good songs. How he wraps them up I don't really care aboutTyler Durden wrote: I honestly don't know what some people want.
Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
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Tyler Durden
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Alternative Press review
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
August 26, 2013 by Jason Pettigrew
Check Out: “While I’m Still Here”
Released: September 03, 2013 - Columbia
AP Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Oh, Trent Reznor. We want to hold you aloft on our shoulders and march through the centers of cities for raising the bar for electronics-based rock music, burning dramatic live shows and making sure film-music composer Hans Zimmer got one less Academy Award. Then we want to throw you down and kick you repeatedly in the balls and teeth when you embark on a “farewell” tour, only to return three years later and sign a contract with the major label responsible for enabling Train. It feels like your reward for sequestering yourself in the studio for long periods of time is being able to later dick with the expectations of fans, critics, trolls and the guy who fills the soda machines at the Sony Corporation offices.
Hesitation Marks, the new album from Nine Inch Nails, is both business as usual and remarkably prescient. Much of the guitar-based charging that has powered most of Reznor’s output to date has been dialed down significantly. But if the omission of mad thrashing guitars is a deal-breaker to some listeners, more cultivated ears will embrace the various minimal synthesizer stylings both percolating (“Copy Of A,” “Running,” “In Two”) and throbbing (“While I’m Still Here”) that bear out Reznor’s logic that a whisper has the propensity to make you squirm more than a throat-shearing scream. When the guitars do come to the forefront, they sound even brasher in context. While this reviewer can’t hear it, “Everything” has been deemed by many internet denizens as T. Rez’s take on “pop-punk,” probably because it’s the most conventionally linear thing on the whole disc. “All Time Low” is robotic funk peppered with plucked harmonics that melds LCD Soundsystem’s cosmopolitan sophistication to the arcane sonic vistas found in Reznor’s masterpiece, The Downward Spiral. Likewise, the sultry grooves of “Various Means Of Escape” are made even more taut by processed guitars that aid in those askew atmospheres that have become part and parcel of his work.
Lyrically, it’s hard to tell where Reznor’s head is these days. Given his well-publicized dalliances with substance abuse, he doesn’t come off like the kind of caricature that saddled Kurt Cobain (cf. Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”) or the equally trite “new man” persona who might make a concept album about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Reznor’s not singing about crowns of shit or his “#1 Dad” coffee mug, but his level of introspection has gotten more piercing, via the middle-aged existential vibe of “Copy Of A,” the triumphant survival instinct in “Everything” and the damaged persona embodied in “I Would For You.” (Which is not a Jane’s Addiction cover, by the way.)
With Hesitation Marks, it feels like now more than ever, NIN/Reznor is out on his own island, impervious to rapidly collapsing trends (read: dubstep), the current exploits of both his colleagues and mentors (the less said of which…), and the futile demands of his fanbase. This just in, bro-dudes and stripper chicks: Reznor doesn’t want to fuck to you like an animal anymore. He’s gonna make your consciousness come on his terms, one way or another.
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
August 26, 2013 by Jason Pettigrew
Check Out: “While I’m Still Here”
Released: September 03, 2013 - Columbia
AP Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Oh, Trent Reznor. We want to hold you aloft on our shoulders and march through the centers of cities for raising the bar for electronics-based rock music, burning dramatic live shows and making sure film-music composer Hans Zimmer got one less Academy Award. Then we want to throw you down and kick you repeatedly in the balls and teeth when you embark on a “farewell” tour, only to return three years later and sign a contract with the major label responsible for enabling Train. It feels like your reward for sequestering yourself in the studio for long periods of time is being able to later dick with the expectations of fans, critics, trolls and the guy who fills the soda machines at the Sony Corporation offices.
Hesitation Marks, the new album from Nine Inch Nails, is both business as usual and remarkably prescient. Much of the guitar-based charging that has powered most of Reznor’s output to date has been dialed down significantly. But if the omission of mad thrashing guitars is a deal-breaker to some listeners, more cultivated ears will embrace the various minimal synthesizer stylings both percolating (“Copy Of A,” “Running,” “In Two”) and throbbing (“While I’m Still Here”) that bear out Reznor’s logic that a whisper has the propensity to make you squirm more than a throat-shearing scream. When the guitars do come to the forefront, they sound even brasher in context. While this reviewer can’t hear it, “Everything” has been deemed by many internet denizens as T. Rez’s take on “pop-punk,” probably because it’s the most conventionally linear thing on the whole disc. “All Time Low” is robotic funk peppered with plucked harmonics that melds LCD Soundsystem’s cosmopolitan sophistication to the arcane sonic vistas found in Reznor’s masterpiece, The Downward Spiral. Likewise, the sultry grooves of “Various Means Of Escape” are made even more taut by processed guitars that aid in those askew atmospheres that have become part and parcel of his work.
Lyrically, it’s hard to tell where Reznor’s head is these days. Given his well-publicized dalliances with substance abuse, he doesn’t come off like the kind of caricature that saddled Kurt Cobain (cf. Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”) or the equally trite “new man” persona who might make a concept album about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Reznor’s not singing about crowns of shit or his “#1 Dad” coffee mug, but his level of introspection has gotten more piercing, via the middle-aged existential vibe of “Copy Of A,” the triumphant survival instinct in “Everything” and the damaged persona embodied in “I Would For You.” (Which is not a Jane’s Addiction cover, by the way.)
With Hesitation Marks, it feels like now more than ever, NIN/Reznor is out on his own island, impervious to rapidly collapsing trends (read: dubstep), the current exploits of both his colleagues and mentors (the less said of which…), and the futile demands of his fanbase. This just in, bro-dudes and stripper chicks: Reznor doesn’t want to fuck to you like an animal anymore. He’s gonna make your consciousness come on his terms, one way or another.
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Tyler Durden
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Artist Direct review
Nine Inch Nails "Hesitation Marks" Album Review — 5 out of 5 stars
Tue, 27 Aug 2013 08:31:15
"Wave goodbye," sings Trent Reznor on "Everything". "Wish me well."
Boasting that send-off and nodding to the 2009 "farewell" tour, it's one of the most kinetic moments on Nine Inch Nails' latest opus Hesitation Marks. As Reznor announces "I am home," it's clear that he's back and quite comfortable behind the shuddering synths, gyrating guitars, and eerie soundscapes that populate the blood-soaked canvas of his eighth full-length studio album. However, this isn't a return down The Downward Spiral or back into The Pretty Hate Machine. In fact, Hesitation Marks remains a distinct animal, baring claws and gritting its teeth ready for Nine Inch Nails' biggest chapter yet. That's the real majesty of Hesitation Marks.
For as much as this may seem like familiar territory, it's new. You can hear it on the stomping howl of "Various Methods of Escape", which cackles through an industrial sheen with raw power as well as the fit-for-a-Blade Runner chase scene "Copy of A", where the keyboards cycle intensely as Reznor intones, "I'm just a copy of a copy of a copy".
Once the chase is on, that first single "Came Back Haunted" throttles everything into darkness punctuated by a twist of six-string distortion and an undeniable hook. "Find My Way" pensively ruminates through a dystopian haze of cyber meanderings as the singer's voice reverberates poetically over the snapping blips. "All Time Low" gets funky with Reznor's falsetto coasting over danceable beats. This could very well be one of his catchiest outings yet, and yet there's a wonderful menace just beneath the surface. The same could be said for "Running" where an angelic vocal clashes with dirty electronics.
Another standout "I Would For You" slips from a haunting verse into a chorus that thrashes elegantly. Reznor admits, "If I could be somebody else, well I think I would for you".
Though he doesn't have to be anyone else. He's in damn fine form—especially as the eerie closer "While I'm Still Here" subsides into an instrumental afterword on "Black Noise".
It's really time to say, "Hello" to Mr. Reznor and Nine Inch Nails again. He's returned with one of the best albums of the year and a milestone in his own storied career. We're not waving goodbye anytime soon…
—Rick Florino
08.27.13
Nine Inch Nails "Hesitation Marks" Album Review — 5 out of 5 stars
Tue, 27 Aug 2013 08:31:15
"Wave goodbye," sings Trent Reznor on "Everything". "Wish me well."
Boasting that send-off and nodding to the 2009 "farewell" tour, it's one of the most kinetic moments on Nine Inch Nails' latest opus Hesitation Marks. As Reznor announces "I am home," it's clear that he's back and quite comfortable behind the shuddering synths, gyrating guitars, and eerie soundscapes that populate the blood-soaked canvas of his eighth full-length studio album. However, this isn't a return down The Downward Spiral or back into The Pretty Hate Machine. In fact, Hesitation Marks remains a distinct animal, baring claws and gritting its teeth ready for Nine Inch Nails' biggest chapter yet. That's the real majesty of Hesitation Marks.
For as much as this may seem like familiar territory, it's new. You can hear it on the stomping howl of "Various Methods of Escape", which cackles through an industrial sheen with raw power as well as the fit-for-a-Blade Runner chase scene "Copy of A", where the keyboards cycle intensely as Reznor intones, "I'm just a copy of a copy of a copy".
Once the chase is on, that first single "Came Back Haunted" throttles everything into darkness punctuated by a twist of six-string distortion and an undeniable hook. "Find My Way" pensively ruminates through a dystopian haze of cyber meanderings as the singer's voice reverberates poetically over the snapping blips. "All Time Low" gets funky with Reznor's falsetto coasting over danceable beats. This could very well be one of his catchiest outings yet, and yet there's a wonderful menace just beneath the surface. The same could be said for "Running" where an angelic vocal clashes with dirty electronics.
Another standout "I Would For You" slips from a haunting verse into a chorus that thrashes elegantly. Reznor admits, "If I could be somebody else, well I think I would for you".
Though he doesn't have to be anyone else. He's in damn fine form—especially as the eerie closer "While I'm Still Here" subsides into an instrumental afterword on "Black Noise".
It's really time to say, "Hello" to Mr. Reznor and Nine Inch Nails again. He's returned with one of the best albums of the year and a milestone in his own storied career. We're not waving goodbye anytime soon…
—Rick Florino
08.27.13
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Six7Six7 wrote:This all reminds me of that self titled Pearl Jam record. Everyone kissed that record's ass and proclaimed "they're back!" but largely that record was a turd sandwich.
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Tyler Durden
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- Location: Toronto
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
I don't understand the whole "It either has to be one of the best albums ever made or it's a steaming pile of shit" mentality when it comes to music. Where's the middle ground? 
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Rolling Stone and Spin have been riding Trent's dick for the better part of 20 years now; it's the independent reviews like CoS and The Quietus that will give you more unbiased insight as to what's happening here.
I'm glad he's not some 50 year old man screaming his ass off and fire-bombing his songs with metal guitars cranked up to 11. At the same time, I'm hoping that after this album, he'll move away from the overly-electronic output he's been releasing since Ghosts. That album, his soundtrack work and HDTA all sound cut from the exact same cloth. The last four or five songs on Welcome Oblivion had me saying "enough already".
The fact that HM is so polarizing has kept my interest levels very high, but at the same time I've lowered my expectations somewhat. I really want to love this album after I hear it a bunch of times, but I'm also preparing myself for more of the same from him. It will be interesting to see how the songs sound during the shows this fall.
Hopefully, this album will sound new to me, and not just Welcome Oblivion meets the Social Network.
I'm glad he's not some 50 year old man screaming his ass off and fire-bombing his songs with metal guitars cranked up to 11. At the same time, I'm hoping that after this album, he'll move away from the overly-electronic output he's been releasing since Ghosts. That album, his soundtrack work and HDTA all sound cut from the exact same cloth. The last four or five songs on Welcome Oblivion had me saying "enough already".
The fact that HM is so polarizing has kept my interest levels very high, but at the same time I've lowered my expectations somewhat. I really want to love this album after I hear it a bunch of times, but I'm also preparing myself for more of the same from him. It will be interesting to see how the songs sound during the shows this fall.
Hopefully, this album will sound new to me, and not just Welcome Oblivion meets the Social Network.
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
it has a 71 on metacritic based on 11 reviews which isn't bad.
http://www.metacritic.com/music/hesitat ... inch-nails
http://www.metacritic.com/music/hesitat ... inch-nails
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
I've finally listened to the whole thing.
Its hard for me. NIN was a crucial part of my youth and I will always cherish the first three releases as all time classics. TDS is one of the greatest albums of all time.
And I get that he can't be suicidal or homicidal still and be credible. I get he's older.
But this overly minimalistic electronic shit bores me to fucking death. And when its not that its made for radio garbage like C CC C ame back Haunted.
In Two is the only track I wanted to hear again.
I remember when With Teeth came out. I popped it in my car CD player and took a long drive to take in brand new Nine Inch Fucking Nails.
And I realized Trent had changed. It was like Strays. Or Riot Act. The albums that made me realize bands that gave my youth its soundtrack, that had never failed me now wouldn't and had.
Sad times.
And while some have fallen farther than others, the fall is still a bitter pill.
Its hard for me. NIN was a crucial part of my youth and I will always cherish the first three releases as all time classics. TDS is one of the greatest albums of all time.
And I get that he can't be suicidal or homicidal still and be credible. I get he's older.
But this overly minimalistic electronic shit bores me to fucking death. And when its not that its made for radio garbage like C CC C ame back Haunted.
In Two is the only track I wanted to hear again.
I remember when With Teeth came out. I popped it in my car CD player and took a long drive to take in brand new Nine Inch Fucking Nails.
And I realized Trent had changed. It was like Strays. Or Riot Act. The albums that made me realize bands that gave my youth its soundtrack, that had never failed me now wouldn't and had.
Sad times.
And while some have fallen farther than others, the fall is still a bitter pill.
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
That is the funniest thing you've ever said.hokahey wrote:It's that kind of elitist, talking down to people that just reinforces stereotypes about non Americans being so full of themselves and their opinions that they can't see obvious truths.Jammyshill wrote: Exactly, and the stupid one always ends up getting a new arsehole torn.
Which stereotype is that you complete moron?
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
troll be trollin
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:55 pm
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Whilst I agree about the Avocado album being shit, it didn't receive reviews anything like what Hesitation Marks is getting. Whilst you obviously don't like it, which is obviously totally fine, it's clear that a lot of people think it's a really good album, and it's being received very well.Six7Six7 wrote:This all reminds me of that self titled Pearl Jam record. Everyone kissed that record's ass and proclaimed "they're back!" but largely that record was a turd sandwich.
You and Hoka seem determined to find reasons why everybody else is wrong, but why not just accept that it's an album you don't get that must have something about it? You have very strong opinions on why people's perception of the album is wrong, yet you praised TGEA when it came out, which is generally regarded, rightly, as a piece of shit.
You can't have it both ways.
Last edited by Jammyshill on Sun Sep 01, 2013 3:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Lovely stuff. Witty, biting, and insightful.kv wrote:troll be trollin
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
you left out factual
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
But included 'wanker.'kv wrote:you left out factual
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
says the troll
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
If you want to debate or discuss the new NIN record, go ahead. If you want to sledge with me, get better at it.kv wrote:says the troll
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Tyler Durden
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
This is a highly inaccurate statement. Check out their respective Metacritic pages.Jammyshill wrote: Whilst I agree about the Avocado album being shit, it didn't receive reviews anything like what Hesitation Marks is getting.
"Pearl Jam":
http://www.metacritic.com/music/pearl-j ... ic-reviews
"Hesitation Marks":
http://www.metacritic.com/music/hesitat ... inch-nails
As of Sunday September 1st, the reception of both albums appears almost identical on these two pages (when accounting for a proportional difference in the number of reviews for each). Of course, this may change by Tuesday (and on)...but it looks pretty similar so far.
I'm not trying to start a argument or anything...but I am at loss why people have hate for Pearl Jam's "avocado" album. What's everyone's beef?
And don't get me wrong, Pearl Jam is not infallible in my eyes/ears; they've made some albums I didn't care for.-
Jammyshill
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
I stand corrected regarding the reviews, even though there is still a lot more to appear for Hesitation Marks.
Avocado and Backspacer are the only two Pearl Jam albums for me that aren't amazing/ great one way or another.
For me, the great strength of PJ/ Eddie Vedder was how in touch with reality he was, and it came across in his songwriting. Since Avocado, imo, he has lost touch with reality and has nothing to say any more.
Due to the fact he is a genius, there are still a couple of amazing songs on both of those albums, but they have no 'go back to' value for me.
Avocado and Backspacer are the only two Pearl Jam albums for me that aren't amazing/ great one way or another.
For me, the great strength of PJ/ Eddie Vedder was how in touch with reality he was, and it came across in his songwriting. Since Avocado, imo, he has lost touch with reality and has nothing to say any more.
Due to the fact he is a genius, there are still a couple of amazing songs on both of those albums, but they have no 'go back to' value for me.
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Tyler Durden
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Gotcha. For me, Binaural and Riot Act are the weak Pearl Jam albums.
Binaural's production really hurt the rockers; too muted or muddy.
In my opinion, Riot Act has some awful/weird shit that shouldn't have made the album ("Half Full", "Ghost", etc)..."I didn't know soap made you taller"? And it just seems like a very dark, morose album with little appeal. Songs like "Down" and "Undone" should have made the cut.
I really liked the last two albums. Though I can see how Backspacer's streamlined approach and shiny production might put some people off.
Binaural's production really hurt the rockers; too muted or muddy.
In my opinion, Riot Act has some awful/weird shit that shouldn't have made the album ("Half Full", "Ghost", etc)..."I didn't know soap made you taller"? And it just seems like a very dark, morose album with little appeal. Songs like "Down" and "Undone" should have made the cut.
I really liked the last two albums. Though I can see how Backspacer's streamlined approach and shiny production might put some people off.
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Jammyshill
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
Haha, for me Binaural and Riot Act are 4th and 5th on my list of their albums after the first two and Yield. I think they're both really dark, as if there was still that energy of Mike's heroin addiction, Eddie and Stones general hatred for each other, and on Riot Act, Roskilde. Now everything is too rosy for my liking.
Just goes to show how different people can perceive albums. And how two people can discuss it without trying to prove the other person wrong.
Fancy that.
Just goes to show how different people can perceive albums. And how two people can discuss it without trying to prove the other person wrong.
Fancy that.
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Tyler Durden
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
The one you just reinforced.Jammyshill wrote:
Which stereotype is that you complete moron?
You're little bubble of ignorance extends beyond your understanding of music I see.
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Jammyshill
- Posts: 108
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Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
The one you just made up. If you can really suggest that anybody else is ignorant in their opinion about music after the things you've said, you're somehow even more stupid than you come across at first glance.hokahey wrote:The one you just reinforced.Jammyshill wrote:
Which stereotype is that you complete moron?
Re: Eric leaves NIN or "the breakdown of nyrexall"
I'm really sorry the new NIN isn't very good and it's clearly frustrating you. :(Jammyshill wrote:The one you just made up. If you can really suggest that anybody else is ignorant in their opinion about music after the things you've said, you're somehow even more stupid than you come across at first glance.hokahey wrote:The one you just reinforced.Jammyshill wrote:
Which stereotype is that you complete moron?