Nine Inch Nails - Things Falling Apart

After the two nihilistic epics The Downward Spiral (1995) and its belated follow-up The Fragile (1999), Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails are settling into a loud, predictable rut. The same thrashy, complex-yet-melodic industrial rock that sounded so groundbreaking on Downward Spiral is beginning to show its limitations. Though often mesmerizing in the way Reznor's inventive sonic structure and relentlessly bleak tone congeal so convincingly around the catchiest of pop melodies, the man seems to have run out of places to go. Things Falling Apart, a collection of severely remixed songs from The Fragile, adds precious little to Rezner's familiar, impossibly angry milieu. Almost all the songs fall short of their original versions, especially all three versions of "Starf***ers Inc" (though, to be fair, that may have been The Fragile's best track). There are a few previously unreleased tracks here that shine; the Fragile outtake "10 Miles High" throws a simple, pounding chorus into a swamp of washed-out ambient noise, while the Gary Numan cover "Metal" makes convincing use of Reznor's gift for pop melody. Still, it's apparent that, despite how great he is at what he does, Reznor just can't keep doing it forever. --Matthew Cooke Amazon.com

Like nothing else..

What's really great about this album is that you don't even have to be a NIN fan to really enjoy it. The tracks all sound fabulous over a nice sound system and the production is breath-taking (as usual with any record that has the 'NIN' logo on it). Personally, things falling apart and y34rz3r0r3mix3d are the two best remix albums of all time. Almost a decade after it's initial release and I'm still listening to this beast, that must mean it's a good record, right? March 3, 2008

A good collection of remixes plus

Things falling apart has good remixes like the Wretched, The Frail with agreat violin solo Star fs track 6.10 miles high. The last version of star fs is fair, Idont like star fs track 4 video game noise. Starfs track 6 has different styles and is better than the original. the first two songs are good. The fragile is great and The Frail, The wretched, and Starfs track 6. add something by making these 3 better plus Metal is real good. May 17, 2007

For fans of "The Fragile"

2 Stars for the casual NIN fan.
4 Stars for the hardcore fan, especially fans of "The Fragile."

Halo 16 "Things Fall Apart" (2000) consists of remixes from Nine Inch Nails third studio album "The Fragile" (1999, Halo 14). It's a bit hard to rate this EP. Its merit really depends on where you're coming from. If you don't own "The Fragile" or aren't a fan of it, you most likely are not going to be into this EP. You'll probably find it to be masturbatory and tedious. However, if you do like "The Fragile," "Things Fall Apart" makes for an excellent companion piece. It offers atmospheric, intriguing takes on selections from "The Fragile." The opening "Slipping Away" is an especially cool and haunting warped remix of the excellent "Into the Void." A version of Gary Numan's "Metal" (unrelated to "The Fragile") outshines the original and stands as one of Reznor's greatest covers. Probably the one drawback to this otherwise very cool EP is that there are three remixes of "Starf.cker Inc." It would have been better if only one remix were included, to make space for remixes of other songs instead. Still, it doesn't hinder the EP too much. It would also have been great if this EP included the original versions of "The New Flesh" and "10 Miles High," as they are otherwise hard to come by (only available on part I of "We're in this Together," Halo 15).

If you are just a causal fan, this will probably be a big disappointment. However if you are a Halo collector and a big NIN fan, this EP is highly recommended as it makes an excellent supplement to "The Fragile."


January 20, 2006

Good, not great, good

This is a good solid CD. Some good songs remixed and some new ones. If you are a hardcore NIN fan you will like this CD, if not I don't know what to say. My favorite track is the last Starf**kers remix, track 10. Nice and original sound that makes it seem like an entirely new song. One thing about this CD is that it grows on you, you might skip some songs when you first play it but after a while you start to like some songs and listen to the CD from begining to end. October 10, 2005

Some Of The Best Remixes Ever

Keith Hillebrandts remix of The Wretched is worth the amount of money you'll spend on this album ALONE!!! It's by far the greatest remix of a song i've ever heard. For the first minute or so it's slow but awesome, and then it just breaks out and gets instensly awesome. It's hard to explain, but you should buy it if your a fan of Trent's or Keith's or remixes in general...or all three. The rest of the remix album is awesome also, along with the unreleased tracks, or whatever they might be considered. September 19, 2005

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