Difference between revisions of "Metal"

Latest revision as of 16:28, 14 July 2025

Album:Things Falling Apart

Length:7:06

Tempo:126 BPM

Versions:Metal

Live:Wave Goodbye Tour
Europe + Asia 2018 through present

"Metal" is the eighth track on Things Falling Apart, a cover of Gary Numan from his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle. An early, partial leak of the cover during The Fragile era was remixed and shared under various names, most often the "Lee Completion Mix".

Initial work on the cover was begun in 1995.[1] It was rumored[2] to have been created and submitted for the long-gestating Gary Numan tribute album, Random, but it did not appear on the final release. It was later slated to appear on The X-Files: The Album, and was even solicited as such on the label's website.[3] Reportedly, however, Trent Reznor changed his mind for unknown reasons and withdrew it from the album.[4]

Appearances

Halos

Things Falling Apart

Versions

Metal

This is the only available version. The end of the song features a drawn-out instrumental referencing several other Numan songs: the higher-pitched synth line is sampled from "M.E." (also from The Pleasure Principle), while the piano line references "Remember I Was Vapour" (from 1980's Telekon). There is also a sample of "UFO" by ESG.

Live

"Metal" was performed live for the first time on the opening date of the NIN|JA 2009 tour and was performed frequently through the final Wave Goodbye dates. The song returned after nine years when it was played a few times in 2018.

Lyrics

    We're in the building where they make us grow
    And I'm frightened by the liquid engineer
    Like you
    
    My Mallory heart is sure to fail
    I could crawl around the floor just like I'm real
    Like you
    
    The sound of metal I want to be you
    I should learn to be a man
    Like you
    
    Plug me in and turn me on
    Oh everything is moving
    
    I need my treatment it's tomorrow they send me
    Singing "I am an American"
    Do you?
    
    Picture this if I should make the change
    I'd love to pull the wires from the wall
    Did you?
    
    And who are you and how can I try?
    Here inside I like the metal
    Don't you?
    
    All I know is no one dies
    I'm still confusing love with need

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | versions=Metal
 | live=[[Wave Goodbye Tour]]<br>[[Europe + Asia 2018]] through present
-}}'''"Metal"''' is the eighth track on ''[[Things Falling Apart]],'' a [[Cover Songs|cover]] of [[Gary Numan]] from his 1979 album ''The Pleasure Principle''. An early, partial leak of the cover from ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' era was remixed and shared under various names, most often the "Lee Completion Mix".
+}}'''"Metal"''' is the eighth track on ''[[Things Falling Apart]],'' a [[Cover Songs|cover]] of [[Gary Numan]] from his 1979 album ''The Pleasure Principle''. An early, partial leak of the cover during ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' era was remixed and shared under various names, most often the "Lee Completion Mix".
 Initial work on the cover was begun in 1995.[https://www.theninhotline.com/archives/articles/display/148]  It was rumored[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.nin/c/s9qTD8xyS4M/m/v816mGKbwBgJ] to have been created and submitted for the long-gestating Gary Numan tribute album, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_(album) ''Random''], but it did not appear on the final release.  It was later slated to appear on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files:_The_Album ''The X-Files: The Album''], and was even solicited as such on the label's website.[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.nin/c/ndtq1XkUWUA/m/0sbzFGrjvRMJ] Reportedly, however,  [[Trent Reznor]] changed his mind for unknown reasons and withdrew it from the album.[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.nin/c/iofsxT-81NY/m/kMsFnWI1IsMJ]