| Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile |
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| Music Disc Reviews Audio CD | |
| Written by Brian Kahn | |
| Tuesday, 21 September 1999 | |
Nothing Records | Performance 7 | Sound 8 | The long anticipated release from Nine Inch Nails is finally here. Fans have had to wait five years since the multi platinum album ‘The Downward Spiral’. The wait was ended with the release of The Fragile a two disc, twenty three track album. Trent Reznor pushed new limits with this release, mixing complex harmonies with industrial overkill rock. The majority of the album was created using string instruments which were electronically processed to give them a unique sound. Reznor’s theme for the album was of "systems and things sort of falling apart" which led him to use stringed instruments which he says are imperfect by nature. After listening to this album several times I think it gets better every time, I am hearing new things with each listen. Some of my favorite tracks include "The Frail," "The Wretched," "We’re In This Together"and "Into the Void." All three tracks feature explosive, hard and edgy guitar work by Reznor. The guitar is overlaid over a very strong rhythm track. The bass from "Into The void" is reminiscent of "Closer" from Downward Spiral and really reaches low and hits hard. The guitar work in "We’re In This Together" is especially strong and pronounced over the subterranean base lines in that cut. I found it especially enjoyable to listen with the volume way up, enjoying the music in its full glory. The mixing and overall sound quality are quite good. The dynamic range is extreme and the detail is pretty amazing considering the frenetic complex movements abound. The Fragile is immediately recognizable as Nine Inch Nails even after so much time since their last release. The Fragile benefits from some modern touches in the studio bringing strong melodies into a hard and fast industrial mix like only Nine Inch Nails can do. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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