This is the first nine inch nails album that I have listened to and I was thouroughly impressed with their unique style of industrial metal. I found it very difficult to listen to at first, since I am used to listening to more melodic, faster metal and this came as a bit of a shock, as I wasn't expecting this style of music.
At first, my favourite songs were "The Beginning of the End" and "Survivalism". Now, the songs that I more frequently listen to are "Me, I'm Not" and "In This Twilight". Alot of the songs contain a sort of white noise, which put me off at first but then I got used to it and now it sets a very disturbing mood, to say the least. Some of the instruments are difficult to make out in songs, which will put some people off because of the obscurity of having music which doesn't seem to be music at all. Its difficult to explain, but after a while, you get the feel of it and its messages of humanity and human struggle ring true.
I have to say that this was a nice surprise, as I have been let down by industrial metal in the past. I have missed the guitar solos and melodic vocals of the bands that I usually listen to but this album has given me alot to think about, with its cryptic messages from environmental issues to armageddon.
I found out that this album was about the end of the world and I have managed to pick out in the tracks references to this theme. It is also an album that you should listen to from start to finish, as this gives you a better idea of what the band are doing and it shows the structure of the songs. It is a concept album, so is different in style and lyrics to their other album, "In Teeth", of which I have heard a few songs, and was fairly impressed.
After hearing this album, I found out about the initial promotion of the album, which I thought was quite shocking. The actual CD, when heated(in a CD player) turns from black to white and a binary sequence appears on it. This is actually a website which can be visited and there are others like it that have been found hidden in tour t-shirts and on the front of the CD box. These messages that I have recently found out about have scared me a little, but I suppose that was the band's intention.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Some great soundscapes, very personal, the photographs and music combined Disadvantages: A challenging listen, an album that you probably wont listen to everyday
Aug 17th, 2007
(Aug 14th, 2007)
very helpful by (17%):
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