Nine Inch Nails

Editor's Review:

It's been a while since techno-metalhead-turned-techno-composer and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has done anything, and judging by the musical enormity of this release, all that time out of the public eye was well-spent. The Fragile is a double album of Reznor and company's latest work, a massive recording that encompasses almost everything under the sun, from NIN's techno-tribal roots to grander production and softer composition techniques that typify Reznor's more recent solo work.

The album opens up at a beautifully groovy pace, which quickly and beguilingly leads into what fans of NIN have come to expect: Reznor's oddly melodic screams over powerfully repetitive drum and guitar riffs, and main melodies chiefly created by keys and other instrumentation. It's not techno-metal and it's not electronica-it's somewhere in between, and on a much higher plane.

Some songs move nimbly through soft parts to distorted, slow, punctuating beats and rattling screams while other numbers employ much more industrial, mechanical and digital noise to accompany dark and painful lyrics and foreboding feelings. Still other tunes are flat-out distorted, double-time new-age thrash-the kind of stuff the band made its mark with.

Most impressively, throughout both discs the sound is extremely layered, a rich, multi-level weave of aural textures both electronic and organic that stack so much sound in such an intricate way that it takes several listens just to catch on the basics. And though The Fragile is a lot to absorb, if you're a fan of ambient, deep or heavy techno music, this is a very highly recommended listen. The time it takes to really get through it all is well worth the trip.

Bookmark:

Record Label Nothing/Interscope Released September 1999

Tracks Disc 1 Somewhat Damaged The Day The World Went Away The Frail The Wretched We're In This Together The Fragile Just Like You Imagined Even Deeper Pilgrimage No, You Don't La Mer The Great Below Disc 2 The Way Out Is Through Into The Void Where Is Everybody? The Mark Has Been Made Please Starfuckers, Inc. Complication I'm Looking Foward To Joining You Finally The Big Come Down Underneath It All Ripe (With Decay)