Sleepwalker
2008 saw the release of The Slip, Trent Reznor’s seventh full length studio album under the moniker Nine Inch Nails. Being an Industrial Metal album, The Slip features lots of fierce synth sounds, heavy and rough guitars and an overall dark and harsh feel. Also very notable are the pounding drums that take a very dominant role on this album.
I must say that I have some mixed thoughts about The Slip. The album overall is quite good and features some great moments, of which some for example the fierce “Letting You”, the much more delicate “Lights In The Sky” and the electronic “The Four Of Us Are Dying”. The problem that I have with this album is that it sounds somewhat repetative at times. Part of this is due to the fact that the majority of songs on the album open with pounding drums that soon get joined by synths, bass, guitar etc. This gives the album a somewhat blank feel at times. I find it hard to say, but sometimes the album seems to lack inspiration. Things might sound a bit expectable at times, but despite this the music still if pretty enjoyable. The album opens pretty fierce and agressive, but on the second half of the album significantly slows down with some more atmospheric tracks, only to close the album again in a heavy and aggresive manner.
The Slip is very far from being a masterpiece, but it is a good album nevertheless. It features some great moments, both agressive and rough to gloomy and ambient. Also, Trent Reznor has released this album as a free legal download, which means you can’t go wrong getting it.