Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks

Coolest CD packaging in the world, if there’s any other book-CDs out there please point me in their direction

It is well known that "The Downward Spiral" is the de facto masterpiece from Nine Inch Nails. In my opinion, "The Slip" follows along a few steps behind. However, "Hesitation Marks" is a truly grower. It's much more electronic and slower. Give it a couple listens before you judge this album. Perhaps you may think it's totally feminine compared to the harsh sounds from the past. It's clearly a new phase for Trent Reznor and I can only say that "Hesitation Marks" indeed has Nine Inch Nails' blood in its veins. I look forward to what Reznor will come up with next time.

Trent Reznor turns in what is probably his best album as Nine Inch Nails, since either 1999's sprawling 'The Fragile' or it's predecessor 1994's 'The Downward Spiral'. 'Hesitation Marks' simultaneously manages to sound revitalized and fresh, while nodding to many moments of the NIN back catalog. While many of Trent's records are conceptually thematic, few of them adhere to what one would call a "story". The exceptions being the previously mentioned 'TDS' and 2007's 'Year Zero' which told relatively clear, if quite different, narratives with their own "genres" or "color palettes". Here we see NIN cast their gaze backwards and forwards, telling their most clearly personal and emotionally bare tale in over a decade. Reznor's lyrics act as internal monologue of a narrator who has been to hell and back and back to hell again... and is trapped in a cycle he is fighting desperately to break. He flip-flops between attack and surrender, his mental perception sometimes altering mid-stream. His addiction acting as a secondary voice itself flips between seduction and chastisement. Premature victory, indignant relapse, blind running, and utter resignation are the emotional touchstones that make 'Hesitation Marks' a raw and compelling listen. The production reflects these qualities through its use of minimalist structures, simple layers of drum programming, backing textures of vocal ambiance, and abrupt shifts in both mix and movement. Upon reaching the conclusion of this record, I am left simply hoping that in the future we are treated to a third part to this open-ended story (which is something of Mr. Reznor's autobiography in musical form), and the darkness which threatens the broken and bruised moment of peace at the end of this record can be finally overcome. 5/5 stars, A+, two thumbs up.