This was next on this list anyway but timing worked out well with the announcement that NIN is doing the soundtrack for Tron: Ares. That being said we won’t be covering soundtracks by Trent/NIN as there is enough to get through as it is.

Also I haven’t read sandylea ‘s thoughts prior to posting, will copy/paste in after each album as I asked her to get a few albums ahead of me at the rate I listen to stuff :lol:.

What is your favourite NIN release?

1. Marilyn Manson Discography
2. The Offspring Discography
3. Nine Inch Nails Discography
4. Jay Z Discography ✅
5. MF DOOM discography ✅
6. Tool Discography ✅
7. Burzum Discography ✅
8. Earl Sweatshirt Discography ✅
9. Death Grips Discography ✅
10. Skinny Puppy Discography ✅

Pretty Hate Machine
(1989)

Packaging (I only own the remaster:)

SPOILER: Click to show

upload pics

Track list

1. Head like a Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down in It
4. Sanctified
5. Something I can Never Have
6. Kinda I Want To
7. Sin
8. That’s What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger

(Remaster has a cover of “Get Down, Make Love)

Impressive one man band, takes the sound of industrial and merges it with Synth-pop to make a much more digestible sound with wider appeal. Recorded almost entirely by Trent Reznor himself using a variety of technology that must have been a huge pain to pull off in the 80s, this is much more catchy than bands like Front Line Assembly and Skinny Puppy, who as I mentioned in the SP thread NIN borrowed a lot from.

Some NIN classics on here, but not as much of an of the deep cuts.
Terrible Lie, Sin, Head Like a Hole and Down In It are great singles but some average tracks bog the album down.

Admire the dedication but slight audio issues here and there even to the untrained eye, the remaster does a great job of fixing them. If you’ve tried to get into the 80s industrial scene and find it I a bit too harsh maybe start here and work your way done.

Rating
7/10

sandylea

This album was the first NIN introduced to me thanks to System, when we were 15 he showed me the song Terrible Lie and I immediately loved it so this album has always had a soft spot in my heart and I remember it fondly. Despite this, I will admit I find half of the album lacklustre.

Head Like a Hole, Terrible Lie, Down In It, Sanctified are all excellent songs and it starts out the album brilliantly. It does die off a little bit with Something I Can Never Have, it’s a good song but it is so much slower and out of place following Sanctified.

The rest of the album, while it isn’t bad - they are pretty average songs and fall flat after a brilliant first half. I do adore the album and as a first album it’s brilliant but Nine Inch Nails got way better over the years.

Oh hell fucking yes lets go

Broken
(1992)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Track List

1. Pinion
2. Wish
3. Last
4. Help Me I am in Hell
5. Happiness in Slavery
6. Gave up.
7-97. (silence)
98. Suck
99. Physical (You’re So)



While “Break Stuff” is the undisputed champion of bad day tracks, which I’m sure would pain Trent Reznor if he still has beef with Fred Durst…this takes the cake of bad day EPs.

Much less accessible than Pretty Hate Machine this an industrial rock classic full of angst and hatred with nothing to dance for.

In a tale you’ll hear constantly throughout the recording of albums, Trent constantly butted heads with TVT who saw NIN as a synth-pop band and wanted Pretty Hate Machine 2.0.

(For those who haven’t heard it Pretty Hate Machine is nowhere near as heavy as the title suggests)

produced by Flood, NIN recorded the album in secret and eventually ended up with interscope, not by choice but it worked out for the best. (Anyone that has watched the Defiant Ones may be familiar). You’ll find a few kind Easter eggs for Steve Gottlieb (of TVT) throughout the videos and artwork…

Pinion gets me every time when I turn it up only to be blasted with “THIS IS THE FIRST DAY OF MY LAST DAY” on the Grammy award winning “Wish”. As Trent put it his epitaph should say:
Said “fist fuck” won a Grammy.

followed up by “Last” which sounds like something out of Doom (even though Quake is NIN’s game) with its great sounding guitar.

“Help Me I Am In Hell” segues into “Happiness in Slavery” perfectly and is a great Hellraiser reference. A track it took me awhile to come around on but enjoy now and be right at home on the next album. Gave Up is a great quasi-closer for the main part, with original pressings putting the two covers on a seperate disc.

I’m not familiar with the original songs but they both sound decent to me, more so suck than Physical. Uses a silent track gimmick to get to these you’ll see later with another discography. Hard to rate as It’s only an EP which is including two covers but what you get is awesome.

And lastly I have to mention the Broken “film” which intentionally looks like a snuff film mixed with NIN music videos and was heavily traded around in the VHS scene and later other versions around the internet. You can watch it below, there’s much worse on the internet but if you’re not into horror etc give it a miss.

archive.org/details/NineInchNails-Broken


Rating
9/10


sandylea

This is probably my least liked album by NIN, it’s not necessarily bad. It’s just very different to the sound that I am used to with their later music.
It's a very fast paced basic punk sound, there is nothing unique to the album. 
Gave Up - is pretty shit tbh, the other songs aren’t too bad but I’m surprised that some of the songs are actually NIN, the sound is just off.

My favourite track on the album is Physical (You’re So), but it doesn’t even come close to how great their other songs are on all the other albums. 

I honestly haven’t listened to this album much compared to the rest, maybe it would grow on me if given a fairer chance. 

Pretty Hate Machine is a weird album. The hits are basically poppy takes of Skinny Puppy songs that personally I am not super into. Down in It, Head Like a Hole and Sin just not really my jams. The B-sides of this disc were fucking amazing though. Something I can Never Have, Sanctified, That’s What I Get and Terrible Lie are all songs done in an original style not really seen in industrial yet. It is basically VNV Nation a decade before VNV Nation, mixing basically goth rock with heavy electronics and being the blueprint for EBM.

8/10

===

Broken is one of my few perfect discs. This is peak aggro industrial to me. Wish is one amazing song, I love Gave Up, Suck and Physical are good overs and the rest of strong.

For Suck this is the classic performance of it.



Also during this era Trent did this amazing Supernaut cover with the Pigface crew.



Broken for me is a 10/10 and the peak of NiN.

Worth mentioning the Broken film was done by amazing Peter Christopherson, of Coil fame. He did my all time favorite music video ever, Coil's video for Tainted Love. Also Coil is where How to Destroy Angels is from as it was their debut album.

While he was unsure which member leaked it, believe it was one of the Butthole Surfers who had a copy of the Broken video that gave it to I believe to Flea Peter said, that started the massive leak of it.  He never meant for it all to get released, and trying to hold it back for a few years made it legendary in bootleg spheres.

Pretty Hate Machine is one of those albums I picked up in 2001 at the height of my heavy metal gangsta phase that kind of opened up my mind to other music genres outside of my metal box. That albums was just so different, and I liked it so much. I got it at Wal Mart that was the only place to buy CD's for a 60 mile radius in the small town I lived in and it was slim pickings at their CD section so best believe I scooped that up, and fell in love with it(I already really loved NIN and had Downward Spiral).

2002 I got Broken and just thinking about or hearing that album takes me back to that Summer, jammed the fuck out of it back then and was obsessed with it. At some point that year I wanted to collect all of the Halo's, every single, video tapes, everything, wanted them all. Loved me some NIN and my love grew once I got my hands on this CD. Around that same time I got the live VHS tape And All That Could Have Been, a tape that found it's way back to me 19 years later in 2021 when I got back with a girl that I had given it to back in the day. I kept that motherfucker when we split up, fuck that bitch. But that tape is amazing live performance one of my favorite, with my favorite versions of several tracks off of Pretty Hate Machine(love that version of Terrible Lie). 

Up until Further Down the Spiral I had all the halos on vinyl and tons of bootlegs. The Downward Spiral was my crown jewel of records for a while since it was only done as a radio promo. Some of my Moby stuff may have been rarer like Go, but Downward Spiral was just way cooler. Not sure if Further Down the Spiral ever made it to vinyl but I could not find it and post Fragile fell off of NiN a lot due to ex's loving them.

NiN was my gateway to industrial though and I went in hard.

Lollapalooza 91, Woodstock 94 and Outside double set with Bowie are my fav live NiN sets.

Damn this is bringing back the feels for NIN, I may start going through with you guys with PHM on my ride to work in the morning.

Since I may not be able the next few days will start the next disc, The Downward Spiral. IMO this is Charlie Clouser;s masterpiece. Trent, Flood and Vrenna did some great stuff, but the signature sound of this album and the remixes is Clouser, and the full soundbank of sounds he released after is all just a masterpiece of industrial sounds.  Clouser releasing the multipack for Piggy was crazy as bands just did not really do that at this time.

My intro to Nails was March of the Pigs on Headbanger's Ball, which to this day is one of their greatest tracks IMO due to the sheer and utter chaos of the song.

Would give this a 10/10 but Big Man with a Gun is a major miss for me, and thematically does not fit on the disc period. Memorabilia, Dead Souls or Burn would have been a much better fit and Big Man with a Gun would have bit better on Further Down the Spiral.

But outside of that, this is just hit after hit.

Performances during this era are legendary as the Self Destruct tour really lived up to the name with Trent's ego raging out of the control and him destroying several pieces of equipment during sets which then they had to make due without giving each live show a unique sound as synths dropped out. The peak being of course Woodstock 94 with them covered in mud.

9/10, almost as good as Broken, but Big Man with a Gun is a miss to me on an otherwise perfect album.

This album had a secondary impact for me in that Closure sold his sample banks from this, and talked about how he created many of the sounds on the old Gearslutz forum, which really helped me learn to do industrial programming. He would be very active and talkative during the release of Further Down the Spiral and replied to a few questions I had about doing drums and how to set up effect chains for them. So while Trent thought he was God, Closure was doing the work helping out the next generation of industrial programmers which is why the sound of the programming of this album becomes the iconic industrial sound for a decade. Like we all learned from him.


Will do a write up for Further Down the Spiral when I get back as that is one insane album that gets overlooked or fans do not really understand how insane the talent on that disc is.

Got time tonight so will do Further Down the Spiral, not sure if System was going to do this one or not but should as it is really interesting.

Will group by remixing team.

"Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)"

Remix done by none other than Rick Rubin, with Dave Navarro throwing down a guitar track. These guys need no introduction.

"Self Destruction, Part Two"
"Self Destruction, Final"

Remix by J. G. Thirlwell. Theme of this album is Trent gets his idols to remix his stuff. No band inspired NiN more than Foetus. They laid the blueprint for what Trent's style of industrial.

"The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)"
"Eraser (Denial; Realization)"
"Eraser (Polite)"
"Erased, Over, Out"

Remix by Coil. The other major inspiration for NiN is here on this track. Again for people who did not realize where it was from, How to Destroy Angels is a Coil album. This would be the last time they worked together as Balance would kill himself a few years later.

"At the Heart of It All"
"The Beauty of Being Numb"

Remixed by Aphex Twin. Trent here brings in Aphex Twin here who at the time was mostly known for ambient work without harsh electronics. At this time Come to Daddy was not released and his recent album was the Richard D. James Album, which while good, was nowhere near as chaotic as he would become. This would be kind of the turn of Aphex Twin and can see the influence Trump and Clouser had on him when he breaks out Come to Daddy as his next release.

This disc for me is a 10/10 as a tribute to the past and future of industrial. Absent is Skinny Puppy, which Trent wanted on this but they were not speaking to each other this point. Trent could have gotten though anyone he wanted to do remixes, and leaned into Prodigy, Orbital, Chemical Brothers and others who were blowing up to do this, but instead he brought out his idols, and gave a guy who no exposure to MTV in Aphex Twin a few songs to make his mark. And they all laid out their trademark styles great while mixing with the source material.

I will not do Fragile as it is my wife's favorite album so will catch up later.

The Downward Spiral
(1994)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Track List

1. Mr Self Destruct
2. Piggy
3. Heresy
4. March of the Pigs
5. Closer
6. Ruiner
7. The Becoming
8. I Do Not Want This
9. Big Man With a Gun
10. A Warm Place
11. Eraser
12. Reptile
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Hurt



One time I tried to rewatch Tetsuo: The Iron Man in the daytime with Sandra and it just didn’t feel the same, much like listening to this via my stereo I had to go back and listen to it with headphones. Both the album and the film are best enjoyed at night and have similar themes (Trent working on the soundtrack for the third film).

Speaking of film, there’s quite a few samples through out this:

SPOILER: Click to show

"Mr. Self Destruct" begins with a sample from the 1971 film THX 1138. It is taken from a scene in which a man is being beaten by a guard depicted on a holographic television. [9]
"Closer" uses a heavily modified sample of a kick drum from the song "Nightclubbing" from The Idiot album by Iggy Pop. [10] It also uses a reversed sample of a guitar figure from "Take A Chance With Me" by Roxy Music, and a synth bass sound from the A Poke in the Ear With a Sharp Stick, Vol. 2 sample library.
"A Warm Place" is based on the melody from David Bowie's 1980 single "Crystal Japan." Some hear it as a complete rip-off, while others argue that from a music theory point of view that the structure has significant differences.
The looping female voice that appears on "Reptile" (approx. 5:06) is from the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The strange mechanical sound before the drums start can be found in the movie Leviathan, and looped mechanical sounds during all the song are found in Aliens (the opening scene immediately after the chamber is cut open and the first power loader scene.) Also, while not a sample, the ascending synth melody from 5:13 to 5:20 may be a reference to "Laura Palmer's Theme" from the television show Twin Peaks.
"The Becoming" uses screams from the film Robot Jox and a reversed sample of the phrase "I know who I am" from the film Angel Heart.
"Ruiner" samples "Beat Box" by Art of Noise, and the breakdown samples elephant noises from David Lynch's The Elephant Man and a buried scream from the film Parents.
"March Of The Pigs" uses two buried scream sounds, sampled from the films Sorcerer and The Exorcist II: The Heretic.
"The Downward Spiral" features a pitched-down sample of strings from the cue "Twins" on the score for Dead Ringers, and a watery sound from the film Alien.

The album is conceptual telling the story of a man having a…you guessed it, downward spiral who ultimately kill’s himself with a gun. It deals with Nietzschean concepts and existentialism with themes of violence, sex, religion and the characters struggles to exist in society. Many fans have dissected this album and even wrote lengthy essays on it so if you like concept albums definitely check this little known record out.

As far as the music goes it oddly reminds of Kanye West’s “Yeezus” in 2023, you never know which direction it is going. There’s harsh industrial noise followed by soothing melody and almost all tracks have an odd structure to them.

The becoming is my favourite track on the album with the almost machine liked sounds and muffled sounds in the background making for a chaotic track and Closer is NIN’s most well known song for a reason. Hurt is a masterpiece that is often micredited as a Johnny Cash original…and I wish this wasn’t in this album. It wasn’t originally meant to be in it considering you know the main character checks out at the end, so conceptually it annoys me. Also hearing Trent scream “and don’t you tell me how I feel!” Like an Angsty teenager sent to his bedroom on “I Do Not Want This” is a bit grating. Big Man with a Gun has been stuck in my head as of late.


It’s no secret that “The Fragile” is my favourite NIN album as Trent said this was originally fiction then going into The Fragile he went through similar struggles so I find it more interesting listen. As I saw someone put it on reddit if you like Industrial rock Trent you’ll like TDS more if you like composer Trent more you’ll like The Fragile more.

Considering I was only 3 when when this released and rocking out to the “Thomas and the Tank Engine” soundtrack I don’t appreciate how groundbreaking this was for the time compared to others that remember thinking “wow I’ve never heard anything like this!” but I still really enjoy the album for the most part I just don’t think it’s NIN’s best album.


Rating
8/10

sandylea


Like most basic bitches out there, this is one of my favourite NIN albums and easily one of the most listened to albums. Closer is by far one of my favourite songs, and Hurt is still such a brilliant and incredible song - is it no surprise the album with both of these classic songs is a favourite?

The album is off to a great start with Mr. Self Destruct - already a better sound than their prior album Broken. Piggy is a unique sound, I usually have a love/hate relationship with this song - sometimes I love it and the chaos that it brings and other times the repetition of ‘pig pig pig’ and the off rhythm drums can drive me mental. No matter how many times I listen to it, it never changes - I either love it or hate it.

Heresy - I have a habit of liking this song more when Piggy doesn’t shit me off, but when it does this also annoys me just because of the INYOUREARSCREECH as soon as it starts. The high pitched vocals used to throw me off when I first listened to the album and the song, but I enjoy the way they played around with their sound so much on The Downward Spiral because this allowed them to lean further into what makes them such a fantastic band.

March of the Pigs often blurs into Heresy, I’m always surprised that it’s a new song, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were originally just one song that got split.

Closer - YEAH BABY. As soon as this song hits with the beat, it’s impossible not to love it and then the lyrics kick in. Do I love the song because of the beat, lyrics, or because of the theme? Who knows it’s just a brilliant song and this cemented Nine Inch Nails in my heart as one of my favourite bands.

Ruiner - Great song, and a brilliant one to follow Closer.

The Becoming is my least favourite song on the soundtrack, and the fact it’s still a great song is pretty astounding. At 3:30 the music just drastically changes and it’s what ruins the song a bit for me.

I Do Not Want This - Oh the angst “Don’t tell me how to feel!” Yeah you tell them Trent! All joking aside, it is a pretty catchy song and the angsty lyrics are fun to yell along to haha and the exact same can be said for Big Man With a Gun.

A Warm Place - Much slower song following all the angst, it’s a beautiful change just having an instrumental filler. It’s gorgeous, relaxing, and somehow emotional all at the same time.

BACK TO THE ANGST - Eraser…. With lyrics like this, I wonder what he is trying to tell us? The majority of the song is instrumental and it has a pretty nice build to the lyrics.

Reptile and The Downward Spiral - Both are great tracks in their own way, but I do feel like they would’ve been better higher up in the track list, or not on this album as the duration of the album does drag on a bit much if you listen to it in just one sitting. The Downward Spiral does actually remind me a bit of Burzum as well which is a new experience.

Hurt - One of the best songs in the world, the lyrics are incredible and so is the music. Trent’s vocals on this song in particular are a standout - the emotions just shine through every single word. Whether you prefer NIN’s version or Johnny Cash there is no misunderstanding what an incredible song Hurt is and it’s the best way to end a brilliant album.

The Fragile
(1999)

Genre: Industrial Rock
Runtime: 103:39

Track List

Left

Somewhat Damaged 4:31
The Day The World Went Away 4:33
The Frail 1:54
The Wretched 5:25
We're In This Together 7:16
The Fragile 4:35
Just Like You Imagined 3:49
Even Deeper 5:47
Pilgrimage 3:31
No, You Don't 3:35
La Mer 4:37
The Great Below 5:17

Right

The Way Out Is Through 4:19
Into The Void 4:51
Where Is Everybody? 5:42
The Mark Has Been Made 5:17
Please 3:32
Starfuckers, Inc. 5:02
Complication 2:32
I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally 4:15
The Big Come Down 4:14
Underneath It All 2:48
Ripe (With Decay) 6:34




Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

(Copy/paste from System’s favourite albums thread)

I sound like a broken record the amount of times I’ve said I like compact albums on PW. A double album? It better be a 10/10 album and like The Smashing Pumpkin’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, it is.

On the last wrestling show one of the wrestlers I’ve had heat with (resolved) says to me “look at System rocking the NIN shirt!” What’s the album that came after The Downward Spiral?. Me “The Fragile?” Him “Yeah! That was the best, TDS is overrated.”
While I think TDS is also brilliant this is in my mind the best NIN album.

Reznor has joked that The Downward Spiral was a concept album of someone losing it and then it really happened to him in the years prior, this being released at a very difficult time in his life and it definitely shows. He claims he went to a beach telling people he was going to write music but played to kill himself and instead wrote the beautiful track “La Mer”. Fortunately for Trent Reznor he’s one of the few artists from this era that found a way out of his addictions and vices but this album deals with the lowest point of his life.

For those unaware Trent (along with Atticus Ross) do a lot of soundtrack stuff now and you can see why from this album. Much more instrumental than any NIN work had been at this point this is a varied and sprawling album. It has been criticised as being unfocused but I feel like it works for this release and you can sense the range of emotions Trent felt at the time.

I know I’m talking as if Nine Inch Nails is a solo act but a part from some occasional contribution this was mostly recorded and produced by Trent. He took inspiration from Prince earlier on and played almost all instruments on the early works.

Sadly NIN didn’t come out swinging sales with this release as the music industry had moved on in the 5 years since the release of 1994’s The Downward Spiral with Eminem the new toy for Interscope. However like a fine wine this aged incredibly well and people began to give The Fragile its flowers.

If you have almost 2 hours to spare this is definitely worth your time.

Rating
10/10







sandylea

Somewhat Damaged - Funky electronic music, lyrics kick-in after a minute and so does the angst.

The Day the World Went Away - the instruments and vocals are low and gentle, the song dies out with slow strumming before coming back in hard. The vocals end out in a harmonising sound, the song is constantly changing and shows perfectly how much NIN continues to evolve.

The Frail - Short and beautiful instrumental piece that leads straight into The Wretched with heavy electronics, angry lyrics… the combination of the two pieces are brilliant to balance the song. The vocals sound completely different and I was questioning whether this was actually Trent singing. It is peak Nine Inch Nails, and it’s glorious.

We’re In This Together - A great electronic beat, this album really showcases how fantastic the use of electronic elements can be sided along with powerful vocals.

The Fragile - Slow whiney vocals play over drums, bass line and a tambourine, it’s a simple song instrumental wise but it really makes the lyrics and vocals shine.

Into the Void - Super funky beat, and fun lyrics with strong vocals make this song an excellent standout in an album that is already a masterpiece.

Starfuckers, Inc - With the inclusion of You’re So Vain lyrics, it’s a terrific song that is just fun and a cool little cover thrown in. This gives more Manson type vibes, especially since he has done a cover of You’re So Vain. It’s a great fast paced rock song.

Just Like You Imagined, Even Deeper, No You Don’t, La Mer, The Great Below, The Way Out is Through, Where is Everybody?, The Mark Has Been Made, Complication, I’m Look Forward to Joining You Finally, The Big Come Down, Underneath It All, Ripe (With Decay) - All fantastic songs in their own right. An excellent mixture of electronic instruments, great lyrics, and instrumentals.

The only two songs I’m not a huge fan of is Pilgrimage and Please but they aren’t skippable, they are still great songs, just are the weakest tracks on this incredible album.

Downard Spiral is a true classic for me, I basically grew up with that album. I feel like it was just always around, somebody always had that. It came out when I was around 10-11. I got in trouble at school when I was 14 in the computer lab, I put that CD in the computer and was going to listen to it on my headphones. This was like a typing class where you had to listen to the program teaching you how to type on the computer. I forgot to plug in my headphones and that opening blasted out of the speakers at full volume lol. I was in deep shit. Straight to the principals office, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.

It is still one that holds up really well for me, not many I can say that for albums that I loved when I was 12-13-14, excellent album.

I agree with your love of the Fragile too, to me it is a masterpiece, epic. Their performance on the 1999 video music awards that year just blew me away and I still think about how awesome that was and what an awesome time in general that was in life.

I never liked the Fragile. At the time I was really, really into Wumpscut, Project Pitchfork, VNV Nation and other industrial shit, and that album just did not really compare to what these all were doing.  After my wife, I will never listen to it again as she was covered in tattoos of lyrics from it being her fav disc.  Really most Nails post Downward Spiral she ruined for me as she loved the later stuff.

[WITH_TEETH]
(2005)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Track List

1. All the Love in the World
2. You Know What You Are?
3. The Collector
4. The Hand that Feeds
5. Love is Not Enough
6. Every Day is Exactly the Same
7. With Teeth
8. Only
9. Getting Smaller
10. Sunspots
11. The Line Begins to Blur
12. Beside you in Time
13. Right Where It Belongs

I remember seeing the video to “Only” on VH1 and at the time I was only just getting into Marilyn Manson so only knew of NIN by association. Had no idea that this was a huge comeback at the time.

Released 6 years after the fragile WITH-UH-TEETH-UH sees a new Trent Reznor now sober after his battles with addiction and attending rehab. Along with Alan Moulder and Atticus Ross (who would join the band officially years later) Dave Grohl also work on the album.

It definitely shows as this is much more of just a radio rock album than previous releases, which there’s nothing wrong with that sort of style but not really what I want out of a NIN album so that takes some adjustment. “My arms they flip-flop-flip” is something I’d never though I’d hear from Trent’s mouth. Understand that Trent was in a much better head space but I like the darker and more layered material.

That being said they are still some great track on this, “Sunspots” “The Hand That Feeds You” are really enjoyable and the closing track “Right where it belongs” is among the best NIN tracks ever released. There’s also a fair amount of stuff that is just ok and forgettable but it’s commendable that Trent Reznor got through his demons to even make this happen let alone a whole new chapter of NIN.

Rating
6/10

sandylea

As an album I really enjoy With Teeth, looking at songs individually though I will admit not many songs really stand out. There is very whiny and high pitched vocals spread throughout the entire album which can often be pretty annoying. While each song has a pretty good hook on it, whether it’s the instrumentals, the lyrics, or vocals there is no denying the songs do become repetitive and annoying at times.

The Hand That Feeds is by far the best song on the album and the most recognisable - this is probably the only song that could standout on its own from the album.
The Collector is pretty good, and Every Day IS Exactly The Same is my personal favourite off With Teeth, but for all the rest of the songs I enjoy listening to them when I listen to the album as a whole but they aren’t tracks I would seek out just because I was in the mood to hear them.

Overall it’s a great album, but the vocals can be a letdown.

Year Zero
(2007)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Track List

1. Hyperpower!
2. This is the Beginning of the End
3. Survivalism
4. The Good Soldier
5. Vessel
6. Me, I’m not
7. Capital G
8. My Violent Heart
9. The Warning
10. God Given
11. Meet your Master
12. The Greater Good
13. The Great Destroyer
14. Another Version of the Truth
15. In this Twilight
16. Zero-Sum

yearzero.netninja.com/
(Archive of the reality game attached to it)

Now the internal struggles are seemingly resolved it’s time for external struggles. Enough of the radio rock that only @ness listens to, it’s back to depressing and layered music.

This time centred around fictional government corruption set in the distance future of … 2022 (declared Year Zero by the government) while
also criticism of the George W Bush administration at the time.

What I like about this approach though is the album is still timeless due to its fictional setting and use of allegory rather than any tracks straight out referring to current events at the time. Capital G is the only track that you can tell straight off the bat it’s directed at George W but even then it works without that context. There was also a game attached to this (archived above) that ties into the promotion of the album, they even studied this in one of the high schools I went to (I started the year after 🥲) which was such a cool concept that got dismissed as simply marketing by some.

As for the actual music it’s much more electronic and digital sounding than With Teeth and has much more interesting use of sound. Distorted glitch sounds throughout like in the end of “The Great Destroyer”, even elements of hip-hop with Trent almost rapping on “God Given”. You even get reprieve from the chaos with “Another Version of the Truth” and “In This Twilight” so there’s something for everyone that still works in the context of the story and the album.

This would also be NIN’s last album with interscope after a dispute with Interscope over international pricing. IIRC they also tried to justify it explaining the disc gimmick (the disc has blanked out words on it, you play it and afterwards they are revealed).


“The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne's record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US). By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: 'It's because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out - you know, true fans. It's the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy.' So... I guess as a reward for being a 'true fan' you get ripped off. “

This has little do with the music itself but will explain a lot about the next release.
As for Year Zero, it’s simply awesome.

Rating
10/10


sandylea

An amazing album from start to finish, every song is fantastic and gives an incorporeal vibe. It is easily one of my favourite Nine Inch Nails albums and it just perfectly flows into each other and it’s hard to say which song is my favourite.

If I had to suggest an album for anyone to listen to so that they can experience Nine Inch Nails in their true sound this would be that album!

I really did not like With Teeth. Like a 4/10 maybe for me. Was the start of Trent letting fans mixing his shit though. The Hand That Feeds You was the first song I ever got a formal remix kit for. Not much really to say about this disc, it was a miss as Trent tried to redefine his sound.


Year Zero was much better for me but not great. 6/10 or so. I get it was a concept album in a Bowie style, but think it missed. Somewhere I have a real fun mix I did of Survivalism. For this disc Trent gave Survivalism, Me, I’m not and Capital G for removising. Another I will not listen to again though due to wife having tattoos for it.  

I'm sure I mentioned it in my thread but in the era of covering our textbooks with brown grocery bags in the 90s I was a poser who wrote band names on mine even if I didn't know them to try and appear cool. I did NIN on it simply because it looked cool. Can only name 3 songs today. And we all know which ones Mr. Radio Head.

Ghosts I-IV
(2008)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Unlike many other albums I’ve reviewed, I remember the launch of this and the release strategy surrounding it so not much is ever actually said about the actual music this contains as the equivalent of the rock you start with in the game “Rust”.

There’s 36 untitled instrumental tracks that are just thrown together. NIN’s first release as under their independent label “The Null Corporation” this was released under various price points and mediums, very similar to the release of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”. You could get Ghosts I for free even uploaded on the The Pirate Bay or go
All in with $300 with the ultra-deluxe version signed by Trent Reznor.

It was also released under a Creative Commons licence to use for any non-profit project you’ll like, hence you hearing this a lot in YouTube videos and some documentaries. Most famously a track from this album features in the intro of:




System, you still haven’t really spoke about the actual music!
There’s not a whole lot to say, it’s not something like a Tim Hecker album where it’s all crafted beginning to end as an instrumental artwork.

This is more so a collection of various NIN sounds that you could do whatever you wanted with, a tool to make something greater.

Rating
5/10




sandylea

Unlike the album, I’m going to keep my thoughts short haha

It’s a fantastic, almost entirely instrumental album.
The duration being 2 hours is extremely long, but since there are 4 parts you can view it as 4 separate albums as well. It’s great to listen to as background music, and actually a perfect setting to nap to as well.

If you enjoy instrumental music, this is absolutely worth a listen to!!
Ghost 1 is by far my favourite out of the 4.

I love Ghosts so much. Just an absolute masterpiece of ambient sounds. Clearly this is where Trent's future in movie scores first showed itself. And these days, think his movie work far, far outshines his mainstream music.

All of Ghosts was a free download at first. Super deluxe version was on vinyl. Have my wife's version as she left it when I tossed her ass out.

The Slip
(2008)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

Track List

1. 999,999
2. 1,000,000
3. Letting you
4. Discipline
5. Echoplex
6. Head Down
7. Lights in the Sky
8. Corona Radiata
9. The Four of Us Are Dying
10. Demon Seed

Friend of mine on MSN

“What do you think of the new NIN album”

Explain I like it for an instrumental album.

He then explains there’s a new album called The Slip (only a month after Ghosts I-IV) released free digitally on the NIN website with same creative common’s licence as Ghosts and a CD version available for purchase. It’s cool that Trent was finally free from a record label and able to do stuff like this but was far as the actual music goes I wasn’t a big fan (nor an air conditioner to quote the Sheikh from Youtube)

Discipline is one of NIN’s best tracks and wouldn’t be out of place on With Teeth, but this album is so forgettable that every time I listen to it the only things I take away are that Disclipline is good and the first two tracks are numbered.

Trent describes this as “garage electronic” and its just too bare bones and similar to the weak tracks on With Teeth for me.

Rating
3/10

sandylea

It’s a shorter album by NIN, and yet when you get the annoying repetitive sound of Corona Radiata you’d be forgiven if you thought the album went for a billion years. I enjoy The Slip but it surprises me this came later in their career, as it gives out a very messy garage sound. As if unsure what they wanted to do with their sound and wanted to try more things out before truly finding themselves.

What hurts the sound of The Slip so much is it comes at a time where the band sound should’ve been better than it was. Otherwise it is a decent album, but nowhere near being great.

To quote my Dad: “What the hell are you listening to? That’s an annoying sound” - it was the end of Corona Radiata and I must agree, it does get pretty annoying.

I forgot this existed. Totally forgettable trash imo. 3/10. Garage electronic is what we used to call ass techno and was music we did while drinking in someone's basement with random gear.

Hesitation Marks
(2013)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

EDIT

Track List


1. Eater of Dreams
2. Copy of a
3. Came Back Haunted
4. Find My Way
5. All Time Low
6. Disappointed
7. Everything
8. Satellite
9. Various Methods of Escape
10. Running
11. I Would for You
12. In Two
13. While I’m still here
14. Black Noise



I know it’s different circumstances but it’s crazy how the time between The Fragile and With Teeth reportedly seemed it was the end for NIN, the five year wait between The Slip and Hesitation Marks wasn’t even noticeable to me.

This album felt like a fever dream, artwork by Russel mills who also worked on The Downward Spiral and this was distributed by a major label…and a brilliant album at that. It seems outside of hardcore NIN fans this doesn’t get talk about much at all.
I feel like music has the opposite of recency bias, whatever album you got into first or grew up is normally your favourite.

This does what With Teeth couldn’t do, produced a more radio friendly version of NIN while still keeping things interesting. A hint of Year Zero here or there but this album is just fun from straight to finish. “A copy of a copy of a copy…” near the start of the album is insanely catchy, all time low and satellite are the best two tracks on the album and Running would fit right in on the Fragile.

I don’t know what the inspiration was for signing back with a major label for a one off release but maybe there is happiness in slavery as it definitely paid off. Also David Lynch directed the video for Come Back Haunted if you want a seizure.


(Official link doesn’t show up because I’m in Aus)

Definitely NIN’s most accessible album (that’s also good) so start here if you’d rather that than the harsher stuff.

Rating
10/10

sandylea

I can’t believe this album is 11 years old, and it honestly revived my love for Nine Inch Nails. Copy of a… is a brilliant opening track and honestly I still quote it a lot to my friends. The lyrics are basic, but it’s a fun sound and memorable.
Came Back Haunted is one of the best songs on the album, and it starts off strong and it keeps going the entire 5 minutes with an abrupt ending going straight into another wonderful song Find My Way - the vocals are different; softer and stretched out. A more melodic approach compared to the songs prior to it.

All Time Low is my personal favourite on the album, it’s so fun and catchy. Reminds me a lot of Closer which I think is why I enjoy it so much and it just gives me a lot of great memories. In 2014 System and I went Skydiving, I edited my own video and paired it with this song so every time I hear it I am reminded of skydiving and a lot of 2014 memories. It’s a fun beat and the ‘Hey!’ Always renews the energy for the track.

Disappointed - Introduces very whiny vocals so it’s quite a change to All Time Low and falls a bit flat, but the lyrics still hold a nice punch especially in the chorus.

Everything - The opening vocals make me cringe every time… I don’t know why, but it’s a weird choice. Once it picks up, it’s great but the first part just gives me the ick haha

Satellite - A much more ‘pop’ song compared to anything else they’ve done before. It’s a good song, but I can also understand why some people don’t like the sound. Personally I love it.

Various Methods of Escape, Running, I Would For You, In Two, While I’m Still Here, and Black Noise - All great songs in their own way but this is definitely the weakest side of the album.

One of my favourite Nine Inch Nails albums that doesn’t get enough love.

Sept 8, 2024 15:43:29 GMT System said:

To quote my Dad: “What the hell are you listening to? That’s an annoying sound” - it was the end of Corona Radiata and I must agree, it does get pretty annoying.

Your dad had the proverbial Hank Hill "it's all toilet sounds" moment lol.

Not the Actual Events
(2016)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

EDIT

Track List

1. Branches/Bones
2. Dear World,
3. She’s Gone Away
4. The Idea of You
5. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)

First three tracks are decent, the last two not so much. I thought the lyrics to “she’s gone away” were “she’s got holes” for an embarrassingly long time until I look it up as if the track title didn’t give that away.

This was announced as the first part in a trilogy of EP’s so expectations weren’t sky high for this but definitely not a stand out in the catalogue.

Rating
5/10

sandylea

At a beautiful 21 minutes it is made up of 5 perfect tracks Branches/Bones, Dear World, She’s Gone Away, The Idea of You, and Burning Bright (Field on Fire) - all songs offer excellent instrumentals, and vocals showcasing the brilliant talents of Nine Inch Nails.

She’s Gone Away would be my favourite as the haunting vocals just add so much more substance to it. A brilliant EP that can easily be listened to on repeat.

Add Violence
(2017)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

EDIT

Track List

1. Less Than
2. The Lovers
3. This isn’t the Place
4. Not Anymore
5. The Background World

Less Than is a great opening track that would fit on Hesitation Marks and The Lovers is another highlight from this EP.

As for The Background World I already knew without reading Sandra’s review that we’d heavily disagree on the last track and I was right :lol:. I put the background world on for myself if I need to concentrate. The last part loop’s 52 times (Trent was 52 at the time) with more distortion until it’s almost indistinguishable to close the track.
As you can seen below opinions can vary greatly on this track. See for yourself below.

Overall and improvement on Not the Actual Events but it’s no Brokenz



Rating
7/10

sandylea

Add Violence - Nine Inch Nails

Another short and wonderful EP at 27 minutes, though one song in particular does irrationally piss me off to no end and I always have to turn it off before the song finishes.

Less Than is terrific and a short fun song, as is Not Anymore. The Lovers offer unique vocals in the form of talking, but the beat is extremely repetitive so while its vocals peak my interest for the most part, the beat is pretty annoying.

This Isn’t The Place is my favourite, beautiful beat with low sensual vocals.

Here is the pain in the ass song that wants to break my will to live every single time… The Background World, the first 4 or so minutes is fantastic, but WTF Trent was it absolutely necessary to draw it out for almost 8 minutes?!?!?! Look, it's a cool idea, I get it creatively… but as a listener who suffers from headaches/migraines. NOPE, I can’t do it.

The EP is great if we cut out the last 8 minutes and just make the whole EP 19 minutes, it just shits me off too much and almost ruins the entire thing for me.

Bad Witch
(2018)

Packaging

SPOILER: Click to show

EDIT

Track List

1. Shit Mirror
2. Ahead of Ourselves
3. Play the Goddamn Part
4. God Break Down the Door
5. I’m Not From this World
6. Over and Out


Originally conceived as the final part of the EP trilogy, this ended becoming a full album though as far as EP and LPs are concerned “the line begins to blur”

Aside from Ian Parker does anyone really care about the difference these days?



As for the actual music, it’s fantastic and heavily inspired by David Bowie and has some new tricks up its sleeves as far as the NIN sounds goes. There’s saxophone and Trent signing in a completely different style on track 4. Trent worked and toured with Bowie so it’s cool to see his influence on someone he was friends with.





(I’ve covered Bowie’s discography for the new arrivals: pwcom.proboards.com/thread/5534/lad-insane-bowie-discography)

Being NIN’s shortest “album” Is packs a lot into it and each track is unique with “ahead of ourselves” being the only tracks that doesn’t quite work for me, brother!

Keeps you guessing all the way through and shows even this far into the discography there was new stuff to be incorporated while still maintaining the signature sound.

Rating
9/10

sandylea

6 tracks for 30 minutes, as long as it doesn’t have the same bullshit that ended Add Violence we should be all gucci!

Shit Mirror - It’s an odd title, but it’s a great start to the album. Fun beat, lyrics, short and no absolute BS.
Ahead of Ourselves - robotic vocals, and quick instruments. It’s a nice rock sounding song.
Play The Goddamned Part - Heavy, almost tribal like drums is essentially what this track is and usually nonstop repetitive sounds piss me off… but this track it just works so brilliantly well and it’s relaxing. I love it!
God Break Down the Door - Quick and funky beat, robotic almost. Gives me a really strong David Bowie inspiration - I haven’t listened to much David Bowie but it’s not hard to imagine him singing this song himself.

I’m Not From This World - If you can imagine being in a spaceship, you’ve been attacked by an Alien and the sirens are going mental, electricity is everywhere and you don’t know what to do or where is safe… that’s this song. It sets an atmosphere all on its own, it lets you tell a story, and the siren in the background well it isn’t hard to do so. It builds up to a climax, to drop and become subtle once again. This is such a unique track that you get to experience a journey all on your own through the mind blowing instrumental work told by Nine Inch Nails.
Maybe I have a crazy imagination but there is nothing better when you find an instrumental track and you can just let your mind run absolutely wild.

Over and Out - Another song that lets your mind wander. This one is much more inspirational in sound. You have escaped the Alien and are returning home! It’s a beautiful track with the starting instrumentals and when vocals come in, it’s clear that David Bowie was another inspiration to this track as well. The vocals just scream BOWIE. It is a beautiful album and especially tracks that shows how Bowie was an inspiration to so many.

Bad Witch is an incredible album, and I still adore it every time I listen to it.

Hesitation Marks for me was a great return to form for Trent. Doing How to Destroy Angels seem to revive him and he slammed out an industrial banger here. Copy of a A my fav song off this easily. Just a rock solid industrial album. 8/10.

EP trilogy. Basically Trent's Berlin trilogy. A lot of interesting stuff on it with a heavy Bowie inspiration but far too experimental for ease of listening really. These all felt like rushed or released before they were fully polished to me. 5/10. The irony is now Trent no longer seeks perfection and is releasing regularly can notice the decline in some songs <.<

Ghosts V: Together
(2020)

(Packaging N/A)

Track List


Released as a free digital download with this message alongside it in 2020:

SPOILER: Click to show

“ FRIENDS-

WEIRD TIMES INDEED…

AS THE NEWS SEEMS TO TURN EVER MORE GRIM BY THE HOUR, WE’VE FOUND OURSELVES VACILLATING WILDLY BETWEEN FEELING LIKE THERE MAY BE HOPE AT TIMES TO UTTER DESPAIR – OFTEN CHANGING MINUTE TO MINUTE. ALTHOUGH EACH OF US DEFINE OURSELVES AS ANTISOCIAL-TYPES WHO PREFER BEING ON OUR OWN, THIS SITUATION HAS REALLY MADE US APPRECIATE THE POWER AND NEED FOR CONNECTION.

MUSIC – WHETHER LISTENING TO IT, THINKING ABOUT IT OR CREATING IT – HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE THING THAT HELPED US GET THROUGH ANYTHING – GOOD OR BAD. WITH THAT IN MIND, WE DECIDED TO BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL AND COMPLETE THESE NEW GHOSTS RECORDS AS A MEANS OF STAYING SOMEWHAT SANE.

GHOSTS V: TOGETHER IS FOR WHEN THINGS SEEM LIKE IT MIGHT ALL BE OKAY, AND GHOSTS VI: LOCUSTS… WELL, YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT.

IT MADE US FEEL BETTER TO MAKE THESE AND IT FEELS GOOD TO SHARE THEM. MUSIC HAS ALWAYS HAD A WAY OF MAKING US FEEL A LITTLE LESS ALONE IN THE WORLD… AND HOPEFULLY IT DOES FOR YOU, TOO. REMEMBER, EVERYONE IS IN THIS THING TOGETHER AND THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON. BE SMART AND SAFE AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER.

WITH LOVE, TRENT & ATTICUS”

This reminds me of my post regarding NIN being announced as doing the soundtrack for Daft Punk: Ares. Trent can’t escape the NIN sound whether it’s How to Destroy Angels or soundtracks , this is advertised as the lighter positive version of the two albums and I found this way more unsettling than Locusts.

That’s not to say the music is bad and maybe it says something about my mental state but I don’t find this recording relaxing at all. It’s more purposeful than Ghosts I-IV so if want some more instrumental NIN I’d say this is a slight improvement.

Rating
6/10

Ghosts V

sandylea

Released as a free download during Covid lockdowns in 2020, I think sets us up for what we are to expect.

Letting Go While Holding On - a beautiful subtle piano instrumental starts off, as it progresses other instruments are introduced but it keeps the relaxation rhythm. It is a beautiful piece of music, and similar to what they play at float centres. I instantly feel more relaxed listening to it.

Together - An absolutely gorgeous track. Subtle in notes, light and flowery, romantic.

Out in the Open - A slight menacing hint throughout this track, yet still beautiful and relaxing.

With Faith - this track amps up the menacing notes, and gives a almost church hum throughout it. Instrumental music I would come to expect from Soulslike games.

Apart - Continues the church hum while bringing back the romantic subtle piano. It is a mixture that works incredibly well while the menacing notes play underneath.

Your Touch - the shortest track on the album, has lost the menacing notes and has more inspirational upbeat tone.

Hope We Can Again - Beautiful and soft. Much slower paced compared to the rest of the album.

Still Right Here - This track changes the direction of the album. It goes into a hyper electronic beat with a faster tempo. While it’s great track, it doesn’t ‘fit’ into this album like the rest do and honestly stops the album being a 10/10