This album makes Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar seem like a pop album. NIN's most agressive CD is pure Industrial Rock psychosis from begining to song 13, with 14 being Hurt (mope ballad).
First, the good news. This CD is INCREDIBLY innovative, complex and interesting on a musical level. Combining elements of Synth-Pop, Pop, Ambient, Industrial, Rock, Metal and even Hip Hop on one of the tracks, the CD is always interesting to listen to. Every time you listen to this CD, you can always hear a new layer of sound, and appreciate it. Quite frankly, the level of sonic wierdness and experimentation is at Skinny Puppy level, although this album takes a more organic approach, rather than a cybernetic one, resulting in music that is so utterly interesting that you cannot help but listen to it. The lyrics are quite well written as well. The CD is also reasonably atmospheric as well.
The Bad News: The problem with this album is that some songs lack flow. Even though I like the sounds, the reliance of going from soft to REALLY REALLY LOUD is very grating and gets old quickly. It damages the flow of the album. If that were toned down, then the album would be significantly better. Too much chaos for my taste. Furthermore, NIN fall into the trap of making too many slow songs. This is exacerbated by the fact that the many bizzarre sounds make many tracks so damn inaccessible (the second half of the album is especially guilty of this) that the so called "catchy pop hooks" feel absent.
Personally, I like this album for its sheer sonic innovation. However, it is a dynamic whole with few outstanding individual tracks. The best are Heresy and Closer, which flow extremely well.
Heresy is wonderful in that it actually manages to sounds very similar to "Industrial," albeit a guitar riff comes in after the first chorus. It has a pounding metallic beat, both noisy and melodic synths, and a very catchy structure. Closer is a Depeche Mode style synthpop track, using a little Industrial noise at the end. Again, it is incredibly catchy and flows well.
Many people have talked about this being a concept album, but the concept feels somewhat anemic. The aforementioned Manson album explores its concept in a far deeper and more intellectually. TDS just incorporates a fist half of "I hate Everything" then a few songs of "I am becoming evil" and then "I kill myself."
To conclude, this album does not live up to the hype. However, it manages to be surprisingly original on a musical level, and is definetly something to listen to, although not a life-changing depression fest.
This album makes Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar seem like a pop album. NIN's most agressive CD is pure Industrial Rock psychosis from begining to song 13, with 14 being Hurt (mope ballad). First, the good news. This CD is INCREDIBLY innovative, complex and interesting on a musical level. Combining elements of Synth-Pop, Pop, Ambient, Industrial, Rock, Metal and even Hip Hop on one of the tracks, the CD is always interesting to listen to. Every time you listen to this CD, you can always hear a new layer of sound, and appreciate it. Quite frankly, the level of sonic wierdness and experimentation is at Skinny Puppy level, although this album takes a more organic approach, rather than a cybernetic one, resulting in music that is so utterly interesting that you cannot help but listen to it. The lyrics are quite well written as well. The CD is also reasonably atmospheric as well. The Bad News: The problem with this album is that some songs lack flow. Even though I like the sounds, the reliance of going from soft to REALLY REALLY LOUD is very grating and gets old quickly. It damages the flow of the album. If that were toned down, then the album would be significantly better. Too much chaos for my taste. Furthermore, NIN fall into the trap of making too many slow songs. This is exacerbated by the fact that the many bizzarre sounds make many tracks so damn inaccessible (the second half of the album is especially guilty of this) that the so called "catchy pop hooks" feel absent. Personally, I like this album for its sheer sonic innovation. However, it is a dynamic whole with few outstanding individual tracks. The best are Heresy and Closer, which flow extremely well. Heresy is wonderful in that it actually manages to sounds very similar to "Industrial," albeit a guitar riff comes in after the first chorus. It has a pounding metallic beat, both noisy and melodic synths, and a very catchy structure. Closer is a Depeche Mode style synthpop track, using a little Industrial noise at the end. Again, it is incredibly catchy and flows well. Many people have talked about this being a concept album, but the concept feels somewhat anemic. The aforementioned Manson album explores its concept in a far deeper and more intellectually. TDS just incorporates a fist half of "I hate Everything" then a few songs of "I am becoming evil" and then "I kill myself. "
To conclude, this album does not live up to the hype. However, it manages to be surprisingly original on a musical level, and is definetly something to listen to, although not a life-changing depression fest.