content: as a long time fan of NIN i consider this to be a step down from previous works but still found it satisfying enough.trent uses techno beats but still seems to make it work.i guess why i give it only **** is because it isn't as memoreable as other albums.the lyrics didn't speak to me as much and eventhough it's almost an hours worth of material it seemed to me to go by too quick.now this isn't neccessarily a bad thing it's just that...maybe it's because to me most of the songs are 'same sounding' and not as easy to be able to tell from apart.i know this sounds like a negative review but i still do like the album.i guess it's just one of those albums that you'd expect more of from trent.i almost want to say that it's more "poppy" than past material,especially the song,"the hand that feeds." all in all it's still a good album.but for those who are expecting another "downward spiral" forget it.