Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
September 21st, 1999.
Nothing
The Fragile, Nine Inch Nails' third studio album, turns 25. The 100+ minute runtime might sound a tad bloated, as it usually does; usually would be. But this isn't the average creative that we're talking about here. A short list - Trent Reznor along with a fellow few - can whip up a work this immense.
The follow-up to The Downward Spiral - no pressure - is a double album of industrial skew, The Fragile. Throbbing, greasy soundscapes ooze despair and bubble in their own inadequacies. Offended by your own downfall, a downfall brought on by your own inability to act. A mental block of immense self-loathing. An over critical intellect. Too complex to comply; too dumb to tag along. Not wanting to hear what needs to be said. Knowing the truth, and carrying on regardless. Denial on a level so deep the soul is compromised.
The Fragile is a fine example of mixing on the production front. It's a lesson in dynamics and sonic placement. Clever little ideas are plotted along the way. As in all along the 100-plus minute runtime of the record. Eerily ornamented, The Fragile sparkles with minute details, haunting melodies. Deep burdens beneath the rubble of what remains. Too fucked up to carry on. Try as you might, square one awaits. Back to the beginning for the fourth time this week. You can't win. The self is quicksand. Fight it at your own peril. Go against the grain and get what you asked for. A soul honed on harsh environments. Made aware of the unliveableness of it all. Remaining unaware of the world outside your head.
Evil whispers at you through the ether. It whispers because it wants to contort your view of reality. Quiet enough for you to question it's existence. Just loud enough to let you know it's there. Happy moments are few and far between. The hands around your neck refuse to let up. The world loosens. The moment stretches infinite. The internal eternal.
