It was announced on Nine Inch Nails’ website in early October that Q magazine planned an exclusive release of an all- star U2 cover album of their twenty year old release Achtung Baby. Garbage, Depeche Mode, The Killers, and Jack White are a amongst some of the elite group of musicians featured on the record, which comes free with the purchase of the November 2011 edition of Q Magazine (which you can get more information about here). It’s a project put out to commemorate the groundbreaking album that spawned the United States top 10 hits “Mysterious Ways” & “One”. It’s also a project accompanying a Showtime documentary From The Sky Down (airing October 29th, 2011) and reissue of the original Achtung Baby album that comes in a variety of stunning (and expensive) Deluxe editions out November 1st.

Nine Inch Nails’ cover of “Zoo Station” uses drones of guitar & synth work, plus programmed beats where the original members of U2 bashed it  all out live. Trent continues down their more Electronically paved path that’s been evident through the entirety of his career, but more recently so with the release of The Slip and side-project How To Destroy Angels (with long time NIN collaborator Atticus Ross and wife Mariqueen Maandig). Like a hybrid between the NIN/HTDA brand and an inkling of the soundtrack work Trent and Atticus put together for The Social Network, the “Zoo Station” cover plays like a densely layered and extremely cohesive, laid back track while staying true to the original form and magic originally put together by U2.

It’s not a lossless version of the track 2020k has received, so as usual, we stay away from commenting on the mix, but the compressed version that you can stream at this Tumblr sounds quite nice.

While it’s a project most definitely worth checking out as a whole, whether it be from the purchase of one of the reissued albums, a glance at the documentary, or the five Euros or more you spend picking up the Q Magazine issue – it’s Nine Inch Nails’ contribution to the opening track of the U2 90’s staple album that is not something fans of either artist want to pass up.

Take a listen to the NIN cover of “Zoo Station” over at FuckyeahatticusRoss.