Stubby Member
Hesitation Marks - ETS Reviews
Hi All,
Now that HM is leaked, (I refuse to tap-out, and will wait until release!) - I thought it would be good for people to post NON-SPOILER reviews of HM. From what I hear, it's good - but HOW good is it?
Rating out of 10?
Standout tracks?
Album it could be compared to?
Other comments?
Keep it short, no spoilers, just hype it up for us ETS members who HAVEN'T heard it yet!
Active Member
Possibly the best thing since The Fragile, to me. So, on a pitchfork scale, that would be a 1.8 out of 10, I believe !
Re Member
THE FUCK??????????? jesus christ, you can't leave this board for five seconds without returning and screaming "the fuck???"
praying i can hold off until the official release
Throbbing Member
10/10Originally Posted by laz001
All of them really, but All Time Low and Satellite are the ones I went back to immediately after the album ended.
None really. It's kind of its own unique thing. If I REALLY had to pick something Trent has done that would be a good comparison it would be The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!
Like some people have already said, while there have been some really good things to come from Trent since The Fragile, I think this is probably the best album, on the whole, since '99.
Active Member
I just finished my first listen. There's a few really amazing tracks on here. There's a few that didn't quite connect with me on first listen -- but it was the same with The Fragile. But there's no doubt Trent is firing on all cylinders here. I'm really looking forward to giving it another listen, but I need to work :-)
One thing that stood out to me is that -- I feel like this is the most a NIN album has ever creatively used reverb.
Administrator
I'm going all in.
This is the best Nine Inch Nails record since The Fragile. I've reserved that praise for such a long time, but no longer.
Active Member
Seriously. Minblowingly great. The man just went 360° and reinvented himself like it was nothing, while remaining coherent with his own body of work and taking the luxury to even reference his whole discography. It's bleak yet fucking funky, and the best thing is, it works ! How the hell did he do that ?
Active Member
I wanna go there, but I need to give this some more time
Stubby Member
This was my initial thought as well. I'm so fucking excited right now.
You can usually tell when Trent has confidence. And he has it back.
Remember when he said it was "fucking good"? No kidding.
Captain Rustleboots
My review:
"It's good"
Flaccid Member
My review:
Holy fucking shit Everything just blew my mind in context. How did that happen. I'm fucked.
Hairy Member
It's going to take quite a few listens before I can rate this thing.
But I think this is a really, really great!!
"I Would For You" is my personal favorite right now.
This record has such a cool sound... so different from anything out right now.
Stubby Member
9.7/10
Stand out tracks: All Time Low, In Two
It should be compared to nothing, it stands on its own as a great piece of work. I think its better than The Fragile, and the only album I would hold over this (just a smidge) is The Downward Spiral. After more listens I could change my mind on that even. Its damn good, near perfect.
Hairy Member
Not going to give a score yet, as it's too early, but my favorite track is Various Methods of Escape. The interlude piece is amazing. I also wouldn't compare this to any other album, but I will say that it reminds me a bit of The Downward Spiral, but less....frenetic.
Love it!
Hairy Member
I have not got goose bumps from a nin album since the Fragile. I am totally impressed. Downward Spiral>Fragile>Hesitation Marks
9/10
Throbbing Member
Hell, this is their greatest album they've ever done in my opinion. It's got NIN's trademark complex but simplistic sound to it yet it sounds nothing like they've ever done before. I'm shit at reviews so I'll leave it at that
It goes up to 11/10
Stubby Member
So far for me various methods of escape is my favourite, other than the ones already been released/played live this is the stand out for me, once I get a listen to it a few more times I think this'll definitely become my favourite album
@_@
Rating out of 10? 8.5/10
Standout tracks? In Two is my standout favorite on the first listen, with Satellite, Running, and All Time Low following close by.
Album it could be compared to? HTDA + The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!
Other comments? BRB, getting my dance on! And I need to listen to it a bit more.
Flaccid Member
Really damn good album I must say.
Favorite tracks are Various Methods of Escape & I Would for You.
Hell, the whole second half of the album is great.
Pretty sure I'd still rank Like Clockwork as my favorite album I've listened to this year but this one is pretty close.
Now to wait until my preorder arrives to listen again.
Throbbing Member
I'm going with 8/10
Various Methods of Escape, I Would for You, and In Two made the best impressions, so far.
There is so much from Reznor in each song. I'd say all of the songs compare to his style on all albums, but there's not a single album I'd line it up with. There are With Teeth, Slip, Fragile, Spiral touches popping up through each listen. Not one album alone.
Just want to reiterate that I appreciate that he made this album. One voice among the many, but thought I'd just stress that again. Thanks for the art.
Throbbing Member
I think that musically it's more mature, complex YZ. lyrically it's WT.
after 1st listen, I'm loving it so far. instant classic. I can't put my finger on comparing it to TF though, both are so different I couldn't tell which is better.
anyway, it's something like 8/10 or 9/10. I'm gonna decide which one after a few more listens
Stubby Member
I heard this too. There's definitely bits of every album in here, but I think that was to be expected after hearing how varied the 5 songs we heard first were.
Throbbing Member
Not mind-blowing on my first listen. A few impressive moments. Definitely not feeling the TDS connection Trent had mentioned in interviews.
But I need to listen more, of course.
Stubby Member
Didn't Trent mention that this was more of a retrospective response to TDS rather than some kind of direct sonic connection? At least that's what I assumed he meant anyway.
Hairy Member
Rating out of 10?
9/10 at this point
Standout tracks?
All Time Low. I can't shut up about it. Satellite is also kicking my ass.
Album it could be compared to?
None of them. It's something totally different, in my opinion. NiggyTardust comes closest I suppose, but even then, it's just something all it's own.
Other comments?
All of my expectations were exceeded for this album, and I had high expectations because it's NIN. Awesome album, so glad I preordered it.
Flaccid Member
Rating:
10 of 10
Standout tracks:
"In Two" blew me away straight away but I need a lot more listening time
Album it could be compared to:
Too many influences from other NIN albums and even other artists to mention in one post.
Other comments:
Best album since "The Fragile". Instant classic and I even love the remixes!
Pink Nails
A big +1 for this. More like With Teeth combined with Welcome Oblivion.
pretty FART machine
I can't fully comment on my appreciation of the album until I go over the liner notes while listening, but I've been rocking out all fucking morning and loving every second of it.
I'm finding the last 1:30 of "While I'm Still Here" to be beautifully soothing and I really hope this song ends up in the TENSION show.
Last edited by FULLMETAL; 08-27-2013 at 12:20 AM. Reason: Still digesting this kick-ass album.
Stubby Member
Running reminds me of Kid A. Mostly it's the weird instrumentation, the falsetto in the background, the repetitive syncopated breathless singing.
Stubby Member
First thoughts:
I think what we have here is TR finally saying "fuck it, is this NIN anymore? what is NIN? who cares. this is what I want to make." and we're all (TR included) reaping the rewards
Additional thoughts and details after more listens...
Last edited by Paul; 08-26-2013 at 11:57 AM.
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