How To Destroy Angels EP Cover Artwork by Mark Weaver.
Available now from Howtodestroyangels.com, their 6 track debut EP continues Trent’s pioneering attitude to digital media with a ‘pay what you like’ price structure giving the fan increasingly more for their money as you browse through the store.
The track listing of this debut release includes the tracks A Drowning and The Spaces In Between as well as 4 new, unreleased songs.
It seems like every time I cover HTDA I have to say, this is more than Trent’s new band as despite obviously carrying a lot of the old NIN sound in its synth the songs are tailored to compliment Mariqueen’s sultry soft tones. This means HTDA can keep a lot of NINS atmosphere without resorting to the soaring outro instrumentals of old.
The freebie pre-order download of the believers has an almost spiritual feel running between the layers of Mariqueens vocals and the rolling xylophone beats below.
This EP release marks a milestone for the band hitting their first goal set out from the moment the drip feed viral campaign screened those few words: Summer 2010.
New tracks include Parasite, Fur Lined and BBB.
Parasite is a discordant drum and distortion based duet between Mariqueen and Trent with a guitar breakdown midway that sounds like an irate T – Rex in a car crash.
Fur Lined takes a more disco tack in the vein of Discipline with its strut along guitar and muffled cries of ‘I’m an animal animal!’ bordering on sleazy electro.
The synthesizer pull off distortion of the Vimeo jam session that fans were so regularly teased with rears its head in BBB or “Big Black Boots” with its rhythmic stomp suiting Trent to a tee. This track see Trent snatch back the reins, his aggressive yet hushed chanting running all the way through this heavy march of a track.
Needless to say if you’ve been following the band you’ll have heard the rest of this EP; A Drowning, The Spaces In Between and The Believers. After a good few listens to this EP. I can honestly say while still signing from NIN’s hymn sheet this is a move forward. Handing top billing to Mariqueen paints these songs in a far different light than if Mr Reznor were to add another Halo to the Nails library. BBB was enjoyable but sounded a little too similar to his old work and for this reason in my eyes How To Destroy Angels does not fully exist as a separate project. I can only hope that as time goes on Mariqueen and Atticus get to stretch their creative muscles and build upon the glimmers of genius seen in this EP.
