How To Destroy Angels An Omen EP Review

Since Trent Reznor announced Nine Inch Nails' hiatus in 2009, he's been busier than ever! He made his way into Hollywood (again) composing the scores for both David Fincher's The Social Network (2010) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) with longtime collaborator Atticus Ross. More recently, Reznor went back to video games (after scoring Quake in 1996) composing the theme song for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

In 2010, Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig, Atticus Ross, and Rob Sheridan formed the band How To Destroy Angels. Beyond, releasing their self-titled EP in 2010 and having a track on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, they've been pretty quiet... Until Now!

Recently, HTDA signed with Columbia Records, which is the first time Reznor has been on a label since his early NIN days.

On November 13th, HTDA will release their digital and vinyl only EP titled An Omen EP_.

Here is a quick summary of the tracks on the EP.

1. Keep it Together - The opening track is very haunting and definitely has that familiar sound from NIN's The Fragile and a little bit like some of the tracks from Ghosts.

2. Ice Age - This track is the longest on the EP clocking in at 7 mins. It has a very different feel to it. There's a country twang to it that makes it sound very out of place. It's a good song, it just seems out of place.

3. On the Wing - gets right back to the NIN sound this time drawing from The Downward Spiral.

4. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters- opens very much like the music Reznor and Ross recorded for The Social Network soundtrack.

5. The Loop Closes - might be my favorite track on the EP! It sounds like it was taken right off of a NIN album!

6. Speaking in Tongues - has a really catchy beat. It's similar to the country twang beat in Ice Age, but more electronic. It features that familiar muted background vocals from other Reznor's project.

Following An Omen EP_  HTDA will release their first full length album sometime in early 2013!

In other news, Reznor recently announced that new NIN material and a possible tour is coming! (Still no news on Tapeworm though...)

Right now you can stream HTDA's An Omen EP_ in its entirety here and you can pre-order the EP here.

How To Destroy Angels' An Omen EP_ is a 8 out of 10 Trent Reznors!

RAWR(for more)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Graphic Novel Vol. 1 Review

In the past few years, Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy has really taken off and has taken many adaptations. From a Swedish film series and last year's American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, there seems to be no stopping this amazing series from hitting every medium.

DC's adult targeted imprint Vertigo Comics has released the first volume of the first novel. Adapted by novelist Denise Mina, the story stays very true to the book. It's a little condensed, but still great!

Leonardo Manco's artwork is fairly standard, comic speaking. It's nothing I haven't seen a dozen times. Honestly, looking at the cover, I expected a more stylized and gritty approach to the work in order to make it stand out as an interpretation rather than a rewrite. Manco does a fascinating job with capturing the intensity of the violence in it, however the other panels tend to be uninteresting and even boring at parts. Perhaps, this had a lot to do with it being the first fourth of the novel, which is a lot of setup. I'll have to wait for the other parts to see.

It's a neat idea, but if you've already read the books and/ or seen the movie(s), the graphic novel doesn't really add much else. I think Vertigo missed the boat on cashing in on the property by about a year. Without a uniquely stylized retelling, it just falls flat.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Graphic Novel Vol. 1 is a 6 out of 10 Dragon Tattoos!

RAWR(for more)