Note: This is the first Nine Inch Nails studio album since 1999’s The Fragile (an unwieldy double album, if you ask me), the most concise and song-focused album since 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine (their debut), and only the fourth Nine Inch Nails studio album in a 16-year career.
Sound: Trent Reznor’s trademark brand of industrial rock where rhythm rules – whether it’s super distorted electric guitars, grinding synthesizers or traditional drums – while piano touches and ambient electronics create some delicate diversions
Lyrics: Still dysfunctional and tortured after all these years; they’re unforgettable, but it’s a little hard to believe that a 39-year-old hasn’t resolved some of these issues
Heavy Rotation tracks: “With Teeth“; “Every Day Is Exactly the Same“; “Getting Smaller“
Medium Rotation tracks: “Only“; “The Collector“; “All the Love In the World“; “The Hand That Feeds“
Recommended: To both casual and serious NIN fans, as well as anyone looking for some meaty, throbbing rock in a variety of moods and tempos. It doesn’t have the seminally classic songs of the first two albums, but it’s consistently listenable and the production is stellar and surprising as usual.
Grade: B+ (Slight chance of being one of my Top 20 Albums of 2005)

(As posted 5/16/05 on davepowersmusic.com)
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