November 10, 2009 -- We’ve been warned. "Things are about to get MANIC,” so says Rock Sound magazine.
What’s behind that declaration? THE NEW REGIME, the "true solo project" of current Nine Inch Nails and former Lostprophets drummer ILAN RUBIN. No mere time-keeper, the adept multi-instrumentalist wrote and recorded every note of bass, drums, guitar, piano and vocals on THE NEW REGIME’s 2008 debut, COUP(Command! Music).
Feeling energized by the new crop of fans he’s collected due to Nine Inch Nails’ recently concluded “Wave Goodbye” tour, RUBIN has put together a special limited edition deluxe package of COUP set for release November 10 exclusively on the band’s website (www.thenewregimemusic.com). For the low price of $45, fans will get a 180 gram vinyl, the CD, a DVD featuring live performances and an interview with RUBIN, a 16-page full color 12” x 12” booklet, and an exclusive website link to download instrumental mixes from THE NEW REGIME’s website. All 1,000 limited edition copies will also be hand-numbered and signed by RUBIN. A stand alone digipak CD will also be available on the band’s website for $7.
In a true sign of support for his new band member, Trent Reznor is encouraging his hardcore fans to get to know THE NEW REGIME by offering a free download of the album in its entirety on NIN.com the same day as COUP’s release. Nine Inch Nails’ camp will also host the download on a direct link,http://thenewregime.nin.com, starting at midnight on November 10.
To celebrate the package’s release, the band will be performing at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday, November 19. Tickets are currently on sale.
What can fans expect from THE NEW REGIME? As praised in a Kerrang! magazine “4-K!” album review, the songs of COUP “…are presented with such wonderfully bombastic flourishes it sweeps you along like the most of lethal rip tides. They can hardly be delusions of grandeur when they’re so accomplished and self assured.” And Spinner.com/AOL concluded about RUBIN: "It looks as though the budding rock star has a long musical career ahead of him."
Accomplished beyond his years, RUBIN has played professionally since the age of nine. Opening Woodstock '99 with his first band, F.o.N., a then eleven-year old RUBIN found his way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest person to play the historic festival. He went on to drum for Denver Harbor (Universal), completing his high school degree while touring the country in a van. Next for the teenager was a stint with Lostprophets, playing on LIBERATION TRANSMISSION, the band’s third album, which debuted at #1 on the U.K. album charts. In those three years alone, RUBIN had played for sold-out crowds and festivals all over the world—including Download, Reading/Leeds, Rock am Ring/Park, Fuji Rock, Summer Sonic, V Festival and many others. In late 2008, Trent Reznor invited RUBIN to join Nine Inch Nails after being “blown away” by his performance at the Reading/Leeds Festival in 2007. RUBIN went on to blow the rest of the band away in November when he was asked to rehearse with Nine Inch Nails for their “Lights In The Sky” tour, following Josh Freese’s departure.
THE NEW REGIME was born in between writing and recording the latest Lostprophets album and performing a string of sporadic tour dates. "All of the material was written and recorded on Lostprophets downtime,” RUBIN explains, “and to be honest, I had never really sung before." After acquainting himself with the role of singer, he wrote and recorded seven songs in his San Diego, CA garage. "I started playing it for people—not telling them who it was—and started getting some really positive feedback. So I decided to continue with it." The aura of mysterious genesis is a concept RUBIN planned quite thoroughly. “I wanted people to listen to it and make up their minds based on the music—not who it was by, or what band I'm in,” he says.
An equally enigmatic viral video followed (which can be seen on the band’s YouTube channel), fusing THE NEW REGIME’s music with imagery of protest, uprising, urgency and change. Quickly spreading throughout various music websites and blogs, THE NEW REGIME received major radio and press attention within a week of the video's release. With several more songs in hand, COUP became a reality. Drawing his influence from the greats—The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Queen, to name a few— RUBIN set out to create an eclectic, yet thematically dark album. COUP feels much like a procession, each song marching forward, inviting all who listen to join in its crusade.
Ever evolving, RUBIN's vision is not obscure: "All the songs on the album are there for a reason. I never want to be categorized or pigeonholed into a sound, where if I did something different, a fan base would feel abandoned." It is this ideology that assures the music is limited only by the imaginative inventiveness of its creator, and that the world will be better off under the watchful eye of THE NEW REGIME.
