Nine Inch Nails-The Slip:The 2000's may well be remembered as one of the most disappointing decades in music history, the introduction of Emo alone threatens to have been been the final blow to an already struggling industry, the reemergence of long ago washed up rockers polishing their look and trying to be 'hip' again is as painful to listen to as it must be to produce. Considering how hard it is to locate anything that deserves a second listen in this day and age, I was recently (and very pleasantly) surprised to run across Nine Inch Nails' 2008 release of 'The Slip'. After several disappointing releases by Nine Inch Nals: The Fragile (1999), With Teeth (2005),Year Zero(2007) and Ghosts I-IV (February 2008). 'The Slip', suggests something of a much awaited return to the sound that marked Nine Inch Nails not just as a band, but a driving force in industrial music.

The Slip is best critiqued not as a 'stand alone' album, but as a step in the evolution of the band itself. In 1994 with their release of 'The Downward Spiral', (which entered the Billboard at no. 2 that year and remains the highest selling NIN album in the US) Nine Inch Nails provided those of us who couldn't stand one more second of geek rock with a sound we could all relate to- the sound of pure undiluted rage.While Reznor is not everyone's cup of tea, it is hard to deny the impact he had on the music scene and attitudes of the time. After having survived the vapid hair band years we just wanted something hard, nasty and basic and for many of us Nine Inch Nails provided a mouthpiece for the repulsion and anxiety we felt. Nine Inch Nails quickly became something of a figurehead for those who felt victimized in the aftermath of the commercially driven eighties, and served as a counterculture reflection of Generation X's gloomy, but angry attitude.

'The Slip' returns to that basic sentiment, and it couldn't come at a better time. The album starts as any Nine Inch Nails album should. Track one entitled '999,999' is a short, creepy instrumental mood setter filled with sounds that can be construed as breathing or static and muted voices that seem to reflect the snatches of conversation in our own memories~ Reznor's tried and true method for building expectation and fueling introspection. As usual this is a technique that works, if only because it reminds you that you are angry about something, but you just can't remember what. Laden with characteristic Nine Inch Nails distortion , angry vocals,and throbbing rythym, the next 5 tracks build in tempo and emotion leading up to what is possibly the crowning achievement of this album: the sudden change in mood that is trademark Nine Inch Nails.It unsettles the listener, just as it is intended to do. Unexpectedly, at track 7 the mood changes to a somber and reflective tone with simple accompaniment on piano and Reznor's voice for 'Lights In The Sky', a seeming homage to songs like "Something I Can Never Have" with what appears to be lyrical references to 'Hurt". The introspection continues to track 8 'Corona Radiata'. This method works by identifying the artist and building familiarity with the listener, as well as providing artistic impact, but it fails in length. Taking up an overall sizeable portion of the album these two songs leave the listener just a little too much time to reflect. Almost to the point of boredom.

If you are looking for a good song to party to, or a stand alone hit, the closest you can expect to come on this album is track two .'1,000,000' is definitely the song that will inspire you to push the gas pedal to the floor. While nothing stands out on this album as a possible return to the success of 'Closer', "1,000,000' is joined by 'Demon Seed' and "Discipline' as songs that hold their own as heavy hitters, providing some of the first true riff work I have heard in years.

It appears that what Reznor is trying to achieve on this album is not only a recognition of the sound and technique that made Nine Inch Nails a success in 1994, but also a kinship with his listeners and a return to the driving force, and underlying emotion of his earlier work. For the most part, it works. By giving the album away free to listeners via early release on electronic download (and this includes all album artwork, as well as liberties for personal use and remixing of the tracks!) he has certainly generated goodwill on the part of fans, who will appreciate this album as a step in the right direction after the previous four releases were received as dissapointments. He has also taken that one step further to make a statement against convention and greed. These are the very sentiments that NIN fans are both known and starved for in the new millenium.

The verdict: 'The Slip' deserves kudos for remaining true to it's roots ~ While I hated it at first, I had to consider the temperature of the day. Rather than doing as so many industrial/alternative bands of that era have done, Nine Inch Nails has not sold out or given up.With most music sounding like carbon copied Nickelback and hard rock seemingly influenced more by boy bands than legends, 'The Slip' presents itself as an ALBUM instead of just a collection of hopeful hits . In fact, 'The Slip' only really lets you down twice: the exceeding length of the reflective and moody instrumentals mid album, and the monotony of 'Letting You'~ a song so redundant as to be annoying. Skip over 'Letting You' and the first half of 'Corona Radiata' and you will have one of the better albums produced in the last decade.