Trent Reznor did for industrial music what Madonna did for voguing and Daft Punk's style of technoid, abrasive disco: watered it down, and delivered it to the masses. Blending synth-pop with the harsh crunch of industrial beats on Pretty Hate Machine, Reznor presented industrial-lite, managed heavy rotation on MTV, and poised himself for the superstardom he was to achieve with his second full-length, The Downward Spiral. While both are superficially awful records, the mainstream impact of Reznor's early work has left much source material-- a blueprint, if you will-- for other bands to replicate, further watering down the industrial genre.

15 seconds into Paranoid Landscape, it's clear that Subzone have been heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails. Reznor's mark is all too audible, as dank, clanking beats move in a la "Closer." The track at hand, "Tunnelvision," sputters along until guitars that sound even fuzzier than the beats emerge. Again pure, NIN. By the end of the first track, I was ready to dismiss the album; I saw where it was going, and I certainly didn't enjoy it. Turns out, Subzone are much more adept than I'd imagined, as Paranoid Landscape, to some extent, defies predictability.

While Subzone draw some industrial-lite aesthetics from Reznor, a song like "Somewhat Forgotten" moves more like downtempo big-beat. This combination isn't exactly a blessed matrimony, but it's unlikely and does well with its derivations from either sagging genre. The band also plays with analog instruments, which usually just add another layer of high-end white noise to the mix. However, when the analog is melodically showcased, as on "Order," Subzone show adroitness akin to Add N to (X).

The twisty, borderline-fun "Laugh" is the standout here. Over a bed of static, drums echo like the breathy, "ha-ha-ha" warning sign of Friday the 13th movies. About 2˝ minutes in, the song morphs into a churning noise experiment bolstered by an electro dance beat. It's a strange collage of sound that, like most of Subzone's material, should not work, but remarkably does.

Though these guys aren't exactly short on ideas, they're not really big on them, either. The record is hell-bent on creating an atmosphere, and often comes off as manipulative. Subzone are capable of finding a groove and keeping with it, though the closing track, "The Others" is excessive. The melody remains virtually stagnant over the song's six minutes, and the shuffling of various guitar noises isn't quite enough to save the song from its stupor.

Paranoid Landscape is relatively unexpected, sometimes unconventional, and more or less successful in creating analog/electronic "mood music." Vocals are sparse, and when they do appear, they're masked by filters, labeled in the liner notes as "scorched," and almost indecipherable. The one line I could make out from "Try Again" was "There's more to learn than a supermarket tabloid." More to learn than Reznor's tendencies, too, I reckon. With future releases, let's hope Subzone departs even more. And that doesn't mean taking on The Fragile.

-Richard M. Juzwiak