(Nothing/Universal)

It was admittedly somewhat of a surprise to see Trent Reznor releasing another Nine Inch Nails album. Rumours forever circulate but with an average of a little over five years between album releases he hasn’t been the most prolific of artists. During the 90s he blamed it on the computer game Quake, for which he scored the original eerie soundtrack. However press interviews for the release of With Teeth revealed a very open Reznor confessing to years of drug addiction as means of battling his own personal demons and dealing with life on the road. The man who at his peak, after the release of the seminal The Downward Spiral (1994), was dubbed one of the most powerful and influential people in the American Music Industry, has it seems sunk to the deepest of despair and now risen again – with teeth.
 
Reznor has previously spoken of the difference between his recorded music and his live shows; explaining that people would buy his debut album Pretty Hate Machine (1989) after his heavy and intense concerts only to be confused by the keyboard/electro nature of the songs. If there’s one thing that seems immediately apparent when listening to With Teeth is that the two have met somewhere in the middle. Whilst The Downward Spiral and The Fragile quickly lost the electro pop element of Pretty Hate Machine, neither had quite the live sound that stands out on With Teeth. This is felt most through the live raw sounds of the drums and bass and so it was with pleasant surprise to later discover the main contributor on drums to be Nirvana/Foo Fighter/QOTA drummer Dave Grohl.

Title track With Teeth is trademark Nine Inch Nails in its transition from heavy distortion to the classically trained Reznor on piano. Though the influence of living in the Deep South has rubbed off with the blues influenced repeating bass line. Opening track All The Love In The World’s subtle moody electronica beginnings would don’t sound out of place to mid 90s NIN before midway breaking into more dance oriented beats and percussion. Penultimate track Where It Belongs is reminiscent of classic Downward Spiral finale Hurt with reflective strung out ambience.

However it’s tracks such as the singles Hand That Feeds and Only that set the tone for With Teeth, which despite being mostly recorded by Trent himself, sound like a tight knit group working off each other. For those interested in making their own music or remixes, these two tracks have both been made available in multi track format for free download from www.nin.com. Hand That Feeds only in Mac Garage Band format but Only in four different formats, broadening it’s appeal. Fun for the amateur, hours of amusement I’m sure for those with a bit of know how.

With Teeth is a welcome return to form for Trent Reznor and NIN. He still seems to have plenty of anguish to vent and musically he continues to create and evolve. If only he took the time to include the WHOLE of Australia in his August tour…