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Nine Inch Nails
Ghosts I-IV
The Null Corporation

Words: Christian Crider

Trent Reznor is a man of considerable talent, and his struggle to find his sound after quitting drugs has been interesting to say the least. However, Nine Inch Nails has released quite a bit of material over the last few years, which leads one to wonder how such a prolific musician could lack a comfort zone. Perhaps this constant drive to change is Reznor’s greatest asset. His newest creation, Ghosts I-IV, is a vast collection of “instrumental” electronic tunes that capture Reznor’s signature style in ways that no NIN release has managed since The Fragile.

This album was somewhat of a surprise. That is to say, it was a complete surprise unless Reznor’s cryptic “two weeks” website post caused the proverbial light bulb to flicker on above your head. What’s even more exciting is that the first nine tracks are free via digital download, and the entirety of the collection is available online for a measly five bucks. A limited release of a three hundred dollar vinyl set was available as well, but those sold faster than Hannah Montana tickets, and are no longer available.

The good news is that Mr. Reznor is an advocate of file sharing, and so the whole package is also free to pirate with Reznor’s full consent. But if you thought all this free music nonsense would hurt sales, think again. In the first week, Ghosts I-IV moved 781,917 copies all together, taking in 1,619,420 U.S. Dollars. Without the greedy record executives to divvy up his share, Trent is probably rolling around in piles of cash and laughing maniacally at the lack of ingenuity displayed by the record companies.

But enough about money; let’s get on to the music. Is Ghosts I-IV really worth your time spent clicking away on the Internet? Damn skippy! Reznor spent ten weeks last year recording this collection, and his bountiful songwriting abilities are on full display. Ghosts is divided into four sections, and in a leap of trite artistic expression, none of the songs have names. All pretension aside, it’s just as easy to refer to them by numbers in consecutive order.

Ghosts I starts out with a bit of electronic lethargy in “Track 1,” but really picks up the pace in “Track 3” where the tempo and direction takes on a different tone all together. By “Track 8,” Trent has reverted back to the fuzzy, crunchy guitar effects of The Fragile – definitely the hardest, most industrial track on the first “disc.” Ghosts II manages to scale back the momentum for a bit with a microcosm of piano-induced ambience.  But by “Track 14” the momentum begins to pick up with what sounds like a loosely tuned slide guitar. Ghosts III reaches back to the grungy, carbonated fizz glimpsed earlier in the set, with “Track 19,” and the rave-inducing “Track 24.” Ghosts IV takes on acid rock elements as it builds on the velocity of the previous sets with “Track 31.” It is notable that tracks on Ghosts IV are the longest out of the series as “Track 33’s” insectoid buzz runs just over four minutes.

The whole collection is really quite astounding, and with more Ghosts collections due in the future, this is an exciting time for fans of Nine Inch Nails. – Christian Crider