yearzero.nin.com/ yearzero.nin.com at Wayback Machine]
*[http://www.42entertainment.com/work/yearzero 42Entertainment's summary of the ARG]
*[httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhrnChYf23k Fan-made documentary on the ARG]*[https://robsheridan.tumblr.com/post/45355542834/trent-reznor-london-2007-promo-photos-by-rob ''Year Zero'' promo photos by Rob Sheridan, part 1]*[httphttps://nineinchnails.tumblr.com/post/45437416550/robsheridan-part-two-continued-from-yesterday ''Year Zero'' promo photos by Rob Sheridan, part 2]*[httphttps://nineinchnails.tumblr.com/post/52064675258/halo-twenty-four-year-zero-2007-artwork-by ''Year Zero'' album imagery]
*[http://nincatalog.com/year-zero/ ''Year Zero'' at nincatalog.com]
*[http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26x%3D0%26ref_%3Dnb%5Fsb%5Fnoss%26y%3D0%26field-keywords%3Dnine%2520inch%2520nails%2520year%2520zero%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Daps&tag=thniinnawi-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957 ''Year Zero'' at Amazon]