The primary point of this review is a thought I've arrived at only through hindsight. I too rent my garment and plucked the hair off my head and beard when I heard that Nine Inch Nails was going on hiatus. I wailed and carried on like a newborn child, I'm not afraid to say it. What's worse is that I'm only slightly exaggerating. It was a rough few days for me. But on the eve of their return with the new album Hesitation Marks, I'm struck by a notion, one that has left me feeling like a fool.
Nine Inch Nails not only never did go away, I don't think it really can.
There are quite a few Reznor works that Hesitation Marks can be compared to, I've called it the sequel to With Teeth on more than a few occasions, but one of, if not the primary comparison has to be to The Social Network soundtrack. Production wise, the two sound incredibly similar. It was upon realizing this that I realized my treatment of the hiatus as akin to, say, the Disturbed hiatus was incorrect. Whether it's under the Nine Inch Nails name, or his own, or even How to Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor's unique sonic imprint comes through in all of his work. For some, this will kill their interest in the new album immediately. I've seen the backlash forming to his soundtrack work and the relative lack of interest in How to Destroy Angels, to say nothing of the people who gave up on NIN before it went away. Personally, my interest had waned but never gone away, and this is the most focused and vibrant Reznor project since With Teeth (see?). Reznor's been on record in interviews as describing the sound as similar to the older material, and I disagree with that, but I don't mean that as a slam. I don't need another Downward Spiral personally, I just wanted a good Nine Inch Nails album, and this fits that in my opinion, as well as being the next step in the overall growth of the mastermind behind the band.
I really can't understand why Reznor would throw a statement like that out into the press knowing what he was sitting on in terms of material. For one thing, he's still using drum machines, a controversial move to some, just ask Burton Bell and Dino Cazares. A number of formidable drummers have been a part of touring lineups for NIN in the past including Josh Freese and even Dave Grohl, but I understand that the way Reznor works in the studio probably makes drum machines a bit more helpful. Along with production partners Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, Trent has developed a very clean and potent sound and style for NIN's studio releases and Hesitation Marks only forwards that trend. The album sounds incredibly complex and that's just through a pair of earbuds or tiny speakers. I can't even imagine what this would sound like in some of the audiophile friendly formats.
Beyond the technical, the songwriting, instead of going backwards, has gone even farther . There's much more variety in general than I think there ever has been on a NIN release. Everything is the closest to upbeat that this band has probably ever gotten, although a closer look at the lyrics will bring that back down for you. There are songs like that and album opener Copy of A that would likely inspire dancing at live shows and then songs like lead single Came Back Haunted and I Would For You that will fit right alongside aggressive and chaotic anthems like March of the Pigs and Wish. He may not be singing about feeling people from the inside or winning Grammys for songs featuring fist...well, you know, but the edge has been only slightly dulled if anything and definitely still cuts. There is still plenty of darkness in the man's soul, and he continues to communicate that beautifully. It's my hope that the people who seem to be mistaking Trent Reznor's growth and maturity for him losing his edge will eat their words shortly, because I think this album is all the proof to the contrary that they need.
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