After the huge success of the more than popular Ghosts I-IV, Nine Inch Nails comes back with another album that is full of adrenaline pumping beats and riffs, called The Slip. And to top that, this one is available for free to download, with the disks still under production. The apparent reason for the release of The Slip online may be that NIN is about to have a tour at the end of this year, and this album will serve to build some hype for it.

Front man Trent Reznor labels this album a big thanks to all fans for the success of Ghosts I-IV and its predecessors; and the gratitude is evident in this typical Nine Inch Nails album, contrary to the experimental music in Ghosts I-IV. Having said that, the album does not lack versatility, as it covers genres ranging from country to rock, via the mushy slow-dance type.

The album starts off with an Industrial Rock type 999,999 that follows the experimental touch from Ghosts I-IV. This track soon leads to the typical NIN rock sound of 1,000,000. The adrenaline is kept pumping with Letting You. After this, the listener is subjected to an early-eighties type dance number, Discipline, which leaves one with a nostalgia for the post-Beatles era. After Discipline another typical NIN number, Echoplex, reflects the same kind of music that we have already heard in the early NIN albums. 

The typical NIN sound is continued with Head Down, with its hardcore distorted riffs, long solos, shrieks from the vocalist and swift drumming. True head-banging material! This is followed by the slow-dance number, Lights in the Sky. Even though this track sounds more like an amateur job, it manages to intrigue the listener with its simplicity. Corona Radiata is undoubtedly one of the best songs of the entire album. It is a fusion of the hard rock and country genres, and expertly fused at that! Saying anything else about this number would give too much of it away.

Next up is another amazing track, this time with an Industrial touch. This one is called The Four of Us are Dying and its beats and powerful riffs fill the track with a pleasing insanity. The last track on the album, Demon Seed leaves the listener pleased, with its orthodox Rock-n-Roll sound and a brilliantly done crescendo.

Overall, The Slip is a great album, something that all of us have come to expect from NIN. After the experimental Groups I-IV, this album is refreshingly typical NIN material. 

The Slip is available, free of cost, on the NIN website and requires email registration. It is available in almost all popular audio formats with high quality. All downloads include a PDF cover booklet.