Nine Inch Nails: With_Teeth
With Trent Reznor’s reputation and only live and remix albums filling the gap since NIN’s last album, the expectations that the new record has to meet are inevitably very high. So, has the wait for Halo 19 been worth it?
The opening track, All the Love in the World, is restrained and mellow to the point of being almost soothing for the majority of its running time, but any doubts about Trent’s ability to still record a powerful metal tune full of feeling and venom are allayed by the wall of noise that is You Know What You Are? - true NIN-style layers of over-distorted guitars and screaming vocals.
The album is a fairly balanced mixture of infectious drum rhythms, genuine heavy metal and more restrained numbers; Right Where it Belongs for example is probably the most eloquent and touching song of any NIN album except the stunning Hurt from The Downward Spiral. The UK version includes an alternate version of this song plus another bonus track, Home, full of plaintive vocals and clattering drums.
What becomes clear in this record is how self-assured the performances are. In fact, the frantic vibe of the past has given way to an almost effortless sound that gives the occasional impression that Reznor isn’t trying quite hard enough. The signature industrial pounding beats, numerous overdubbed distorted fuzz guitars and lyrics that don’t pull their punches (take, for example, the political themes of The Hand that Feeds single) are all there in abundance but it has a little more in common with the gothic synth-rock grandeur of Pretty Hate Machine than the remorseless grind of The Downward Spiral and Broken.
While NIN albums are often regarded as being at the cutting edge of heavy rock and metal there is a definite radio-friendliness to the sound that strikes the ever-difficult balance between writing songs that sell significant numbers of records without alienating their ‘alternative’ fanbase by appearing to sell out. This is a difficult thing to achieve, and the result here is another good NIN album. Of course, that was pretty much guaranteed. The real question was “exactly how good is it going to be?” The answer appears to be pretty damn good: it’s not perfect but is easily capable of giving the newcomers a run for their money.
In Summary
The new NIN album has been a long time coming and it’s certainly good to hear it at last. The harsh truth is, after all this time some fans would probably be dissatisfied with anything less than perfection. With_Teeth may not have pushed the boundaries as much as its predecessors did but it’s still a well-written and original sounding record that is well worth the purchase.
Tracklisting
- All The Love In The World
- You Know What You Are?
- The Collector
- The Hand That Feeds
- Love Is Not Enough
- Every Day Is Exactly The Same
- With_Teeth
- Only
- Getting Smaller
- Sunspots
- The Line Begins To Blur
- Beside You In Time
- Right Where It Belongs
- Home (bonus track)
- Right Where It Belongs V.2 (bonus track)
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