Does latest Nine Inch Nails album The Slip deserve this decent album review?

July 23, 2008

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Interested in writing for us? Click here. Also join us at for contests and further news. Thanks for visiting!

Nine Inch Nails

"The Slip"

Release Date: 7-22

Record Label: The Null Corporation

Website: www.NIN.com

3.5 out of 5 stars

The first thing noticed when listening to the new Nine Inch Nails album is how much Trent Reznor has brightened up. The second thing is how much darkness still remains.

Reznor’s brutal, dirty, and often uncomfortable earlier work (the videos for "Closer" and "Happiness is Slavery" still ruin many night’s sleep) has cheered up a bit, and delivered much more relaxing imagery. It still hints at many of mankind’s flaws and offers no solution, but is not all doom and gloom.

The formula for this album follows a similar approach to his past two releases "With Teeth" and "Year Zero." It has one or two very radio friendly singles while the rest of the album experiments with industrial music and pushes its boundaries. Several tracks feature no vocals, but fill that void with both traditional instruments and even more non-traditional instruments.

The album strays a bit from industrial music, to punk rock. "Letting You" shows how effortlessly Reznor can blend his ’70s punk influences with his own distinct style. The opening drums to "1,000,000"are reminiscent of Iggy Pop and the Stooges while "Echoplex" shows the fun Reznor must have had messing around with his drum machine.

This is an album by a middle-aged rocker who has managed to avoid all clichés that define many musicians. He has consistently been led by his own intuition and it shows on this album. Musicians who are motivated by shocking the public usually burn out quickly. What is Marilyn Manson up to these days? Reznor shocked listeners with his early work similar to Manson, but has proven time and time again he is terribly creative.

This album flaunts Reznor’s credentials as one of our generation’s most important musicians. "Lights in the Sky" is an eerie piano ballad that shows his writing skills, while "Head Down" is a classic anti-establishment rock song. The album is filled with diversity, but is driven by the heavy industrial rock sound that his music has become known for.

Reznor has focused all the anger of his youth and placed it squarely on the recording industry. The album was released under Creative Commons non-commercial license and was available for free online. Anyone can download the album with all the layers separate and mix the album however they feel on NIN’s official website.

Trent Reznor has transitioned from a rock ‘n’ roll outlaw to an elder statesman, helping further not only industrial music, but rock music in general. Reznor’s work is woven throughout the past fifteen years of music as he introduced a new genre to the mainstream and helped put an avant-garde stamp on modern rock music.

Chris McGregor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or chrism@siu.edu.