Ten years ago, Nine Inch Nails were regarded in the same way as Slipknot - a name on the many hooded tops of spotty thirteen year old fans, out to shock their parents and the establishment. On it's release in 1994, the second album from Nine Inch Nails 'The Downward Spiral' was largely dismissed as nonsense. The reality was that Trent Reznor had compiled a masterpiece which combined abstract attacks on religion, society and himself with a raw dynamic unsettling edge. The album took Nine Inch Nails out of the eighties and defined a unique benchmark for industrial punk-metal.Over the past eleven years, the legacy of this album has always hung over Reznor's head. 'Broken' is an interesting E.P. 1999's 'The Fragile' should have been development rather than reinvention, an album polished clean of all malice and anger and broken into pieces with some effective instrumental moments. Too many remix albums ('Further Down The Spiral' and 'Fixed' to name but two - the latter remains the worse thing Reznor has put his name to) and some good singles ('Closer To God' is the best CD single in the Nails back catalogue) have kept the interest of fans, but there is not enough. Thankfully, Reznor is great live and pulls together a committed and accomplished 'band' to bolster his efforts. That said, deep down, the rock world needs a new Nine Inch Nails album. And they need it to be good.
Amazingly 'With Teeth' starts exactly where 'The Fragile' finished. Opener 'All The Love In The World' is a stark stuttering drum-machine led 'ballad' with Renzor's guttural vocals and a wonderful piano section three minutes in. When his vocals return, he is stronger and more confident as the song builds into a predictable but reassuringly good climax. It is a great opening track. More delicate piano fades into 'You Know Who You Are?', a frantic torrent of drums and vocals. It brings back the unfocused chaos of the band's early days with Reznor adding to the chorus and demanding that we 'take a good look coz I'm full of shit'. Musically, the song perfectly blends static ridden distorted electronics and processed guitars. The song settles down, brings in the piano again and then comes back even louder, throwing everything at the speakers. Even this early on, it feels like step backwards - nothing challenging and nothing new. Into 'The Collector' and this album really does start to sound like Nine Inch Nails - a loose riff for Reznor to shout over. The chorus 'I'm trying to fit it all inside. I'm trying to open my mouth wide' is a about as commercial as the album gets. The piano at the end plays out like a horror movie.
The second album highlight is 'The Hand That Feeds', a complete guitar driven slice of anti-authority which is almost faultless. The subtle melody provides the momentum and energy through the hard exterior. Lyrically, Reznor never usually gets complicated and specific but the lines 'What if this whole crusade's a charade and behind it all there's a price to be paid. For the blood on which we dine, justified in the name of the holy and the divine' is simple social and political commentary, direct and focused. 'Love Is Not Enough' is darker but equally venomous counter liberalism - the same buzz saw guitars and labouring drums holding together under Reznor's piercing voice. The opening lines 'The more that we take. The paler we get. I can't remember what it is we try to forget' is from the depths of Reznor's much publicised drug ridden past. It is also the antithesis of a classic love song.
'Every Day Is Exactly The Same' is another superbly crafted and produced example of the Nine Inch Nails formula. Like 'All The Love In The World', it sounds like a reworked and much improved reject from The Fragile. One of the best bits of the album is when the music softens, the piano builds and Reznor breaths his way through the third verse into 'I wish this could have been any other way but I just don't know. I don't know what else I can do'. The multi layered vocals at the end are magnificent. The title track (only the second in Nine Inch Nails history)
is a real surprise. The familiar sound is warped and twisted into something alien, particularly the simple Mark E Smith chorus. Three minutes in and everything stops. Just over a minute of delicate instrumental is shattered when the chorus comes crashing back in. Perplexing, as some of the most magical Nails moments have come from the times when Reznor lets the music do the talking. None here though. Not this time.
The second attempt to break the formulaic sound is the vocal arrangement that forms the core of 'Only'. Reznor is almost whimsical as he muses 'Well you might say I'm loosing focus. Kinda drifting into the abstract in terms of how I see myself'. This could be a lost track from the Pretty Hate Machine archives. The synths sound horribly dated but strangely comforting against the bouncing guitars and persistent drums. Reznor quickly puts his heart on his sleeve, throwing up one liners and declaring that he is 'Less concerned about fitting into the world' and 'I'm alone but then again I always was'. Not so much an autobiography, more a blatant attempt at attention seeking that he does so well. The chorus is another simple one - 'There is only me. There is no fucking you' over and again for effect. This is Reznor purging his soul of his inward selfish past.
'Getting Smaller', like 'You Know What You Are?' is punchy power punk, with driving bass and more rampant intensity. The ending is exquisitely controlled as Reznor declares 'my world is getting smaller everyday...'. In contrast, the mixture of soft falsetto and normal angst of Sunspots' has some of the weirdest instrumentation on the album - like a techno dust storm. Reznor is in graphic mood with 'Peel off our skin we're gonna burn what we were to the ground. Fuck in the fire and we'll spread the ashes around'. The fuzzy static of 'The Line Begins To Blur' is probably the worst track on the album. It starts like a Garbage cover and develops into a Downward Spiral off cut. It really plumbs the depths with 'As I lay here. The fabric starts to tear. It's far beyond repair. And I don't really care'. If it wasn't for what has come before, it would be faintly embarrassing.
Not content with predictability, 'Beside You In Time' throws us another curve ball. The soft Beatles-esque psychedelia and hypnotic beats combine with Reznor's quiet repetitive vocals to create something which sounds completely unlike anything he has produced before. It is only when the music builds that we are reminded of what it is we are listening to. The ultimate paradox that is Trent Reznor. As if this is not enough of an ending, the album glides into closer 'Right Where It Belongs'. In an attempt to capture the poignancy and beauty of the song which indirectly brought the genius to the world ('Hurt') and provided Johnny Cash with a parting gift, we get the best song writing saved for last. Unlike 'The Great Below', this is not just a pale imitation but a progressive move forward. With lines such as 'What if all the world's inside of your heart are just creations of your own', 'See the animal in it's cage that you built. Are you sure what side you're on' and 'What if you could look right through the cracks. Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?', few could argue. A great song which would benefit from a simpler musical accompaniment, even to strip away the muddy electronics and let Reznor's voice and worlds make the song work.
What is baffling about this however, is that the UK version of 'With Teeth' includes two bonus tracks, the second of which is a different version of 'Right Where It Belongs' (labeled simply V.2). And this is exactly what is required. A stunningly beautiful arrangement. But given that we have already listened to the 'trailer', it feels diluted. Listening to the album for the first time, skip the album version and the b-side quality 'Home', and go straight to this. It is the real end of the album, reminding us of the cold dark world. Stunning.
The most impressive thing about 'With Teeth' is the sheer power of Trent Reznor's vocals - unlike some parts of The Fragile, he really sounds energized and focused, purposeful in his delivery. Musically, the album is only lacking some breathtaking instrumentals, but the tapestry of guitars, drums and piano provide enough depth to Reznor's unique voice. With Dave Grohl on drums and Jordie White on bass, this is impressive stuff. Alan Moulder provides great production as always, but it is always the rejuvenated spirit and determination of Reznor which runs though the spine of the album like a bolt of lightening. He knows how to manipulate a trademark sound, easily dismissed as formulaic, but realised as consistent and familiar, eleven years on. He has come through a life of self-inflicted predictable excess and made some great music along the way, but now 'With Teeth' shows that Nine Inch Nails are back. Trent Reznor is as strong and as relevant as ever.
-- This review was first published on the Underwurld Music website
(c) 2008 Underwurld Music
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