Trent Reznor had been dropping hints that there would be new Nine Inch Nails material this year. He came though, announcing in mid-December that a new EP, Not the Actual Events (stream below), would be arriving just in time for the holidays on Dec. 23. The five-track release was full of surprises, mostly the music being a more aggressive direction than their previous album, Hesitation Marks, as well as some notable guest musicians.

Reznor worked with longtime collaborator Atticus Ross on this release, who is now the only other official member of Nine Inch Nails besides Reznor. Joining the duo was Foo Fighters mainman Dave Grohl, who played drums on the song "The Idea of You" while Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was featured on "Burning Bright (Field on Fire)." Reznor's wife, Mariqueen Maandig (How to Destroy Angels singer), also assisted the group, contributing to "She's Gone Away."

Speaking about the release, Reznor stated on the band's website, "It's an unfriendly, fairly impenetrable record that we needed to make. It's an EP because that ended up being the proper length to tell that story."

Fans can purchase their copy of Not the Actual Events at the Nine Inch Nails webstore. Also available are vinyl re-releases of a significant amount of the band's back catalog with more coming soon.

Reznor posted a vinyl mission statement at the top of the webstore, which reads, "In these times of nearly unlimited access to all the music in the world, we've come to appreciate the value and beauty of the physical object. Our store's focus is on presenting these items to you. Vinyl has returned to being a priority for us — not just for the warmth of the sound, but the interaction it demands from the listener. The canvas of artwork, the weight of the record, the smell of the vinyl, the dropping of the needle, the difficulty of skipping tracks, the changing of sides, the secrets hidden within and having a physical object that exists in the real world with you... all part of the experience and magic."

Stream NIN's Not the Actual Events EP Below

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