Editing Nothing Records (section)

=== 2wo ===
[[2wo]] (alternately written as '''Two''') was the brainchild of heavy metal idol [[Rob Halford]] and guitarist [[John 5 (guitarist)|John Lowery]] (better known as John 5).  After spending nearly 20 years garnering mainstream success as frontman for [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] icons [[Judas Priest]], having recorded 12 studio albums and selling nearly 50 million albums,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wearesonylegacy.com/news/judas-priest-story-original-metal-gods |title=Story Original Judas Priest  |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref> Halford announced to the band on July 4, 1991 that he would be leaving.  However, he wouldn't officially depart from the band until May 1992, due to contractual obligations.  That same year, Halford would launch a new heavy metal band, [[Fight (band)|Fight]].  Fight would release two albums and an EP, before disbanding in autumn of 1995, when they were dropped by their label, [[Epic Records]], due to sales falling below expectations.

Throughout the early 1990s, John Lowery had been working as a guitarist around Los Angeles, where he met producer [[Bob Marlette]].  Marlette would produce an EP for Lowery's short-lived band, [[Red Square Black]], entitled ''Square''.  The duo also helped write and record much of [[David Lee Roth]]'s ''[[DLR Band]]'' album.  The blueprint for 2wo began in October 1995, when Halford first met Lowery.  Halford recalled, "I was at the Foundation Forum a few years back and a journalist friend of mine told me about John Lowery, the guitar player.  John and I got in touch.  We spent a few days together in Los Angeles and we started to just sit around with some guitars and write."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/halford_int.htm| title = Interview With Rob Halford Of Two| author = Scott, Roger| work = NY Rock| date = March 1998| access-date = March 17, 2017| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120309065906/http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/halford_int.htm| archive-date = March 9, 2012}}</ref>  Lowery then introduced Halford to producer Bob Marlette and the trio commenced work on some demo songs, which would become the foundation of 2wo.  "I created 'Two' because I wanted to re-capture that tangible rush I experienced when I first launched my career," Halford explained.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.two-online.com/bio.htm| title = Voyeurs Biography| author = unknown| work = Two Online| date = 1998| access-date = March 17, 2017| url-status = bot: unknown| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19981202024838/http://www.two-online.com/bio.htm| archive-date = December 2, 1998}}</ref>  After a few months, the trio had pieced together a cassette demo, which Halford was playing for friends and colleagues.

While the project was still without a name, in February 1996, a chance encounter in New Orleans would lead the band onto Nothing Records.  While visiting for Mardi Gras, Halford made an impromptu visit to Nothing Studios, where he met Trent Reznor.  Halford recalled, "I was in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, where I go every year, and was partying with some friends and they pointed out where Trent's studio was.  One of my friends said, 'Why don't you go knock on the door and say hi?'  I never do that kind of thing.  For whatever reason, I got out of the car and walked across the street and banged on the door. [[Dave Ogilvie|Rave Ogilvie]] opened the door and welcomed me in.  We'd never met before, but he was just a really nice, cool guy and he showed me around the studio.  A little while later Trent showed up and we'd never met before either.  We just sat there and talked about this that and the other.  He knew I had some demos with me and asked to listen to the music.  He listened to it and asked me if I'd leave the cassette, which I did, and that was that really.  We hung out together for a couple of more days, because he was in some of the parades and so forth.  But then I just went back to Phoenix and didn't hear anything from him for the longest time."<ref name="unknown 1998">{{cite web| url = http://www.chaoscontrol.com/rob-halford/| title = Rob Halford Of Judas Priest Talks About His Late '90s Project 2wo | author = unknown| work = Chaos Control| date = 1998| access-date = March 17, 2017}}</ref>

Trent would listen to the songs from Halford's demo and go on to conceive a deeper vision for the work, as well as offer it a home at Nothing Records.  Halford explained, "Suddenly he calls me up and first of all offers me a record deal, which was great because I was looking for one. And then secondly, he gave me then his vision, his ideas of where he could see this music going."<ref name="unknown 1998"/>  After the band accepted Reznor's offer, additional work commenced on the album, which was already in near finished form by that time, with the band and Dave Olgivie recording in Vancouver, Canada, while Trent did additional work from Nothing Studios, with parts sent back and forth.  Halford stated, "Trent came in pretty much when the whole first sessions of the songs had been completed.  They were well past the demo stage.  We had practically mixed it down to where we felt we had something we were almost ready to release.  What Trent did was basically strip it all down and re-build it.  Essentially the songs are all there intact, but in terms of every aspect of the sound, drums, bass, guitars, vocals.  All of that was totally re-developed.  All the accessories, all the electronic sounds, samples, all of those came from Reznor and Reznor's people."<ref name="unknown 1998"/>  Reznor received an executive producer credit for his work on the album.

By September 1997, recording was completed on the album, now titled ''[[Voyeurs (album)|Voyeurs]]''.  With the added collaboration of Reznor and Olgivie, the songs took on more of an electronic [[industrial metal]] sound.  The band initially announced their name as '''Gimp'''.  After discovering another band was already using the name, they quickly changed their name to 2wo.  ''Voyeurs'' was announced for release on March 10, 1998.  One month prior to the release of the album, Halford would gain headlines after confirming his homosexuality to [[MTV]].  ''Voyeurs'' was led by the single "I Am A Pig," which filmed a music video, shot by gay porn director [[Chi Chi Larue]].  The music video featured various porn stars and depicted non-explicit scenes of S&M.  While not banned, the music video received sparse airplay, due to its mature subject matter.  2wo also signed to [[East West Records]] for European distribution of ''Voyeurs''.  A Japanese edition of the album on DML would include one bonus track, entitled "In My Head."  Rob Halford's website would later publish two additional unreleased tracks from the ''Voyeurs'' sessions as MP3s; "Shout" and "Scream."

Upon the release of ''Voyeurs'', the band launched a tour in support of the album, though several dates were later cancelled.  The live band consisted of Halford, Lowery, Sid Riggs, Ray Riendeau and former [[Nine Inch Nails]] keyboardist [[James Woolley]].  The album received a polarizing response, as many Halford fans did not enjoy 2wo's industrial sound, favoring his more traditional heavy metal sound.  However, other fans embraced his diversity.  ''Voyeurs'' went on to sell 47,000 copies,<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-hard-rock-album-sales-in-the-us-as-reported-by-soundscan/|title=Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The Us As Reported By Sound Scan|date=April 30, 2002}}</ref> which was considered a commercial disappointment.  When asked about his experiences with Nothing, Halford stated:

{{blockquote|I wasn't completely aware of the Nothing roster and the philosophy of Nothing Records.  But as I began the relationship and looked around, and found out what it was setting out to do, I was just thrilled to be a part of it.  It's a label that works very much on artistic purity, it's not one that takes and steers the artists in various ways of making the hit record.  They just look at you for what your worth is in terms of the music that you present to them.  They seem to become involved based on what they hear coming out of the speakers, not what you look like, what you're image is.  It's just what's coming out of the speakers.  If they can relate to that, then you can be a part of the Nothing organization.  It's a very respective and eclectic bunch of people that Trent has put together.  He's the man responsible for the signing on his label.<ref name="unknown 1998"/>}}

A second single from ''Voyeurs'', "Deep In The Ground," was considered for commercial release on East West Records in Europe, but plans were later scrapped.  Upon completing their tour, Halford went back into the studio with Bob Marlette, recording demos for what was intended to be a follow-up album.  One demo from these sessions, "Silent Screams," was published on the 2wo website.  However, member John Lowery would soon depart from 2wo, in favor of taking lead guitar duties for Nothing Records label-mates [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]].  Ultimately Halford's plans for a sophomore album were scrapped, in favor of returning to his heavy metal roots, with a new project simply titled [[Halford (band)|Halford]].  The debut Halford album, ''[[Resurrection (Halford album)|Resurrection]]'', features the final, studio version of "Silent Screams," as well as two other tracks from the original 2wo sessions; "Slow Down" and "Drive," both of which were co-written with Bob Marlette.  The break-up of 2wo likewise marked the end of the band's time of Nothing Records, with ''Voyeurs'' remaining their only commercial release on the label.

In 2003, Rob Halford reunited with [[Judas Priest]], where he continues to front the band to wide acclaim.  After Lowery's tenure with Marilyn Manson ended in 2004, he continued to perform under the name John 5.  In addition to releasing solo material, he has served as guitarist for [[Rob Zombie]] since 2005.  In the years since, both Halford and much of his fanbase have adopted a warmer disposition in regards to the 2wo material.  Halford acknowledged a demand for a reissue of ''Voyeurs'', stating "Everyone's asking me about 2wo.  The reason that we really haven't gone there yet is because we're trying to figure out all of the business side of that scenario.  When I separated from [[Sanctuary Records|Sanctuary]] in London, they gave me the opportunity to buy back all of my Halford solo material.  You know, obviously the recordings and the photos and the videos and everything else.  So we did a really sweet deal there and then [[Sony BMG]] have been really cool about me gaining access to all of the Fight material, because that was originally on Epic.  The 2wo project was with Trent Reznor's label, Nothing Records, through [[Interscope Records|Interscope]].  And I wasn't really sure there would be that much demand for it, but the fact is that everybody keeps asking me about it and I'm really pleased about that.  'Cause, to some extent, I think that it was overlooked, because it wasn't metal as people know me for, but it was a fantastic collaboration with Trent and what I would like for people to hear are the original recordings that Trent first listened to.  And then when he became involved with Dave "Rave" Ogilvie from [[Skinny Puppy]] in Vancouver, the three of us put our heads together and created that final CD.  So I think that it would be great if everybody had an opportunity to listen to the original songs, because they are a lot tougher, you know, they're a lot edgier.  They've got more of a rock/metal vibe going to them."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.chartattack.com/news/2007/07/17/rob-halford-wants-to-release-2wo-material-he-did-with-trent-reznor/| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170318173202/http://www.chartattack.com/news/2007/07/17/rob-halford-wants-to-release-2wo-material-he-did-with-trent-reznor/| url-status = usurped| archive-date = March 18, 2017| title = Rob Halford Wants To Release 2wo Material He Did With Trent Reznor| author = unknown| work = Chart Attack| date = July 17, 2007| access-date = March 17, 2017}}</ref>  Several of these original versions were in fact published on Rob Halford's website in the early 2000s, under the name ''The Pre-Reznor Mixes'' ("I Am A Pig," "Water's Leaking," "Leave Me Alone," "Deep In The Ground" and "Bed Of Rust").  They continue to circulate on the Internet amongst fans, but to date, neither the pre-Reznor mixes, nor the ''Voyeurs'' album, have been reissued.