Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album Title: With Teeth
Label: Interscope/Universal
Bones:
Summary: Reznor is back...game over everyone else!
Reviewed By: Chad Bosworth

When you're a Nine Inch Nails fan, very little can subdue the excitement and anticipation of a new album, largely due to the fact that there's usually someone new running the country every time one drops.

1999's "The Fragile" shocked more than a few fans with the realisation that Nine Inch Nails were ready to branch out a bit and vary from the style of music it helped to pioneer. Containing a number of instrumentals, and tortured & haunting orchestrations mixed with the usual industrial aggression that Mr Reznor is famous for - one had to ponder if this was the beginning of a new path.

In some ways, "With Teeth" continues the ideas that it's predecessor introduced, whilst in others it goes it's own way, and back again. Overall, the album is sharper, very vocal Industrial Rock. There is more emphasis on structure to each song, similar to the output of 1994's "The Downward Spiral".

First single "The Hand That Feeds" is fittingly a brilliant place to start. It's a great showcase displaying a good balance of the elements of the rest of the album. Trademark layers, familiar vocals, nagging guitars and a distorted beat appease the fan whilst the drums, pace and genuinely catchy hooks give it appeal outside the NIN fanfare.

For two more examples of Nine Inch Nails at it's best, check out "Sunspots" and "Getting Smaller", which is a fantastic track dipping into Queens of the Stone Age sounds. If you're into the heavier "Broken" era, maybe start at "You Know What You Are" or "The Line Begins To Blur" - which is guaranteed to remind you of something from "The Downward Spiral".

"The Collector" and "Love Is Not Enough" feel almost like musically accompanied spoken poetry, and to a lesser degree so does follow-up single "Only", just more playful, reflective and synthed.

Any way you look at it, there's a reason that Trent Reznor is so highly regarded in the industry - and you need only to listen through With Teeth to understand why.