Albums of 2013: Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks

No Longer Giving Fans The Slip

Nine Inch Nails free download 'The Slip' gets a physical release on July 22 and part of additional material to encourage fans to part with their cash include a set of rehearsal performances like this one for Echoplex.

Obviously it was a dress rehearsal too as the band look tres stylish in their various shades of black.

Nine Inch Nails: The Slip

Nine Inch Nails have become increasingly prolific over recent times - where previously five year gaps preceded the releases of albums Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and With Teeth - in just over the course of a year we have seen three releases from Trent Reznor and the latest comes in the form of The Slip, available for free download from nin.com.

The Slip is not only the most accessible Nine Inch Nails offering by its means of distribution, but also by the content of the music as it manages to touch on all areas that Reznor has previously explored and combines them into the one release.

Many of the tracks evoke memories of particular era of NIN output over the years, but Reznor has skilfully controlled the track listing to leave the listener feeling like they're hearing to a cohesive album. At one point over the space of three tracks we can segue from the Downward Spiral-esque Letting You into Discipline which features a haunting piano key reminiscent of The Fragile before finally moving towards the With Teeth electro-groove of Echoplex, but this still manages to seem like a natural progression.

Towards the albums end The Slip does live up to its name with a series of low-key and instrumental tracks halting momentum before the albums closer Demon Seed picks things up a little, but doesn't really have the epic feel you expect from a Reznor closing statement.

So for those who haven't delved into the world of Nine Inch Nails this marks the perfect introduction for the newbie, as for the most part it brings together the best of previous projects and presents them in a risk-free format. But the feeling remains that The Slip is a little rushed and could've done with a little more time to filter out some filler - just not five years worth Trent!