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List Price: $24.98 | | Label: The Null Corporation
Salesrank:
Released: July 22, 2008 |
| Our Price: $13.97 |
| Used Price: $10.96 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Slip Track Listing:
1. 999, 999
2. 1,000, 000
3. Letting You
4. Discipline
5. Echoplex
6. Head Down
7. Lights in the Sky
8. Corona Radiata
9. Four of Us Are Dying
10. Demon Seed
Editorial Review:
Limited edition includes a bonus DVD. The Slip (also known as Halo 27) is the eighth major studio release by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. The album was produced by Trent Reznor alongside Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder.
The Slip Reviews:
Powerful 
2009-11-29 - This is not a hard-core rock-album like some of Reznor's previous works. In fact, the two weakest tracks (in my opinion) are the only two that explore his techno-metal roots. However, if you're looking for a surreal trip into the mind of a genius, then give this a try. It's not his best album, but compared to much of the music offered up by the over-caffeinated, morning-zoo, pop-culture, radio-world at our finger-tips, this is pretty d@mn good! The album increases with strength as it progresses even as it mellows, and by the end, you'll be adrenalized by the power of Reznor's music, tone and lyrics.
And as the Beastie Boys once prominently proclaimed, "you can't fart on that!"
A good end to a great stretch 
2009-11-13 - As the last album in a striking creative streak, it's inevitably for the Slip to get some flak. The albums preceding it were much longer and relied more upon lyrical narrative and complex musical structure. Year Zero told a story much like the Downward Spiral Had, With Teeth attempted to be usual NIN fare, while Ghosts was in a league of its own. All in all, With Teeth, Year Zero, and Ghosts represented almost FIVE hours of music total, all released in the span of a couple years. So, it's no wonder that the Slip may seem paltry in comparison- it's stripped-down garage rock sound certainly doesn't help either.
However, after multiple listens, the Slip has started to sound superior to Year Zero and With Teeth for me (Ghosts isn't even worth comparing, it's an entirely different animal), and is even becoming one of my favorite NIN albums. Reznor tries new things in the Slip, and at the same time it harkens back to Broken-era NIN, if only for its lack of restraint. From the opening tracks thru Lights in the Sky, the album is almost entirely straight-up rock and roll dissonance. The first track "999,999" serves as a tense lead up to
"1,000,000" which charges forwards with aggressive, fast-paced electronics accompanied by live drums (either that or live-sounding drum samples). Reznor's voice even sounds upbeat in an Iggy Pop sort of way, which contrasts nicely with his usual red-hot lyrical angst. These "rock" tracks may not have the complexity or depth NIN has displayed in the past, but it's undeniable that they are well-written, catchy, and energetic. The album's second phase starts with "Lights in the Sky," one of the most beautiful piano pieces the man has ever written. "Corona Radiata" and "The Four of us are Dying" are both adventurous ambient pieces that lack the emotional heaviness that previous NIN instrumentals have been caked in. They fit well with the rest of the album despite their stylistic differences, largely because they sound more exotic than moody. Finally, the album caps off with one final rocker, "Demon Seed."
The Slip is uniquely digestible for a NIN album, and probably deserves praise based on that alone. Along with its fun, NIN-lite style, it also lacks the excesses and hiccups detectable on Year Zero and With Teeth. Overall, it is remarkably good for a free album, much like Radiohead's "In Rainbows." More importantly, it's an album that lives up to NIN's long and varied creative legacy.
Two Disc NIN: CD/DVD
2009-09-02 - In the package, is the record, THE SLIP, on CD, which plays well and is interesting to listen to. Also contained is, the rehearsal sessions of the some of the songs shot in HD, I believe, which makes for good viewing.
Slipping into extinction 
2009-06-09 - While I did enjoy NIN's earlier material, his new stuff just doesn't do it for me. It isn't that I want to hear The Downward Spiral 5 times over. It is the simple fact that his music just isn't good anymore. I have enjoyed seeing them live a few times and they are still an excellent band as far as a live show is concerned. Trent has seemed to have lost that spark of angst and cynicism that made albums like The Fragile, and Broken so addictive and visceral.I may be being a bit too harsh but,I have listened to NIN since Pretty Hate Machine and I think as a long time fan I deserve to voice my own opinion. If you like music with heavy loud guitars and great choruses then go pick up the new CKY (Carver City). It is excellent.
It's free, but I still haven't burned it 
2009-06-01 - Nine Inch Nails have been on a roll since 2005, releasing technically 4 (!) albums (although one of them's arguably an EP, Ghosts, that is), although they're on a farewell tour now. Everyone knows the story how Trent Reznor released this free basically out of nowhere. Of course I downloaded it as I soon as I found out, which was the day after it came out. All the critics jumped to praising this album, but if it wasn't free, do you really think they'd have the same opinion? I doubt it.
Apparantely this whole album was done from scratch in about a month or two. That includes writing, recording and mixes. And it really shows. You shouldn't rush a record like this. The songs themselves don't stand out at all. Of course there's all the industrial noises and textures you'd expect, but the hooks aren't there. I wouldn't put any of these on a best of compilation. It starts with a forgettable intro track, then has 5 traditional, so to speak, songs with the aforementioned elements, a raw stripped down piano ballad that's not very good. After that you get a track 7 and a half minutes long of nothing but a single sound getting a little louder, until towards the end drums come in. This is what you'd find on Ghosts and really slows the momentum. Another by the numbers instrumental follows and it ends with another traditional song. I'd say the best song is "Echoplex". Another thing I have to point out is what bothers me when I listen to 21th century NIN. It's Trent Reznor's voice. I know he can't do anything about it, as people naturally get older, but his vocals just sound very ugly and unpleasant.
This is the weakest NIN studio album yet. You can still as of June 2009 go download it for free, weather it's MP3 quality or even FLAC. As for physical copies, there were only 250,000 made. Whether they're sold out, I don't know. I've listened many times, looking for reasons to make a physical copy, but still haven't found any.
