POPSCREEN: Nine Inch Nails

Unless you worship every soul-crushing scream that escapes Trent Reznor’s lungs, you probably won’t like the new Nine Inch Nails video “Survivalism,” at least not the first time you see it. Sure, it’s got style—just look at Reznor’s scarf—but its execution could have been stronger.

The song itself is also iffy at first, but in typical Nine Inch Nails fashion, it inevitably grows on you. The cinematography, while gimmicky, does what it sets out to do: the camera shows surveillance monitors that display different areas of an apartment building and its inhabitants, which include the band. Unfortunately, it’s not a particularly captivating tableau, until, finally, a SWAT team surrounds and infiltrates the building and an unidentifiable someone is dragged away.

The video feels like it could be part of a longer movie: perhaps Reznor is further populating the fictional dystopian world of his upcoming disc, “Year Zero.” As the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails, he’s responsible for every note you hear on every album, and for cultivating the band’s iconically dark image. His latest publicity stunt is a viral advertising campaign of impressive scope meant to establish the setting for the new LP.

Maybe it’s an integral piece of something even deeper, but as a standalone video “Survivalism” isn’t all it could have been. It does create an eerie mood, and it’s probably a proper set-up for the next video, or maybe the NIN film rumored to be in the works.

If you’re a big enough Nails fan to seek out the video, you’ve probably already seen it six or so times and shouldn’t have read this article. So instead, just go watch it again while you wait for what’s next.