Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Wo0tus]

what does everyone think of this new work, personally i think it's Trent's best work so far.

[QC_fan]

One word: Amazing
Heard one song and i love it...cant remember which one though but i have read about and might buy it when it comes out here...and if i have the money as well

[rynne]

I wouldn’t say his best work, 'cause I don't think it tops TDS, but it's a pretty damn solid album.  I'm really enjoying it.

The next two singles ("Only" and "Every Day Is Exactly the Same") are gonna be ace.

[zekterellium]

i cannot get into it at all. downward spiral is in my top ten albums of all time, i think, but this new one just SUCKS. he's trying to recapture his youth and he's failing. roll on alec empire, damn it.

[TheoristB]

I think it is fantastic.  I definetly don't think it is him trying to recapture his youth.  The songwriting on the CD has definetly matured.  There is a stronger sense of melody in the songs, the melodies are stronger and definetly go in directions taht are different for trent.  I love the CD, especialy the last half of all the love in the world.  I heart it.

[rynne]

I can see where zekterellium is coming from, a bit.  My first reaction was that With Teeth was closer to Pretty Hate Machine than any other NIN album, in that it's more a collection of (relatively poppy) songs as opposed to a work with a larger theme or pseudo-theme.

That being said, I've always thought Trent's strong point was making tracks that are superficially noisy and ugly, but have a very accessible--if dark--song at the core.  And With Teeth seems like a celebration of that kind of work, so I'm pretty happy.

[Empty Friend]

Two thumbs (and a fanboy boner) up.

No, but seriously it's awesome.  And I don't think he's trying to recapture anything either, if anything when I first threw it in I thought he sounded like he had finally grown up past the "must destroy everything" stage.  Don't shoot me for saying this, but I was actually kind of reminded of the transition into more adult sounding music that Metallica went into from the Black Album to Load... except with about a 50 times better result in this case.

[bainidhe_dub]

this thread made me go listen to the album through (just got several cd's from a friends on saturday, but been listening to (hed)p.e. nonstop)

i'm only up to Every Day Is Exactly The Same, but i like it pretty well so far, if it is a bit.. i don't want to say popish, but that's the word that comes to mind.
i warn you now, i'm very bad at describing music. it usually involve phrases like 'the blue and yellow up at the top.' but here goes.
i say popish because of the center sound of it all - it's sort of high and set apart from the rest, including the vocals. and the vocals sounds sort of glued on over the music.. but i like the bit, a guitar i suppose, i'm not good at distinguishing these things, that's off to the right of it all..
didn't i tell you? but i guess i'm trying to say that it's good but has a sort of processed, over-polished note that makes it sound more pop. like pre-faded jeans.. *stops talking*

[Spencer]

First things first - It is simply impossible for me to grasp and comprehend the concept of thinking TDS is better then Pretty Hate Machine. Does Not Compute. Abort? Retry? Fail? I really cannot fathom how anyone could think PHM is the inferior album of the 2.

Secondly, as I commented about in the NIN thread from a few weeks ago, I really was excited by the few songs that (at the time) were leaked. But I havent gotten around to aquiring this album yet. Im really interested in the influence of Jeordie White on the overall sound of the band. He and Trent transformed Marilyn Manson into quite a resepctable group of musicians (just listen to the difference in musicianship between Portrait of an American Family and Antichrist Superstar).

[Cpt.Fantastic]

I bought the album on Tuesday (first album I have bought on the week of release since....... Kaiser Chiefs' 'Employment') and all I can say is - AMAZING!

'The Hand That Feeds' and 'Every Day Is Exactly The Same' (is it called that?) are brilliant. It's knocked The Futureheads out of my Walkman, and it's gonna rock my iPod tonight.

9/10 - 'Brilliant'

[rynne]

Im really interested in the influence of Jeordie White on the overall sound of the band. He and Trent transformed Marilyn Manson into quite a resepctable group of musicians (just listen to the difference in musicianship between Portrait of an American Family and Antichrist Superstar).

Jeordie had no effect on the album; he wasn’t hired until after it was recorded.  I’d have to look over the liner notes again, but I’m pretty sure the only guest musicians on the album are drummers: Grohl and Jerome Dylan.  I’ve heard lots of good things about the live band.

Total agreement on Antichrist Superstar, though.   That album has got "Trent and Jeordie" plastered all over it.

[Spencer]

Downloaded the album last night. Definitly going to have to buy a legit copy.

Best NIN album since Broken.

I am kicking the hell out of my ass for not going to Coachella last weekend.

[Liv]

I want it...badly.

And I was never really a fan to begin with [unless just enjoying their music counts.]

 D:

[Hatebunny]

Well, at the risk of writing a full-scale review, which is something I'm prone to doing at this time of night/morning, I'll try to keep it short.

The album is good, and cohesive. Not since I went through my beatles phase have I liked every single song on every single album by the same band. Nine Inch Nails has not ceased to...avoid disappointing me. I've been following the production of this album for nigh on a 2 years. (Most of which was waiting for news of the new album to even START being written). Even so, there is little to say after having said that. 6 years of waiting, and the album exceeds my expectations.

I've read a lot of reviews about Reznor not changing his style, or being the same old whiney twenty-three year old in a 39 year old's body. Really though, after overcoming alcoholism AND a cocaine addiction you've got to acknowledge the fact that the years between being 28 and being 39 kinda disappeared for him. Also, to demand that a man who's made awesome music for 15 years change his style is to demand that a pop-punk band start playing classical music.

I daren't claim one album is better than another. It's not like a succession, it's like a puzzle.  With each new album, you're given more of the puzzle. There is no piece of a puzzle that's better than another, or fits better than the others. They all fit together. The best part is that the puzzle never ends.
Until Trent Reznor dies anyway...

Rather than just say which songs I liked most or whatever, I'm just going to finish saying that it's 13 more tracks to add to my collection of songs that I'll never forget, and will always be a part of me. One more puzzle piece that's just as important as all the other pieces (not so much the remix albums...I like to pretend those don't exist sometimes). To quote Reznor,
With Teeth is 12 punches in the face. But he didn't mention that there's a 13th track, which is more like a sad hug between reunited friends who have to leave eachother once again...until the next album.

...woah, that came out a little more...than I wanted it to.
Sorry folks.

[Liv]

that was beautiful, man. Like poetry. [good poetry, not that whiney shit]

[dave86]

On its own, it's not a bad album... but it just seems too similar to the rest of his body of work to really stand out.

[amok]

It's a pretty tasty album. No PHM but definitely better than I thought it'd be based on the single

[Empty Friend]

On its own, it's not a bad album... but it just seems too similar to the rest of his body of work to really stand out.

This makes my brain hurt not in and of itself, but because one of the other complaints I've heard is he doesn't sound enough like himself and is too poppy now.  So now we've got complaints on both ends of the spectrum for sound similarity.

[ASturge]

I personally hated it...

[Robbo]

Like most of NIN's stuff, I didn't like it. Just not my scene and Trent has been on the down for years. I've enjoyed some bits here and there but the new album is waste.

But Empty Friend..

I was actually kind of reminded of the transition into more adult sounding music that Metallica went into from the Black Album to Load

That was musical devolution, becoming worse =/= becoming adult....but I agree, it's the same sort of change. From bad to worse.

[KharBevNor]

I think the real problem here is that Nine Inch Nails are a somewhat dull and vastly over-rated band, mainly liked by people who would cry if exposed to real Industrial music, and that Trent Reznor is a whining, tedious fart, who's only real skill is being able to churn out music that is simultaneously bland enough to garner mainstream appeal (whilst giving people the feeling that they're listening to something unique, interesting or even innovative) and complex and well-thought out enough to somehow blind everyone to the fact that all his 'emotional problems' are self-manufactured addictions funded by his vast album sales, pulling off the incredible feat of making people who claim to have musical taste, actually interested in his petty existence and somewhat tedious music, and even discuss it as if it was art of some sort.

Trent Reznor is to Industrial music as Jonathan Davies is to Metal. The difference being some Nine Inch Nails is pretty okay, whereas KoRn is universally dire.

[Hector Gilbert]

My review from rateyourmusic.com:

The introduction of Dave Grohl on drums and Trent's quite revealing desire to make a simple album with no instrumental breaks both make for a surprisingly rhythmic and light-hearted Nine Inch Nails album.  The percussion is quite present and the vocals are more casual-sounding than they were on previous albums.

"So what's wrong, then?" you say.

What's right?  Trent's pretensions of making an innovative, industrial-tinged alternative album are clearly well behind him now.  Apart from the introduction of Dave Grohl (which does not necessarily help a record), much of this sounds like an unimpressive retread of past work.  The bizarrely-tuned notes that sounded so fresh at the end of "Closer" appear quite often, as do numerous familiar-sounding noises that sound hand-picked from  The Fragile and the cheesy drum'n'bass and crummy guitar sound that peppered many of the remixes.  The lyrics and song titles typify the album with their familiarity.

I've heard many people - particularly those who are fans of NIN - uniformly dismiss Trent's song-writing abilities as being secondary to his ability to create soundscapes and textures.  To those people, I object - citing the clever and evil  Pretty Hate Machine and the fitting sadomasochistic rage of  Broken as examples from his early work - but I also have to add that the lyrical deterioration that took place from  The Downward Spiral onwards has continued.  Clichéd phrases, which once popped up only every now and again for effect, are now central and commonplace enough to ensure that Trent's vocals seem as ponderous as the music set to them.

All that said, this isn't a horrible album by any means.  There are still a few songs from this that I can kind of enjoy, but as a whole this album is quite tiresome and fails to stand out from the crowd unlike any of the other major releases - without anything to match the cunning of  Pretty Hate Machine, the violent and thrashy yet dense sound of  Broken, the atmospheric texturing of  The Downward Spiral, or even the (over-wrought) ambition of  The Fragile.  It may as well be another remix album.

Two stars

[Willis]

Tiny Mix Tapes Review.
Nice touch.

I've never gotten into NIN, aside from what's ever been played on the radio.  But its funny.  I've usually enjoyed the stuff I've heard, but never to the point where I feel the need to go buy the album.  I've heard snippets from this album and was intrigued.  Intrigued to the point where I may actually purchase it.  Of course if TMT has any say, it will not be joining my collection.

~~Willis

[Hector Gilbert]

If you want to get into NIN I suggest either Pretty Hate Machine if you like Depeche Mode/80s synths and wouldn't mind hearing something a bit more dramatic than what's on Violator, or The Downward Spiral if otherwise.

[Johnny C]

Willis, that review is incredibly hurtful but indubitably awesome.

[Hatebunny]

Excuse my rashness and obvious predisposition to argue in favour of one of the things that's kept me sane over the years.

Seems a lot of you are predisposed to dislike nine inch nails anyway, so...what you thought of the new album isn't really going to differ greatly from your general opinion of him.

Meanwhile, a few posts up, someone comments on how overrated and dull Nine inch nails is, (apparently). Might I suggest that you've never felt the types of feelings expressed by the words and music? That is not to say that you've never felt low, or angry, but there is a rather diverse array of feelings, and it's likely that many people who don't identify with Trent Reznor's feelings won't idnentify with/enjoy the music...barring flukes who just like the music, Or just don't like the music, regardless of feelings.

edit: Trent Reznor professes to making neither industrial music, nor metal.
While industrial music is often completely different from Reznor's approach, there are branches of industrial music, like EBM, IDM, etc which he doesn't touch upon at all. If anything, Nine inch nails is a combination of those early industrial dance roots, and metal. However, I would venture to say that Nine Inch Nails is genre unto itself, much like Primus, Einsturzende Neubauten, or Sigur Ros. They are unlike anything else, yet they obviously draw on roots of other genres in order to make what they make. So, to claim that NiN is the shittiest of industrial music, is like unto proclaiming that Bach was a horrible Bluegrass Musician.

The new Album is Nine inch Nails, not Industrial, and if you don't like nine inch nails whether it be for petty reasons, or good reasons, there is a great unlikelihood that you will dislike With_Teeth. That isn't to say that if you don't like nine inch nails, you have no right to comment, but it makes sense that you should explain why you dislike the music itself, not why you think the band is overrated.

(also, leave it to people who don't like a band to pretend that they know what's going on in the artist's personal life better than a devoted fanatic.)

[Donut]

I thoroughly enjoy it.  IMO, it's not his best work, but it's becoming one of my favorites.


I would write more, but I don't really see the point, since many here just don't care for my tastes in music.  And Hatebunny said mostly the same type of stuff that I was thinking.

[KharBevNor]

Meanwhile, a few posts up, someone comments on how overrated and dull Nine inch nails is, (apparently). Might I suggest that you've never felt the types of feelings expressed by the words and music? That is not to say that you've never felt low, or angry, but there is a rather diverse array of feelings, and it's likely that many people who don't identify with Trent Reznor's feelings won't idnentify with/enjoy the music...barring flukes who just like the music, Or just don't like the music, regardless of feelings.

If I believe it is dull because I cannot identify with the emotions then the fault lies in the pedestrian, dull nature of the music itself rather than with me.

For example, I am not transgendered, but I can still identify with Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows. I have never lost a lover, but I can still identify with My Dying Bride. I have never seriously considered suicide, but I can still identify with Abyssic Hate. These are examples of artists that are successful at communicating alien concepts through the sheer, raw, vivid power of music and the human voice, rather than artists who produce plodding, audience-friendly music tailored to the emotional traumas of teenagers who draw tears on their cheeks with their liquid eyeliner.

[Johnny C]

Don't forget, the teenagers also wear black because it's the colour of their souls!

[Empty Friend]

I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are... because judging a band or musician based off of what a decent chunk of the fans are like is about as stupid as judging the merits of the music itself based off the way the musician looks.

I kinda miss the days when it was ok to like something because of the way it sounded, not because of it's relation to other musicians' bodies of work... especially when the other musicians have not much to do with the subject at hand.

Also, as anal as Trent Reznor is about the way his stuff sounds, I hardly think it's fair to say he went to the studio with the idea in mind to produce anything "audience friendly."  The guy has an absolute hardon for making the music be absolutely his, and yeah sometimes that hurts it due to lack of influence from those around him, but come on...  You're basically faulting him for doing it the way he likes and saying he's doing it to suck off his fanbase and not to make it his way.  

I'm not saying you have to like it, but jesus.

[Hatebunny]

If I believe it is dull because I cannot identify with the emotions then the fault lies in the pedestrian, dull nature of the music itself rather than with me.

In reality, there is no fault at all.
Your blaming the music for being the way it is, is like blaming vegetables for being less appetizing than candy.

The music is what it is, It's made by someone who is what he is. You can't blame something for being what it is, likewise, you can't blame yourself for disliking it because it is what it is. The music and you are separate entities, and clearly, if others like the music, the music isn't out to bore everyone to tears, otherwise everyone would be bored to tears by it. Pardon me for my use of redundant phrasing, but you're being unnecessarily narrow minded about this.

You don't have to like the music, but your reasons why you dislike the music are uninformed and utterly opinion based and biased.

Also, normal people do listen to a wide variety of music. NiN's fanbase is hardly goth, and if ANYone out there is still painting their face, they're listening to Sisters of Mercy and that kind of stuff. NiN's lyrics and music which cater to the feelings of angsty teens are not less relevent because they do. Likewise, angsty teens are not people to be looked down upon. Everyone's annoyed by something. Just be glad that there are people who enjoy more adult and more intelligent music than say, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte or Simple Plan, and who dress, talk and act normally, despite their angst.


edit: that is not to say that Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, and Simple Plan are not listenable, but their lyrics tend to be neither profound, nor particularly adult.

[KharBevNor]

I wear makeup, on occasion*. Corpsepaint once or twice.

Currently I'm listening to 'Chaos Within' by 1349.


As I see this argument is going nowhere, I will cease, but only after giving this heartfelt plea to the world in general:

Please stop fellating the giant, freudian phallus of Trent Reznor's ego.

Thank-you

*No fucking painted on tears though! ARGHGHGHGHGHG**

** I should learn how to be less annoyed by everything.

[Donut]

Wait.  You wear makeup, yet it's apparently some great offense for people to wear painted on tears?  


Double standard much?

[KharBevNor]

No double standards whatsoever.

All Makeup =/= Awful shite-arse mallcore makeup

[rynne]

I think the real problem here is that Nine Inch Nails are a somewhat dull and vastly over-rated band, mainly liked by people who would cry if exposed to real Industrial music, and that Trent Reznor is a whining, tedious fart, who's only real skill is being able to churn out music that is simultaneously bland enough to garner mainstream appeal (whilst giving people the feeling that they're listening to something unique, interesting or even innovative) and complex and well-thought out enough to somehow blind everyone to the fact that all his 'emotional problems' are self-manufactured addictions funded by his vast album sales, pulling off the incredible feat of making people who claim to have musical taste, actually interested in his petty existence and somewhat tedious music, and even discuss it as if it was art of some sort.

At this point, I like NIN simply because the music appeals to me.  I'll admit that NIN is best not at coming up with new sounds, but in putting together existing styles in ways that appeal to me, and to many people in general it seems.  I like something that skillfully melds, say, industrial with glam with IDM, etc.  I wouldn't say that the mainstream appeal equates directly to blandness--for example, I don't think "Closer" could be called bland, even though it was NIN's biggest hit.

In regards to his emotional problems, I don't think anyone out of their teens is blind to his self-destructive streak and his relative immaturity in how he deals with it.  At the NIN board I post at, a lot of folks will tell you that the man should grow up and stop writing songs about himself.

My theory is that Trent's not necessarily writing for a mainstream appeal, but that his descriptions of his pain/anger/suffering are so generally phrased that it's easy for listeners to identify with the songs if they're so inclinded.

I do think the new album's lyrics are a bit more mature in terms of their emotional content, if not their stylings.  It's baby steps, to be sure, but it is progress nonetheless.

[Empty Friend]

I also thought it prudent that if the man were out to make music for the express purpose of pleasing his fans he'd make another TDS so that large group would finally shut the fuck up about it already.

[Hatebunny]

I don't think it's reasonable to assume that any musician should make music for the fans.

I'm a musician. If I had fans, I wouldn't give a crap about what they thought, I'd write music for me. My music is my music. So, Trent Reznor writes songs for himself about himself. Woopdedoo. I'd rather that he wrote about himself than the state of the yen in comparison to the dollar or tsunamis in asia.
If a song has the word 'I' or 'you' in it, it doesn't matter that it's by the artist about the artist, so long as the things that apply to the I or the You can also apply to a listener. As human beings, we've already got something in common, so we're not so far removed from reznor that we can't apply the songs to ourselves, whether they're about himself or not.

Reznor's 'enormous ego' has been admitted to, and renounced by himself. He was an alcoholic and a cocaine addict. When reading interviews about this new album, it's easy to see the humbleness, and the change that's come about. While he may be talking a lot more, and being more open about himself, it's not really a sign of more ego so much as destroying the ego that made him think it was cool to hole himself up and to tell interviewers to fuck off.


blah blah blah...I really wish someone would say how great the album was instead of letting me keep shooting my mouth off like this.

[exliontamer]

I'm down with Trent Reznor. I think he's a pretty cool dude. But seriously, Nine Inch Nails is so trite and awful. None of it is even remotely listenable and I am always flabbergasted at the turnouts for their live shows. One of my friends is obsessed with them, and I'll give any band a fair listen or two. I've even watched the DVD and stuff. Nothing NIN related has ever impressed or even interested me and the new album is no exception.

[Hatebunny]

I'm going to take it for granted that that post wasn't real. *cough*

[Conatonc]

I like the album a lot. The fact that it's far less bloated than The Fragile (which I liked, but just couldn't listen to in certain situations. Like, driving) is a definite plus for listenablility. It's not breaking any new ground for NIN, but it's a solid effort all the way around, I think. I've been an NIN fan since before Broken came out, and I don't think there's been a signifcant deterioration in his music.

[QC_fan]

I got the album yestrday and i really enojuyed the first 4 tracks...need to listen to all of it but i really like it

[Spencer]

A handful of listens later, and I'm still smitten with this album. I still think it's Trent's best album since Broken, but I also think it unfair to compare it to any of his previous work. While stil distinctly Nine Inch Nails, this album isn't like anything he's done before. It's a *rock record*. Trent made a rock and roll record in the style of Nine Inch Nails, and I for one think the result was pretty darned good.

It's not a *great* record. I think even the people who really love it (and yes, I really do love it) will admit that it isn't a groundbreakingly phenomenal record. But it is *good*. If you are a fan of Rock Music, and a Fan of earlier NIN, you're probably gonna like this record. If you thought The Downward Spiral and The Fragile were zomgwtf the most awesomest ever, then you're probably not gonna be too keen on this. The lyrics aren't that amazing. Many of the songs have repeating one line choruses. But they work with the songs, and Trents voice is, dare I say, Lovely. I think the procussion work on the album is tremendous, and I know that Grohl can't get all the credit. I don't know which songs Trent did and whioch Grohl did, but I enjoy them all.

If you're going to play the Comparitive Criticism game, then no, this album does not stack up against Pretty Hate Machine or The Downward Spiral (depending on which school of thought you are a part of in regards to their "best" album). However, basing your opinion of an artists work based on previous work is a flawed approach, and I truely weep for you and your taste in music. Judge the album based on its own merits and flaws, and don't be scared to admit you like something that isnt OMGWTF the greatest album evAr.

[rynne]

From the liner notes, it looks like drummers are:

Dave Grohl:
"All the Love in the World"
"You Know What You Are?"
"The Collector"
"Every Day Is Exactly the Same"
"Getting Smaller"
"Sunspots"
"The Line Begins To Blur"

Jerome Dylan:
"With Teeth"
"Home"

[maxusy3k]

I won't say I'm a NIN fan... I have The Downward Spiral and The Fragile and like the former, love the latter... as for this one... I dunno, I just didn't particularly enjoy it. Listenable, certainly, but I can't see myself listening to it much in the near future.

*shrug*

[pip_helix]

i haven't heard all of the album, just little bits floating around the building, and i've enjoyed it.

the arts section of my local newspaper had written an interesting article on this album in relation to reznor's sobriety, and i have to give him tremendous credit for that. dunno if i'd buy it, i have yet to own a n.i.n album, but it's definitely a consideration. i'd like to hear more before making a decision.


link to projo article

[OtterErotic]

projo as in "providence journal" ?

[pip_helix]

yes, providence journal indeed.

[OtterErotic]

are you going to the ted leo show in providence tomorrow?

[pip_helix]

unfortunately, i've got a huge final on friday, so physics > ted leo. just this once.

</off-topic>

[Tinjessla]

Hmm. I'm listening to the album now on someones shared iTunes folder. It's...not bad. Everyday is exactly the same is the stand out track for me, but the rest seem a little to samey. Maybe it's going to take a few good listens first..