"Year Zero."

Nine Inch Nails' new album, Year Zero, has fewer live drums, fewer guitars, and fewer screaming than its predecessor, but it's a harder album. "Hyperpower!" sets a stage akin to "Somewhat Damaged" from The Fragile, only it sets a stage for fierce electronics that don't give you time to breathe 'till near the end of the album. "Survivalism," the first single, is a good example of the overall tone of the album. The song is fairly quiet in comparison to "You Know What You Are," but rather than beating us over the skull (not that there's anything wrong with that), "Survivalism" gives us an unrelenting tempo, a higher sense of urgency, and brutal lyrics:

"I got my propaganda I got revisionism
I got my violence in high def ultra-realism
All a part of this great nation
I got my fist I got my plan I got survivalism"

Through Trent Reznor's electronic, mechanical, metallic attack, he's created a classic industrial album perfectly frames our current harsh times. Year Zero is a state of panic.