In terms of future Nine Inch Nails releases I'm really getting my appetite whetted, especially now that I don't have the excuse of going back to older NIN material (Pretty Hate Machine finally arrived, rounding out my collection). References to the U.S. Military -- could the 2007 album go from angst to politics? It would certainly be a welcome change in lyrical content...
Holy cow. "My Violent Heart" is actually pretty awesome. Yes, the lyrics are still... not so great, but they are better than With Teeth. The sound overall is very electronic, rather than the almost-not-even-industrial sound of With Teeth. Barely a guitar in sight, though one makes an appearance in the bridge.
I like Nine inch nails quite a lot - Downward Spiral is a great album. However, I do think Mr Reznor stole a lot of his ideas from Foetus and Killing Joke. This is no bad thing, but it's a shame those bands didn't generate the same amount of interest.
As for 'industrial' music as a genre - Ministry still reign supreme. No whining or 'teen angst' on their records. Just amazing music that makes you want to destroy things and jump around like a maniac (those are still the best bits on NIN albums).
Industrial is a cruelly ignored genre. I always thought it was a lot of fun to have really nasty guitars with infectious dance beats. A winning combination that the Prodigy stole to great effect.
We now have an off-shoot from industrial called EBM - Ibiza dance music for goths. What's all that about? I still don't get it.
I'm no connisseur of Nine Inch Nails, but damn, if The Fragile isn't one of the best albums of my high school days. I can look past the somewhat cheesy lyrics and just enjoy the music and the emotion of it... it really, REALLY clicked with me back then. Now I just look back on it with some nostalgia and more adoration for the rockin'ness of the music.
------ Let's raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer! I do believe he was our only decent teacher
Posts: 2086 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
I still haven't gotten anyone's opinions on the three NIN leaks. They're sort of glitchy, and in the case of "Me, I'm Not" and "My Violent Heart" pretty minimalist, sort of stripped down Fragile-esque electronic music. "Survivalism" reminds me more of Ministry, but the glitch influence is still strongly felt.
Very good stuff, actually. As I posted before, the lyrical content has changed (now more political and paranoid) but Reznor's basically attacking it from the same position of using simple, fairly straightforward and angry wordplay. But it's somehow just... better. I can't put my finger on it.
Broke and downloaded Year Zero, listening to it now. On track five and it's simply excellent, some of Reznor's old tricks (such as repeating music phrases over different songs) are back and the album is hooky as anything he's ever done. Not a lot of guitar compared to Broken, The Downward Spiral or The Fragile but it's used to great effect. So far each track is better than the one before it, with the exception of "Survivialism". More thoughts when all 16 tracks wrap up, and a full review in two weeks when the album is released.
EDIT after listening to the full leak: My response is predictably fanboy-ish, I love this album. It's dancier than anything he's ever done, bar Pretty Hate Machine. The beats are often commendably complex and interesting; the lyrics are finally better, lots of rants about the future government and religious abuse; also a few mysterious, unexplained loose ends. Very, very electronic, in fact again I have to compare it to PHM in that electronic beats and melodies are the focus, rather than "real" instruments. Though I miss the inclusion of the customary piano-ballad, the album works incredibly as a whole and is very satisfying to this particular raving fanboy. Great album.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dork,
Originally posted by Dork: All Music gave Year Zero an excellent review. They haven't given any of NIN's album anything over four stars since Broken, too.
Meh, that hardly surprises me. Pitchfork has always been harshly critical of NIN, to an absurdist degree. Considering their past ratings that's the equivalent of a strong recommendation.
On a side note, as much as I like the fact that Year Zero got 4.5 stars, I just noticed that Avirl Lavigne's newest album also got 4.5 stars! Not only that but it is written by long-time reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine. He also gave Bucky Covington's debut 3.5 stars! What is going on?
----- These days I'm so slow, all of these thoughts and nowhere to go. My aim it used to be so true, my world had a place in it, darling, just for you.
Posts: 5712 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
I think the shorter time between albums helped the quality of this album. I usually get a feeling that Trent's too much of a perfectionist for his own good, and sometimes he cuts some of the impact out of his music by making it too polished.
But yeah, I agree, this is a very good album, definitely a step up from With Teeth and The Fragile.
Anyone been able to get their hands on Ghosts ? I got the email with the download link but the download cuts off before the file reaches its complete size. Guess i'll have to wait for the traffic to slow down
Mix a little folly with your plans: It is sweet to be silly at the right moment.
What is this Ghost album all about? Is it a free record we can download on the web? What does it sounds like? Why this album came out so quickly? Dork, help me
They're sort of glitchy, and in the case of "Me, I'm Not" and "My Violent Heart" pretty minimalist, sort of stripped down Fragile-esque electronic music. "Survivalism" reminds me more of Ministry, but the glitch influence is still strongly felt.
Very, very electronic, in fact again I have to compare it to PHM in that electronic beats and melodies are the focus, rather than "real" instruments. Though I miss the inclusion of the customary piano-ballad, the album works incredibly as a whole and is very satisfying to this particular raving fanboy. Great album.
