Week of Nine Inch Nails

     It's finally time, one of the biggest album releases of the year is upon us and it is in desperate need of reviewing. I have been anxiously awaiting this album's release for a long time now. So here we go this week I will be reviewing Nine Inch Nails- Hesitation Marks.

     Nine Inch Nails is an American Industrial Rock Project founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboards with a band called the Exotic Birds who were managed by John Malm Jr. When Trent Reznor left Exotic Birds John became his manager. Trent was working as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios. He got permission to create demos in the studios spare time. He played all the instruments as he often does and those were the earliest NIN demos. He later took those demos and put them out as their debut album Pretty Hate Machine in 1989. After secretly recording Broken under another band name so avoid having to put another album under TVT Records. Broken was followed by its remix ep Fixed in 1992. Instead of touring more they went into the Le Pig studios. Their second album The Downward Spiral came out in 1994 and jumped straight to the top of the charts. This album gained so much success that it let them straight to headlining arenas. Five years after The Downward Spiral the double album The Fragile came out in 1999. Four more years passed before the album With Teeth was released in 2005. Like The Fragile before it With Teeth topped the charts. This brought them the most success since The Downward Spiral with the single, "The Hand That Feeds". Following that in 2007 he released the highly political album Year Zero, quickly followed by the highly experimental Ghosts I-IV in 2008. He also released The Slip for free on his site in 2008. After that they broke up, he created How to Destroy Angels, wrote two soundtracks one of which won an Oscar, and now he's back.

     One of the major points I want to make in this review is the comparison between The Downward Spiral and Hesitation Marks. I know that comparing Nine Inch Nails albums to each other is a heinous crime especially comparing The Downward Spiral to anything, but I'm gonna do it anyway. When Trent Reznor wrote The Downward Spiral he was in a very dark place at the time of the record almost at the point of suicidal and that where one of the most incredible albums of the 90's draws its inspiration. I like to think or The Downward Spiral- Hesitation Marks as a roller coaster of Trent Reznor's emotions. As Trent famously says about Hesitation Marks is that the rage is quieter. So it the dips in the roller coaster are the darkness on The Downward Spiral, then the hill are hill him coming out of the darkness on Hesitation Marks. It's a journey through Trent's mind and emotions and that's why I think this comparison works. He was in a terribly dark place before and now he is starting to recover from that pain and face himself in a more content light.
                                                    Came Back Haunted-Nine Inch Nails

       After getting burnt out from non stop touring and breaking up Nine Inch Nails, ( sort of you can't really break up one person). He got re-inspired by work on soundtracks, work with How to Destroy Angels. The beauty of the way Trent Reznor writes his albums about how he is emotionally at the time avoiding the 12 albums that sound and feel exactly the same. Trent is in a different place than he was on other albums so what, it's still very great music. They take the sound of The Pretty Hate Machine and mix it with the newer sounds learned from How to Destroy Angels, soundtracks, and even The Slip. On "Copy Of A" he takes a very classic electronic approach and builds on it to huge sounds. It's about being a copy of everything else in the music world that came before him and wondering whether he should continue to write music anymore thus his Hesitation Marks.
                                                           Copy of A- Nine Inch Nails

     The album opens with the intro "The Eater of Dreams" it's a very dark sonic opening that is all electronic. "Copy of A" takes a page from Pretty Hate Machine and builds on it self through the whole song till the ending climax. This in one of my favorite songs on here. "Came Back Haunted" is the lead single off of the album and the proof that Trent still had it. This is one of the heaviest songs on this calmer album, combining classic NIN sounds with a new flair. "Find My Way" is this album's new ballad and a very strong one about finding his new path in life after finding happiness. "All Time Low" is another heavier beat driven song about him reminiscing about his depression. Another personal favorite track of mine. "Disappointed" is a much more purly electronic driven song with very little real instruments used on it. Then we get to the song "Everything" by far the most pop punk song on the album, that is entirly different from anything he has ever written before. It has a very catchy beat, and it matches his happy lyrics of, "I've survived everything". "Satellite" is one of the weirder beat driven songs on here. It reminds me of Trent Reznor in space, just being Trent Reznor. "Various Methods of Escape" brings back guitar to a very electronic album. It's another very personal song about escaping depression. "Running" kicks up the electronic drum beat and drives the song along with very calm singing from Trent. He really channels With Teeth here. "I Would For You" is a very melodically driven song, that is a low slower than most of the songs on here. "In Two" is one of the deepest most important songs on the album, because it showcases Trent at various stages of his music carrer in one song. It especially launches into overtime in the last half. "While I'm Still Here" channels Year Zero with its hugely obscure beats and then calms down with Trent's chorus. The album closer "Black Noise" is just the outro here putting the bow on one of the most personal albums Trent has ever Written.

      This is one of the best albums Trent has written since the 90's. I think the part people miss about this album is how it seamlessly combines all of the sounds from every previous album. Also this is a very personal album for Trent, putting him in a very new place for him, dealing with happiness, success, and living up to his past self. If you can get past the fact that this is a little lighter of an album you will find something truly powerful here with this album. An album from an artist in a new state of mind, truly inspired.

Recommended Songs: Copy of A, Came Back Haunted, In Two, All Time Low.

4.5/5 Stars