Performer Notes

Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar).
Additional personnel: Dave Grohl (drums).
Over the course of his musical career, Trent Reznor has managed to deliver a full-length studio album about every five years. Although he's a bit late with 2005's WITH TEETH (following 1999's THE FRAGILE), listeners are rewarded with Nine Inch Nails' most streamlined and straightforward record since PRETTY HATE MACHINE. Here Reznor cuts back on programming and synthesizers, opting for heavy use of guitars, bass, and--surprisingly--piano and live drums. In fact, the album's secret weapon is drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), whose thunderous percussive style gives certain songs--most notably the frenetic "You Know What You Are?"--added weight and a welcome no-frills rock edge. Though the techno/industrial element of Reznor's music has been played down, his lyrics are typically angst-ridden, with dramatic tales of isolation, deception, loss, and love gone wrong. More than 15 years after his debut, Reznor is as tormented as ever, and Nine Inch Nails fans wouldn't have it any other way.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[V]intage Nine Inch Nails: New Wave with a heart of darkness."

Spin (p.61) - Ranked #29 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[T]he most insular NIN album yet. Somehow, he makes that pathos work..."

Entertainment Weekly (No. 817/818, p.145) - "[Reznor] and his music sound more invigorated than at any time since SPIRAL..." - Grade: B+

Uncut (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[O]ne suspects 'Getting Smaller', in particular, will sound great live..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "[A] powerful collection that proved the band's continued relevance."