Nine Inch Nails is riding high on the publicity of its heavily hyped Ghosts I-IV release and is capitalizing on that buzz with a new free album release, The Slip. It’s available exclusively as a free download, but physical releases are in the works.
There’s a 2008 Nine Inch Nails Tour coming up this fall, and it’s clear that NIN’s using the The Slip as a promo to build interest in its upcoming tour.
“Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me,” says Trent Reznor, and a fine thank you it is. While Ghosts I-IV (see our review) was an interesting (and successful) experiment, The Slip is a full-bore Nine Inch Nails album.
The album is a mix of environmental/ambient tracks & rockers, with a piano ballad thrown in for good measure.
The Slip gets off to a slow start with 999,999, an ambient track that sounds a bit Eraserhead industrial noise, and wouldn’t have been out of place on the Ghosts I-IV release. It quickly morphs into 1,000,000, a straight-ahead NIN rocker. It’s as blistering as anything NIN has done.
NIN keeps things moving with Letting You, and the more dance oriented Discipline. Discipline has sort of a post-disco feel, and ends with the sort of combined verse + chorus that Paul McCartney honed to a science with his 70′s Wings releases. Except this one is about needing Discipline.
Echoplex didn’t do much for me – we’ve heard all the sounds and themes before from NIN. Maybe a remix could help this one.
Head Down moves things back into hardcore NIN territory. It sounds like Reznor is running the drums through one of Metasonix’ bizarro tube distortion units. Wailing guitars, shouted choruses and alternating loud/soft sections turn this into a likely concert anthem.
Lights in the Sky is the piano ballad I mentioned earlier. It’s an attractive track, despite the crappy out of tune piano and despite the fact that Reznor has a relatively weak voice. The track works because it’s intimate and raw – you feel like you’re sitting next to Reznor as he sings it.
Lights in the Sky blends into Corona Radiata – which is one of the highlights of the album. It’s a simple ambient drone piece, but it’s really gorgeous. The first half of it wouldn’t have been out of place on Brian Eno’s Ambient 4: On Land. The second half gets a slow, distorted beat that feels like an irresistible force.
The Four of Us are Dying is another gorgeous track – but this time it’s gorgeous industrial noise. The track has a drum machine line that kicks it off and that runs through it, over which mellow, but powerful guitar and synth lines are woven.
The album finishes off with Demon Seed, a tight, clean rocker. It builds to a massive climax, dies away to almost nothing, and then comes back for another minute of rocking out. It’s a satisfying end to the album.
Overall, NIN’s new release The Slip is an excellent release. It delivers all the things you expect from NIN, it builds on their last release, Ghosts I-IV, and it even has some a couple of tracks that are likely to burn up some air time.
In addition to being a great free release, The Slip is released with a Creative Commons license – which means you can share the album with your friends, put it in your podcast or remix it. And, since you’re my friend, I’ve got one of the highlights of release, 1,000,000, available for you to download below.
You can download The Slip via the NIN site. Email registration is required. The album is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. All downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.
Maybe this was a marketing ploy to test on the public how much his new music is worth. Doesn’t really matter. For an artist who could walk into most music label offices and get instantly signed-on, this is straying away from the business as usual model. I wish more popular and independant artists would put their stuff up online first before making us buy the $15-30 CD that ends up as a coffee coaster or a ghetto christmas tree ornament. On top of that, the plethora of music formats is also a surprise.
Artists need to stop kissing the butts of music industry executives that just want to be deep throated first and sue the downloaders second because he thinks he deserved another $200,000 car in his driveway.
I’m dowloading the album now. I have no high hopes for enjoyment, but the viral marketing this created should be the new business model artists need to look towards for future revenue streams.
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a real good rocking track is 1,000,000.
echoplex isn’t as good, but still a good song.
and the third and final track i heard from the nin.com website, letting you… well… that was quite bad.
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Nin has never been about pleasing the fans… true art is meant to upset the balance of what is expected and what is inspired. All in all… I’m still a fan.
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you seem to forget that this is an album about /politics/, not teenage angst. as trent said before – “…for the first time in my life, I wanted to break away from the idea of opening up my journal and transferring that into song lyrics.” i think that also transcends from Year Zero straight to The Slip.
besides, if trent were still on drugs, his fanbase would still be complaining no matter what. don’t act like it wouldn’t be true.
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LMAO, YOU GUYS ARE ALLL MORONS!
its simple if u dont like dont listen to it, nin and nin fans care nothing for what u think.yall are just bitching and complaing about how the music “sux” well dibshit if u can do better be my guest,BUT u cant can u u probably dont even know how to use a guitar,if NIN sucked SOOO bad how the hell r they able to afford to sell two great albums for free.
better yet sell Ghosts I-V alone sold 750,000 the first week.
Can you do that? i bet u cant.
Why? you ask ,well because u sit around all day looking for music to complain about,because you have no life what so ever.
oh but dont get mad theres other people like you. maybe u can get together and pretend like someone actually gives a shit about what ur saying.
NINE INCH NAILS IS ONE OF THE GREATES INDUSTRIAL BANDS EVER!
IF YOU DONT LIKE GO OUT AND DO BETTER,BUT DONT BE SUPRISED WHEN U FIND UR SHIT AT THE DOLLOR TREE.
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The Slip, in my opinion, is a very impressive piece of work. NIN has yet to disappoint me. I have been a huge fan since the early 90′s. My favorite albums are Year Zero and The Slip. I have every album and I know every song. I love the creative versatility of Trent Reznor. Many people have trouble understanding his intent. To me, he is a true artist and he will be around for years to come, and I will continue to purchase NIN albums!
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Seriously? Did I really used to listen to this guy? Did I not see this dude tear it up opening for a drugged out JAMC in 91? Did I not see NIN crush it when MM opened for them? What….the….fxck… happened? I admit I havent given them a listen for a while but I dropped back in hoping to find at least one strong track that transported me to a time when music like this was fresh. I dont know, I know Im not an artist like Reznor but I remember when NIN delivered lyrics like “God is dead and no one cares, if there is a hell Ill see you there”. Clearly NIN is dead, and I guess I dont really care if this is whats emitting from the grave.
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Just re-listening to this album now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’s not as sharp and bloody and immediate as some of the earlier work, but how could it ever be?
People evolve and change, and life goes on. If Trent was still in the same place he was when writing “God is dead”, then he would be too.
Go see them perform live. I’ve seen some of the big names, and NIN at the Brixton Academy was the best. The performance was solidly NIN, the stage show was brilliant, with clear sound and stunning lights, and the mix of the new and old material flowed fantastically.
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I saw them on their last tour, and it was an incredible show. Fantastic visuals!
Reznor didn't interact with the audience much – probably because all of the visuals – but the show was still amazing.
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Demon seed makes me want to punch babies, in a good way. the way the crazy noise kicks in.
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Dunno how u can complain at this album, its a free album, so people should not complain, and i admit it does a take a few listen to grow on u, but when u give it a chance it becomes one of nine inch nails best albums! its fucking amazing!
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