From the title, album cover, and what I've heard so far, this is really rich and almost ambient stuff. Think Aphex Twin's ambient albums... except this is still decidedly Trent. Taking out the vocals removes any hints of the pretentiousness that he's been accused of lately. Frankly, I've been liking With Teeth more lately (especially All the Love in the World and similar tracks).

Year Zero was pretty good, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the more raw sounds of albums like the Fragile and the Downward Spiral.

The way I see it, he's doing what he wants, and that's okay. As long as I'm fairly certain it stems from his own talents, and not any external marketing or financial ploys, it's cool. This stuff is getting popular fast, due to the open-source nature of the release. Hell, he's even releasing individual tracks for sampling and remixing purposes. Surefire way to get attention.

Listening to the tracks themselves though, it's very tidal in a way that only Trent can pull off. It swings effectively from his low piano chords to the teeth-grinding high guitar riffs and buzzes. Some of it is plodding and methodical, some is searingly energized, but it's all Nine Inch Nails.

He's never going to be angsty the way he was when he was younger, so now we're just seeing things develop into a different age. It's highly fascinating, like it or not.

Instrumental stuff has always been a favorite of mine, and I'd even say I sway more towards instruments than vocals, as a rule. Instrumental music is constantly open to interpretation and review. It's more flexible that way, I suppose, as well as mysterious.

Holy crap, some of this sounds like it belongs behind a Doom level, preferably something like Eternity or Requiem. I say Doom here instead of Quake because Doom historically has more thematic variation than Quake. Quake has awesome atmosphere, but it was always more ridgid due to the narrower color palette.

Now the album is back on the upswing, with some funky drum and bass backed by intermittent guitar riffs. Trent was always adept at making those little guitar riffs echo across songs, albums, and years. The same motifs always seem to leave footprints in things to come. Rather than seeming repetitive, they actually provide a semblence of meaning.

Anywho, I'm going to keep listening well into the night. Biology sucks.