Released: May 2nd 2005

There is so much expectation riding on this album, that it seems it is impossible to reach them all. After all, five years give a lot of time for writing and rewriting and then yet more fiddling to get it to sound just right. There are no purely instrumental-incomprehensible-ten-minute dirges and nothing that reinvents the established sound, but it’s not a regurgitation of the past either. The music is mostly mournful and sometimes lashes out in anger, in fits and spasms, like a dying animal, in true Nine Inch Nails style.

The tracks that follow take their cue from the two musical spectrums that fill Reznor’s book – hopelessly depressing and horribly angry. ‘All The Love In The World’ kicks things off in a low key. Instrumentally saturated and minimalist in every other aspect, it does not truly unfold until the last minute. ‘The Hand That Feeds’ is the heaviest track (if you define heaviness as a relentless beat) and is somewhat deceiving as it’s the most straightforwardly structured of the bunch. ‘Every Day Is Exactly The Same’ is quite melodic and therefore memorable; unlike the other selections, it can even be called beautiful.

The title track is a shock to the system; just when you think it’s over, it grinds to a start again and it is not a pretty sound. ‘Only’ and ‘Sunspots’ have a great staying power and almost beg repeat listens in order to show off all their little nuances. Half of the tracks benefit from the special guest drumming of Dave Grohl, giving them focus, a grounding element, if you will, among the chaos. ‘The Line Begins To Blur’ is a good example. And after all the ups and the downs, it ends as quietly as it began, a few piano notes resonating in the silence.

It’s almost possible to forget the five years of absence because it’s now no more than a distant dream.

Previously published on This Is Fake DIY.