@NINHOTLINE

NINE INCH NAILS "The Day the World Went Away" (Nothing/Interscope)

Originally published in Entertainment Weekly on July 1, 1999

On this calling card for NIN's upcoming album, Trent Reznor treads dangerously close to self-parody, reheating the now-stale quiet-loud-quiet formula he exploited to far better effect on 94's The Downward Spiral: "Day" features a sleepy New Agey intro followed by massed guitars slapping you awake followed by mysterious mood music and portentous poesy. "In his voice I heard decay," runs a lyric; substitute sound for voice, and you've arrived at the crux of Reznor's problem.

Rating: C

Transcribed by Keith Duemling

View the NIN Hotline article index