Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (2005)

    The other fact about Nine Inch Nails on the side that they showed up always with something completely different than before is: they didn't do that so often. Even though the project exists since the late '80s, "With Teeth" was only the 4th full-lenght NIN album.
   6 Years have been passed since "The Fragile". Many things could happen during such a long time, and they did happen too. Mr. Reznor was quit from drugs and his heavily self-destructive lifestyle, so it's not a wonder that "With Teeth" is like an awakening with terrible hungover after a long night. The album sounds surprisingly clear and balanced compared to the earlier NIN records. The constant rebelling and dark tone was vanished and by being quit from self-destruction, it's side-effects (like depression and self-hate) were gone too. Of course it's still not compatible with the charts and a red carpe diem stamp also wouldn't fit on the cover. On the side of the lyrics still there are noises to find that are transmitting negative impulses and telling about further inner struggles. They appear only in a less frustrated level than before, and they seem to calm down after they've got out instead of keeping the main feeling aggressive. Since NIN reached some cultic status after "The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile" was like oil on fire, the fans probably expected something world changing from the return. "With Teeth" was definitely not what they awaited for, but showed a new direction instead. Still, everything that was impressive about NIN showed up on this album again for the last time in a shranked, lighter version.