welleducated's Full Review: With Teeth [PA] [Digipak] by Nine Inch Nails
Unfortunately, the “With Teeth” Dual Disc offers little “added value” content. The packaging is essentially identical to the original release. The cardboard container flips open to a list of songs, the producers and the web address rather than including actual liner notes. As with “The Downward Spiral,” the DVD includes all tracks, offering both a stereo and a surround sound playlist as well as a listing of Nine Inch Nail’s body of work.
The body of work listing is nearly identical to “The Downward Spiral,” only adding Halos 18 (“The Hand That Feeds” Single) and 19 (“With Teeth”). The only major difference is the blue toned background, which matches the “With Teeth” graphics and the inclusion of additional tracks from “The Downward Spiral.” Once again, “Pretty Hate Machine” is neglected with only a listing of tracks and no song samples from Halos 1-4. Since the “With Teeth” album is Halo_19, there are no sample tracks.
Sample tracks are as follows:
Halo_5 (“Broken” EP 1992) – “Wish”
Halo_6 (“Fixed” EP 1992) – “Gave Up” (remix by Coil with Danny Hyde)
Halo_7 (“March of the Pigs” Single 1994) – “All the Pigs, All Lined Up”
Halo_8 (“The Downward Spiral” LP 1994) – “Hurt”
(“The Downward Spiral” Deluxe Edition, Double CD 2004) – “Burn” & “Dead Souls”
(“The Downward Spiral” Dual Disc DVD 2004) – “Closer” [video clip in stereo]
Halo_9 (“Closer to God” Single 1994) – “Closer to God”
Halo_10 (“Further Down the Spiral” EP 1995) – “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)”
Halo_11 (“The Perfect Drug” EP 1997) – “The Perfect Drug” (remix by Meat Beat Manifesto)
Halo_12 (“Closure” Double VHS 1997) – “March of the Pigs” [video live], “Wish” [video live] & “The Perfect Drug” [video clip]
Halo_13 (“The Day the World Went Away” Single 1999) – “The Day the World Went Away”
Halo_14 (“The Fragile” Double LP 1999) – “Somewhat Damaged,” “The Wretched,” “Into the Void,” & “Starf^ckers, Inc.”
Halo_15 (“We’re In This Together” Import Singles 1999) – “We’re In This Together”
Halo_16 (“Things Falling Apart” LP 2000) – “ 10 Miles High” (version)
Halo_17 (“And All That Could Have Been” Live DVD/VHS 2002) – “The Wretched” [video live] & “The Great Below” [video live]
(“And All That Could Have Been” Live Deluxe LP 2002) – “Gave Up”
(“And All That Could Have Been” CD Two) – “And All That Could Have Been”
Halo_18 (“The Hand That Feeds” Import Single 2005) – “The Hand That Feeds” (straight mix)
Other than artwork, the one piece of new content is “The Hand That Feeds” video, offered in both surround sound and stereo tracks. The video is standard Nine Inch Nails. Set up with a garage band feel with the now familiar “With Teeth” tones of blue, Reznor and the other musicians bang out an enthusiastically angry version of “The Hand That Feeds.” As usual, Reznor is rarely visible, the other musicians share a similar look (clad in dark clothes with long black locks falling into their faces) and the video ends abruptly with the guitarist stumbling off to leave Reznor center stage. However, it is nice to see Reznor looking clean and healthy. Clearly the stint in rehab did a body good.
The lack of added content could have made it more palatable for teenagers, but the clip of the “Closer” video is inappropriate and includes cuts showing a nude woman. Since it’s a DVD and easy to pause, I’d still encourage parents to wait until their children are 18. If you read my review on “The Downward Spiral” Dual Disc, you’ll note that the images from “Closer” are intense and the metaphors would be difficult to understand without life context.
CD REVIEW --------------------------------------------
It has been said that this is the album Trent Reznor should have released to capitalize on the success of Nine Inch Nails' (NIN) "The Downward Spiral." Of course, if you've read my review on "The Downward Spiral," you would know that Reznor doesn't do anything for the sake of capitalizing on success. This is *not* a man who follows conventions, but that is always said of great artists.
Still, those who maintain this criticism have a point as "With Teeth" does hearken back to the days of "Pretty Hate Machine" with numerous tracks that have mass market appeal. Singles include "The Hand That Feeds," "Only" and "Every Day is Exactly the Same." Most interesting is that on the NIN website, Reznor released source files for "The Hand That Feeds" and "Only." This spawned numerous remixes by fans, which Reznor encouraged them to upload to the band's official MySpace page.
"All the Love in the World" is quiet, supple and purposeful. Reznor's plaintive voice is set against a repetitive bass guitar and drums that seem to fade into the background while a piano rises to augment Reznor's plea. "Why do you get all the love in the world?" As the song culminates, Reznor sets his industrial sound against a very mainstream pop. Instead of clashing, the two genres roll together to create a very powerful track worthy of mainstream play.
Just after the final piano note, "You Know What You Are?" comes crashing through in all the glory of industrial rage. Thrashing drums, pounding guitar and anguished screams make "You Know What You Are?" a mosh pit dream. What's more intriguing about this track is that the simple notes of the aforementioned piano can be heard in the background, providing depth to the chaos. Eventually, the piano takes over as the song tapers off.
"The Collector" comes thrumming back with the bass guitar taking center stage. "I pick things up. I am a collector," Reznor states. So true as the NIN master rolls together traditional industrial with metal, punk and pop to create a collage of sound. Reznor overwhelms the mind with images created by noise. "I have this net. It drags behind me. It picks up feelings for me to feed upon." Feelings which Reznor regurgitates, leaving the listener to sort out the discordant notes.
Of course, the huge commercial track on this album is "The Hand That Feeds." In true rock 'n roll style, Reznor belts out a track that could easily have come off "Pretty Hate Machine." "Will you bite the hand that feeds you? Will you stand on your knees?" Definitely music and lyrics worthy of commercial stature in any popular dance club.
"Love is Not Enough" is one of the more discordant tracks on the album. While it starts out commercially enough, somehow the song feels restrained. Perhaps it's that Reznor doesn't belt out with quite the same voracity as he does on other tracks. In the end, the lyrics become partly obscured and overwhelmed by the crash of guitar chords.
"Every Day is Exactly the Same" topped Billboard's 2006 "Hot Dance Singles Sales" and "Hot Digital Songs" charts, proving the mass market potential of both NIN and the "With Teeth" album. While I enjoy the vintage feel of this NIN album, it is a throwback and "Every Day is Exactly the Same" gives us clues as to why Reznor may have moved backwards in the band's musical development from the intensity of "The Downward Spiral." "I think I used to have a voice. Now I never make a sound. I just do what I'm told. I really don't want them to come around."
"With Teeth" has a certain bite. As usual, Reznor knows how to articulate his words so that the listener is struck with stunning visuals. The song is powerful and worthy of commercial release. Then 3 minutes in, it abruptly turns to a barely audible Reznor against a simple piano repeating "I cannot go through this again." For about a minute and a half, the song turns from its industrial roots to a more mellow and simplistic synth pop. Then it rises up "with teeth" again to grab the listener. As it takes a second softer turn, it maintains the hard edge stating "she will not let you go."
My favorite track, "Only" just smacks with mainstream pop with only hints at the band's hard edge. Yet there is an irony in the song as seen in the very first line. "I'm becoming less defined as days go by." Reznor seems determined to find his way through the maze of balancing his creative work with the demand for commercial success in a song that clearly has broad mass appeal.
"Getting Smaller" breaks back into industrial chaos with a crazed guitar and wild drums. "Getting a little erratic here" Reznor cries. Again, the tell-tale lyrics speak of getting lost in the chaos; between the demands of others and the individual's needs.
"Sunspots" returns with the bass guitar set against the drums and a softer spoken Reznor. With a constant bass undertone, it reminds one of "Pixies" tracks like "Cannonball." About halfway through, it moves into an older electronic sound with synthesizers taking the foreground. Then Reznor's voice grows to take up the space between the bass guitar and the synthesizer. The overlapping sound is just stunning.
From a musical mixing, we roll into the grainy sounds of thrumming guitar and the screaming vocals of "The Line Begins to Blur." As the song moves forward, the discordant piano comes back to echo Reznor's lyrics and clash with the thrumming guitar. Finally, the sounds roll together to form a coherent mix of sound while Reznor lyrics subside only to be replaced with a worldess "AAAaahaaaa."
"Beside You in Time" starts with an endless electric guitar chord, becomes overlapped with a trotting percussion and then Reznor's voice accented by staccato guitar chords. Reznor repetitively whispers, "This goes on and on and on and on" with both music and lyrics stretching out with an endless sensation. If one doesn't mind the journey, "Beside You in Time" will deftly create the sensation of endlessness. I really like the artistry and have given it a 5, even though that's out of tune with the rest of my ratings which are based more on mass appeal.
"Right Where It Belongs" sums up the album. The sweet tones of the piano return, now harmonizing with the guitar. As with the very first track, Reznor's tone is soft and supple. We have made a full circle, quieting the guitar to the will of the artist. The lyrics even suggesting that, perhaps the animal is not in the cage. Instead, it is free while the builder is actually the one who has been captured behind the bars. As the song's intensity grows, the vocals suddenly grow and shift from being faded background to become fixed the forefront. The vocals fade out, then the guitar and the listener is left with a few haunting notes from the piano and the song itself still seems to linger in the resulting silence.
It is interesting to note that the "With Teeth" album contains no liner notes, just a listing of songs, a production note and a reference to a .pdf file on the band's website. However, that makes for tasty perusal and musings by those who may not own the album yet. For a look into the artist's mind, check out www.NIN.com/With_Teeth.
As always, my individual ratings for each song (* to *****):
1. "All the Love in the World" *****
2. "You Know What You Are?" *****
3. "The Collector" *****
4. "The Hand That Feeds" *****
5. "Love is Not Enough" ***
6. "Every Day is Exactly the Same" *****
7. "With Teeth" ****
8. "Only" *****
9. "Getting Smaller" *****
10. "Sunspots" *****
11. "The Line Begins to Blur" ****
12. "Beside You in Time" *****
13. "Right Where It Belongs" *****
---------Check out my other Video reviews-----------
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