The Rock Blogger

Nine Inch Nails. The Slip . 2008. 4 stars .

Trent Reznor is on a roll. Just two months after NIN’s epic ambient release Ghosts I-IV , and not even a year after the excellent dystopia that was Year Zero , Reznor has unveiled another full length work - a more traditional sounding album that merges noisy industrial metal with hook-laden arena rock jams, all for free from the band’s website. Presented as a gift to NIN’s loyal fan base who made Ghosts a financial windfall, The Slip is a solid and accessible collection that, while not groundbreaking, still showcases Reznor’s newfound artistic freedom and energy.

The Slip starts off strong with the ambient lead in of “999,999″ that draws you into the distortion saturated “100,000,000″ that chugs along with powerful, buzzing riffs with some industrial effects thrown in for good measure. The chaotic “Letting You” keeps up the feverish momentum, with blasting guitar feedback and jittery digital beats that complement the raucous lyrics that scramble across the intense layers of noise. The hard hitting clamor of this track is a welcome throw back to the terrifying catharsis of The Downward Spiral, reminding me of “March of the Pigs” and “Mr. Self-Destruct”.

The album’s surprise single “Disciple” is far more conventional, with a pulsing, almost funk inspired rhythm that follows the same lead as With Teeth’s “The Hand that Feeds” and “Only”. Light piano touches flesh out the track as it breaks down into swirling, hypnotic melodies. “Echoplex” follows through with a gritty bass line that provides a sinewy anchor for Reznor’s calm and reflective vocals before being enveloped by a wall of sound. “Head Down” is a slightly weaker track, with rather uninspired vocals speak-shouting across raw and dirty beats. While the effects here are cool, they ultimately distract from the pleasant synth melody that eventually lifts up towards the song’s conclusion.

The later section of the album returns to more abstract territory, as quieter piano driven tracks like “Lights in the Sky” provide brief moments of meditation amidst the racket. While these pieces are not nearly as captivating as the ambient spaces found on Ghosts, they do provide a welcome contrast to the rest of the album. The moody “The Four of Us are Dying” is a clear highlight here, as the deliberate pacing allows the dark layers to slowly unfurl and play against each other in a mesmerizing fashion.

Overall, The Slip is a tight and satisfying album that delivers all the necessary compositional elements that make a NIN release distinct and remarkable. Despite not being as aesthetically cohesive as Year Zero and Ghosts, as it darts back and forth between industrial rock and detached ambiance, the majority of the songs on The Slip are succinct and intense. So what are you waiting for? Go download this right now and help vindicate the self-release ethos that’s turning the music industry on its head!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.