Check out my review here…
I’ve been waiting for this album for quite a while! Not that I was that big of a NIN fan before but I recently listened to a radio broadcast run by Trent Reznor (the man behind NIN). I’ve always known he’s somewhat of an electronic music genius but listening to him talk and hearing his musical influences, really gave me a new appreciation for his compositions. What’s even more interesting is the fact that this is the first album he’s done “sober”. Trent even explained how there was a fear about weather there would still be anything there to compose without the drugs and such he used to take. Well, once again, we discover that we always do better sober than not!
This is truly an album that has to be listened to with good headphones without any distractions. The meticulous construction of the tracks, amazingly deep lyrics, and overall production is just out of this world. Case in point, the last track, “Right Where It Belongs” starts out un-noticeably in rather low fidelity sound and volume. Slowly over the length of the song, the volume and sound quality improves and expands. By the end, there is a live audience in the background and such a power it’s hard to describe. Truly amazing to hear in headphones.
Also of note is the use of some rather “antique” electronic musical instruments and drum machines. I suppose that’s why I appreciate NIN so much -there’s no need to use the most advanced equipment to make a good sound. You can still make some cool things with even the oldest of instruments! The song “Only” attests to that. The drum line sounds like it comes straight off a cheap Casio keyboard drum track, then a bass guitar comes in, some cool deep synth sounds, etc. Little by little, the song becomes a massive mixture of sounds and tracks -and it still works.
Check out some shots of his studio (found on nin.com):
