Nine Inch Nails
With Teeth

THE REVIEW

It's been 7 years since the last studio album, the monumental double "The Fragile". 7 years of battling the beast of an addiction that almost took away one of the greatest artists in the history of music from us. But Trent came out "With Teeth," an album that undoubtedly surprises even the most passionate NIN fan on the first listen. But it doesn't surprise, because great artists never meet public expectations. They follow instinct and talent, never resting on their laurels, and always challenging themselves. The result is a direct, raw album that, for the first time, uses electronics as color, not as a compositional structure.

Trent bares himself more than ever on this album. In the lyrics, you see a man reflecting on what has been and his life now as if watching himself from the outside… "No one's heard a single word I've said/ They don't sound as good outside my head/ It looks as though the past is here to stay/ I've become a millions miles away": These words reveal a deep melancholy in the strange intro "All The Love In The World", certainly a song you wouldn't expect from Reznor but that combines sweet, dreamlike atmospheres (splendid – and unusual – the voice and piano motif) in the first part with a decidedly gripping finale. The aggression of the NIN we know sweeps away with pounding rhythms (monumental Dave Grohl, more than ever a human metronome) the unusual sense of pleasure of the first song in "You Know What You Are?" and "The Collector"; the first of these is as devastating live as few others (try it for yourself, I was at the Zenith in Paris on June 22nd!). After the radio-friendly but engaging single "The Hand That Feeds", and "Love Is Not Enough", dark and sickly, there's the splendid "Every Day Is Exactly The Same": "There is no love here/ And there is no pain/ Every day is exactly the same", an electro-ballad with a pop edge but with touching and effective melodies. The title track "With Teeth" is the synthesis between a tribal rhythm ala "Somewhat Damaged", almost zombie-like, and twisted guitars, which disappear after a piano interlude, only to reappear more rotten than ever in the finale. It's almost like seeing Trent's grimace in the chorus… The second single from the album, "Only", is one of the gems of this album, another song you just wouldn't expect. Retro-funk rhythms, piercing distortions, synth and piano, in a mix that just can't help but make you feel good (great video by Fincher, by the way). "Getting Smaller" is another wild card, very rock with refined distortions. Followed by "Sunspots", one of my favorites, with Ramirez's sly bass loop, falsettos, and modulated synths. "The Line Begins To Blur" and "Beside You In Time" are the two tracks where Trent's talent in sound exploration is most evident. The first among distorted walls and piercing sounds that culminate in a melody of rare beauty; the second, a hypnotic journey on the edge of psychedelia, which also shows a further maturation of Trent in choosing vocal melodies. And here we come to the standout piece of this album, "Right Where It Belongs". What to say about a song like this? I think it speaks for itself… "What if all the world's inside of your head/ Just creations of your own?/ Your devils and your gods/ All the living and the dead/ And you really are alone/ You can live in this illusion/ You can choose to believe/ You keep looking but you can't find the woods/ While you're hiding in the trees": a demonstration that the genius of an artist can manifest even (and especially) in simplicity. And when the album seems to be fading towards the end… a sound from a dream wakes us up. The last gem of this album, the bonus track "Home" offers us one of the most beautiful melodies in NIN's discography… . to be experienced live, a chilling experience.

In conclusion, another great album from one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time, hardly equaled for continuity, taste, artistic exploration, refusal of compromise. A direct album, where the song form predominates… and at the same time offers an incredible sound exploration to attentive listeners. Some examples? A drum that sounds divine, the original distortions of "Getting Smaller", or "The Line Begins To Blur", or "Beside You In Time", the very "Only"; the minimalist yet skillful use of the piano ("All The Love In The World", "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" to name a few). An album certainly completely different from the previous ones, which perhaps may have disappointed the expectations of some fans who still think an artist should repeat their talent in the same direction once success is achieved. Well, that only happens to losers, history is full of it.

Trent, until now, has been right.