The Beginning Of The End

Album:Year Zero

Length:2:47

Tempo:138 BPM

Versions:The Beginning Of The End
The Beginning Of The End (Instrumental)
The Beginning Of The End: Ladytron

Live:Performance 2007 through NIN 2013 Festival Tour
NIN 2014 Japan Tour through NIN + QOTSA Tour
NIN 2014 Europe/UK Tour
Europe + Asia 2018 through present

"The Beginning Of The End" is the second track on the 2007 release Year Zero. Multitracks for this song were released in raw WAV, GarageBand, and Ableton Live formats via remix.nin.com.

Leak

On March 2, 2007 at around 4pm PST. "The Beginning of the End" was played on Jed the Fish's program on KROQ as his "Catch of the Day." Early the next morning, after the song was played again on KROQ, a radio-quality rendition of the track began to circulate the internet. [1]

Miscellaneous

• The phrase "The Beginning of the End" appears on the Another Version Of The Truth website when the original image is erased by being clicked and dragged.
• Several fans have commented on similarities between this song and Marilyn Manson's "Mister Superstar," which was produced and featured guitar by Trent Reznor.
• A small group of west Texans found the website The Beginning of the End; www.thebeginningoftheend.org. Interesting to note that one person was researching the pricing of oil that occurs in Midland, Texas.

Appearances

Halos

• Year Zero
• Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D

Versions

The Beginning Of The End

This is the original album version. Like "Hyperpower!" preceding it, the song builds throughout the track, beginning with the drum loop, then guitar and vocals. Bass, tambourine and synthesizer layers are continuously added until an instrumental bridge leads to a loud, noisy synthesizer solo. Most layers then drop away for a few bars of the drum loop, which leads directly into "Survivalism."

The Beginning Of The End (Instrumental)

Running Time: 2:55

This unmastered vocal-less mix was released by Reznor through his remix.nin.com account.

The Beginning Of The End: Ladytron J-Type Mix

Running Time: 4:20

This remix can be found on Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D. More techno-oriented than the album original and containing a dance beat, it also contains some distorted vocals in the verses. This distortion can also be heard in the choruses. By the time the second verse comes in, another synth line joins in, creating a noisier atmosphere. More synths — this time sounding like a choir — join in the chorus. These layers of sound carry the song to the end of the piece. At about 3:36 into the song, a variation of The Downward Spiral motif can be heard ending the song:

Song Credits

• Remix by Ladytron J-Type Overdrive

Live

"The Beginning of the End" debuted on March 8, 2007 in London, England. Here is a video of the performance.

It was played at almost every show for the rest of the Performance 2007 tour, usually the second song played after "Hyperpower!", although sometimes played later in the show.

Since 2007, "The Beginning of the End" has continued to appear on setlists infrequently. For example, throughout the Lights in the Sky Tour, it would make occasional appearances in the encore.

On July 30, 2009, "The Beginning of the End" opened the show for the first, and so far only, time.

Lyrics

    Down on your knees, you'll be left behind
    This is the beginning 
    Watch what you think, they can read your mind
    This is the beginning
    I got my mark, see it in my eyes
    This is the beginning
    My reflection I don't recognize
    This is the beginning
   
    We think we climb so high
    All up the backs we've condemned
    We face our consequence
    This is the beginning of the end
    
    You wait your turn, you'll be last in line
    This is the beginning
    Get out the way, 'cause I'm getting mine
    This is the beginning
    God helps the ones that can help themselves
    This is the beginning
    May be too late as far as I can tell
    This is the beginning
    
    We think we've come so far 
    On all our lies we depend 
    We face our consequence 
    This is the beginning of the end

In the actual recording, the second line of the first chorus is changed:

    Up all the backs we've condemned

The third line of the last chorus is also changed:

    Facing our consequence

External Links

• "The Beginning Of The End" (Instrumental) at archive.org

Previous track - "Hyperpower!" Track 2 from Year Zero Next track - "Survivalism"