Jul 2008

'The Slip' (also known as Halo 27) is the eighth major studio release by Nine Inch Nails. The album was released free of cost on 5th May 2008 via digital download on the official Nine Inch Nails website. The album was made available without any prior notice or advertisement, and in a similar fashion as the band's previous release, 'Ghosts I–IV', released two months earlier. The album was produced by Trent Reznor alongside Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder.

• Rolling Stone (p.69) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "For listeners who like their music loud and fierce and pissed off at just about everything, there aren't too many better options than THE SLIP."
  Spin (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "THE SLIP is primo death funk with Reznor seething seductively about skies fading to black over grinding soundscapes that perfectly split the difference between computer-music clarity and live-band grit."
  Kerrang (Magazine) (p.48) - "^C]omprised of 10 tracks that veer between the atmospheric and the downright funky, the discordant to the sublimely melodic."
  Blender (Magazine) (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "^T]his is industrial-strength Trent -- lithe, throbbing shame-disco, torrid guitar obliteration...and one revitalized 43-year-old auteur..."

A mere three months after NIN's instrumental double-disc opus 'Ghosts I-IV' comes this physical version of their sixth "proper" studio album, which frontman Trent Reznor gave away free to fans on the band's website as a gesture of thanks for their support. Short, direct and uncluttered, it has been hailed by fans and critics alike as possibly the best thing they have ever done, combining grinding guitar grit, pummelling beats, depressive lyrics and lush electronic textures as only they know how.

Mere months after Trent Reznor unveiled the 2008 instrumental collection GHOSTS I-IV online without warning, the Nine Inch Nails frontman issued another independent album out of the blue--a completely free studio album entitled THE SLIP. While not a radical departure from the fuzzed-out dystopia of YEAR ZERO, this 10-track outing does hark back to Reznor's earlier work (most notably THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL), as on the pounding "Discipline," which is tempered by a chiming keyboard melody, and the spare, piano-driven piece "Light in the Sky," a song that showcases the artist's brooding persona. Pithy and immediate, THE SLIP functions as a refreshing counterpoint to NIN's cumbersome 1999 double-disc outing, THE FRAGILE, and easily ranks as one of Trent Reznor's most satisfying endeavors.

Before Nine Inch Nails, electronic-based rock was often considered devoid of feeling and danger. Leader Trent Reznor merged synths with tortured vocals/lyrics, distorted guitar, and repetitive, slamming rhythms into an unpredictable amalgam, helping to popularize industrial rock in the '90s. In the process, Nine Inch Nails became one of the biggest alt-rock acts of the era, responsible for enduring hits like "Head Like a Hole" and "Closer," while inspiring legions of younger bands. The ever-stoic Reznor continued to evolve and create innovative music well into the band's third decade.