New Nine Inch Nails!!!
Nine Inch Nails have come out with a new album. It comes hot on the heels of their last two releases, the concept album Year Zero and the instrumental Ghosts. The new album “The Slip” has made it’s way onto my iPod and here’s my take.
Trent has reassembled the band and they are going back on the road this summer. I have a feeling that the tour might be the reason that this album sounds like old school, stripped down NIN. As a matter of fact, the first time I listened to “The Slip” I didn’t like it all that much. I’ve gotten used to the sound that comes out of Trent Reznor locking himself into a studio a going crazy with his gear. The new album sounds like he got the guys together and they tore it up for a weekend in someone’s garage.
After spending some more time with it, I’ve decided that I actually like to hear Trent getting back to his roots and working with a live band again. I just hope that they can pull off the material from Year Zero live. I’d really like to see them do that at their Toronto gig.
I am leaving the best news about “The Slip” for last. It’s quite simple. It’s free. That’s right, free. I thought Radiohead did something cool with “In Rainbows” by letting you choose your price, but this beats it on a few levels. First of all, there is NO option to pay. Trent says “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.”
One complaint people had about Radiohead’s download of “In Rainbows” was the quality of the audio files. They were medium bit rate mp3s that weren’t quite CD quality. “The Slip” is offered in several flavors including high quality mp3, Apple Lossless AAC, FLAC, and audiophile 24/96 WAVE files. I downloaded every single type and backed them up on my server for future use.
I know Nine Inch Nails aren’t exactly for everyone, but if you’re feeling adventurous you should check it out. Why wouldn’t you? It’s free!