NIN Leaves Ghosts Visuals to Fans

In keeping up with recent band-internet-fan trends, Nine Inch Nails presiding spookmeister Trent Reznor is asking fans to go to work creating the visuals for his recently released Ghosts I-IV album, NME reported Monday. The band is using their YouTube channel as a conduit for fans to post videos they feel best represent their favorite Ghosts I-IV track.

The album, which went downloadable on March 3 and is slated for physical release in early April, was deliberately left without descriptive song titles, picturesque packaging, or any other visual cues that might taint listeners’ perceptions. This leaves as close to a blank slate as possible to work with, Reznor explained in a statement posted on NIN’s official page.

“This record began as an experiment with us using sound as a means to describe visuals,” the post reads. “Early in the project we thought it would be interesting to see what the community could create / collaborate on as a reaction to the music we were making … the concept is for you to take whatever tracks you feel inspired by from Ghosts and create what you feel should accompany them visually.”

The idea is not to host a contest, Reznor said, but more of a “film festival” wherein fans can post what they’ve created. Then Reznor and Nine Inch Nails look over the submissions, choose the videos they find exceptional and present them to the masses. The band’s favorite submissions could end up on TV or possibly as part of a live NIN performance, Reznor said.

So let’s see what you can come up with. Maybe you can turn your parents’ living room into a spectacular homicide scene, or create a morbid montage of dark imagery. Or maybe just pensively film the clouds for seven hours. Either way, here’s your chance to knock melons with the prince of darkness and his moody brood. Then we’ll see where you end up. (The bin.)