TRENT REZNOR MIGHT BE THE COOLEST GUY IN THE WORLD (THERE’S A BRAND NEW FULL NINE INCH NAILS ALBUM OUT TODAY – FOR FREE)
Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 10:48am by Vince Neilstein
As hinted by another mysterious “2 weeks” blog post exactly two weeks ago and various hints dropped by Trent Reznor during that timeframe, a new Nine Inch Nails album — this one a full, proper with-vocals album as opposed to the instrumental four-album series Ghosts — is available today, called The Slip. The album features the tracks “Discipline” and “Echoplex” (both released for free download last week) and is available for 100% free download at NIN.com in a variety of audio formats, including better-than-CD-quality FLAC files.
Reznor seems to have opted against the model he used to release Ghosts, which made several special editions available in a variety of configurations, including the $300 super-special, signed, deluxe version which made him a millionaire in two days. Why wouldn’t he opt for a similar tactic this time around? Perhaps he is rewarding fans for their goodwill and dedication by giving them a deserved treat, or perhaps we has something else up his sleeve.
Either way: Trent Reznor = the man.
-VN
[Thanks to Bradley S. for the tip.]
I don’t really like NIN, but man, Vince is right. Trent Reznor IS THE MAN! What a cool way to give something back to the fans that supported him through all these years.
I was surprised he didn’t do the same release way… I think he said he’s going to release physical versions later on. Perhaps he wants to give everyone the chance to hear the full cd before they drop 300 dollars on it. Or maybe he doesn’t want to ask his dedicated fans to pay 300 dollars again.
All I know is I wanted the FLAC but they block the connection here at school so I can’t get it because it’s on torrent only… Anyone feeling generous/want to help me out with that?
That’s a cool thing to do! I guess Trent is thinking for the future on this one. To be able to do what he did on Ghosts or what Radiohead did on Rainbows you have to have loyal and happy fans right? Or maybe not. Looking forward to see what Metallica does on the new one, if they try something like Ghosts i guess we’ll see how important happy fans are! Hehe!!
It’s free for a reason. Ugh, listen to it.
Pretty good cd, but why go with three instrumental tracks (two if you don’t count the first one) when you just had an instrumental come out?
The big question is… is it any good? The reviews I read of Ghosts weren’t exactly inspiring – if it had been fully “paid for” many people would have felt ripped off.
Playing Devil’s advocate – would you rather have a shit album for free or pay reasonable money for a classic?
I actually like this one better than Year Zero.
sounds more full band-like “with teeth” rather than the synth-full “the fragile” (which i think is their best album).
still good and for free its amazing. gjdm
Not their best album in my opinion, but I like it.
It’s still growing on me. (++ Letting You, Head Down ++)
I fucking love Trent. What he’s doing is just incredible. Changin’ the world with a giant middle finger pointed in the fat fucking faces of the Music Suit’s.
Yessssssss!!!!
Can’t wait for the tour this summer.
But what’s up with those shitty opening bands? Crystal Castles? WTF?
Trent believes in quality and loyalty. This proves it. He knows what he pulled off with the last release and he’s paying the fans back. This is great.
I’m biased because I’ve been an NIN fan since 1991, but I don’t know how you couldn’t be in awe of everything this man has achieved in the past two decades. And now he’s leading the music industry into the future.
A great man that makes consistently great music. And he’s got a great heart on top of it all.
pretty good album, Mr.Reznor has started a real change in the way music will be distributed in the future…but this is the case of a band with a lot of loyal fans and and artistic credibility won over the years…what would be the panorama for those new, starting bands? without label support probably they’re going to have it tough touring and promoting their material properly. The album is growing on me, and so far I think is good. And like someone aid I don’t understand why Trent put 3 other instrumental tracks ofter releasing a 4-disc instrumental set.
Mosh, what you’re describing is the model that would end all great music. Who would be the one to put the price tag on what’s good or bad music(or any other art for that matter)? Artist are supposed to challenge right? So i would say that the question is’nt at all: “is it any good?”. The way i see it it’s a cool thing to do, no matter what. I can’t wait to see what Trents next move will be, as this is obviously just another step in a much bigger project.
Fritz – no argument on that score. I’m glad *someone* is experimenting in this direction though I honestly don’t see how it can work for every artist. Trent, as has been pointed out, already has a huge and loyal following who’ll buy large volumes at minimal amount, thus making him a ton of cash.
The smaller artists, those starting out, won’t have the benefit of a huge fan base and so therefore would have to charge *more* for their stuff to make anything off it. Or go with a record company to get their name around and so on before they could go Reznor’s route.
Plus, it doesn’t always work. Can’t remember the name of the indy band who tried something similar last year (download and make a donation based on what you think the record’s worth), but they’ve announced they’d not do it again. I do, however, think that metal fans are more loyal to the bands they follow – and potentially therefore more generous.
This album is pretty good. I’d rate it 4/5, but that’s coming from a biased NIN fan.
Yep, I agree.. It does’nt work for everyone, but it’s good to see the one’s who have the possibility to do this kind of stuff taking that responsability(and the cash, hehe). But as things are now I think that bands like NiN are making lots more money on conserts, so if you think about it, this release is actually making Trent some money after all, because of the benefits of just having released an album before the summerfestivals and so on. The music industry has come full circle, it’s back to experiencing the music live, there is no way to download that yet! haha…
[...] time this happened we got a tour, and the time before that a full album — for free. What’s ol’ papa Trent got in store this [...]