Spring Break
Nine Inch Nails "With Teeth"
Album Review
Daniel O'Donnell
Issue date: 5/6/05 Section: The Edge
- Page 1 of 1
Grade: A
"With Teeth" begins sweetly and softly. Intricate drum rhythms take shape over the subtle yet audibly distressed voice of Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor.
Something must be wrong. There is a sense of being lulled into a false sense of security just as the pace quickens and Reznor demands, "Why do you get all the love in the world?" This contrast builds with the tearing opening of the second track of the first NIN CD in more than five years. A rampaging, familiar audio construction comes with full brutal force that the world has come to expect from one of the originating bands of industrial rock.
Reznor, in fact, seems to be the personification of angst and depression, and is completely successful in getting this sentiment across musically. The first single of the CD, "The Hand That Feeds," is, by far, the poppiest track, yet it retains the full integrity that the entire NIN catalogue has come to offer. The disco-like dance beat is more than infectious while the driving guitars and vocals build an urgency about the song.
What follows on the rest of the CD are tracks that could have found themselves among those on the highly celebrated "The Downward Spiral." It seems like this record should have followed that 1994 release, but perhaps Reznor had been sucked dry of all his infamous disgust and rage, and had to let it build over the past decade.
It becomes quite apparent that the NIN frontman was suffering from tremendous alienation, anomie and apathy. Who would have thought? But in all honesty, his songs express emotions that nearly everyone feels at some point in their lives. Proclamations about how "every day is exactly the same" ring true with those in the world who feel like their days seem to be repeating themselves with the drudgery of either the cubicle lifestyle or even the perennial student heading off to class.
Musically, this CD is quite remarkable. While it may not be a tremendous departure from what fans have come to know and love, the drum machines sound like they could have been put back in storage on quite a few songs in favor of a live studio drummer.
"Pretty Hate Machine" and "The Downward Spiral" leave the listener tightly drawn into each song. Its last full-length release, "The Fragile," was a double CD that, albeit a fantastic effort, assaulted its audience with a multitude of songs that often times sounded a little similar with each spin of the disc.
After listening to the record multiple times and in distinct moods, not one song deserves to be skipped. Nine Inch Nails proves it is still a force to be reckoned with in the modern musical scene after a long and harrowing career.
"With Teeth" begins sweetly and softly. Intricate drum rhythms take shape over the subtle yet audibly distressed voice of Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor.
Something must be wrong. There is a sense of being lulled into a false sense of security just as the pace quickens and Reznor demands, "Why do you get all the love in the world?" This contrast builds with the tearing opening of the second track of the first NIN CD in more than five years. A rampaging, familiar audio construction comes with full brutal force that the world has come to expect from one of the originating bands of industrial rock.
Reznor, in fact, seems to be the personification of angst and depression, and is completely successful in getting this sentiment across musically. The first single of the CD, "The Hand That Feeds," is, by far, the poppiest track, yet it retains the full integrity that the entire NIN catalogue has come to offer. The disco-like dance beat is more than infectious while the driving guitars and vocals build an urgency about the song.
What follows on the rest of the CD are tracks that could have found themselves among those on the highly celebrated "The Downward Spiral." It seems like this record should have followed that 1994 release, but perhaps Reznor had been sucked dry of all his infamous disgust and rage, and had to let it build over the past decade.
It becomes quite apparent that the NIN frontman was suffering from tremendous alienation, anomie and apathy. Who would have thought? But in all honesty, his songs express emotions that nearly everyone feels at some point in their lives. Proclamations about how "every day is exactly the same" ring true with those in the world who feel like their days seem to be repeating themselves with the drudgery of either the cubicle lifestyle or even the perennial student heading off to class.
Musically, this CD is quite remarkable. While it may not be a tremendous departure from what fans have come to know and love, the drum machines sound like they could have been put back in storage on quite a few songs in favor of a live studio drummer.
"Pretty Hate Machine" and "The Downward Spiral" leave the listener tightly drawn into each song. Its last full-length release, "The Fragile," was a double CD that, albeit a fantastic effort, assaulted its audience with a multitude of songs that often times sounded a little similar with each spin of the disc.
After listening to the record multiple times and in distinct moods, not one song deserves to be skipped. Nine Inch Nails proves it is still a force to be reckoned with in the modern musical scene after a long and harrowing career.
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