The Fragile

Description

Since their inception in the metal heartland and rock stronghold of Cleveland, Ohio, Trent Reznors Nine Inch Nails have been pioneers in their field. Broadly categorized in the early days as an industrial rock band theyve stuck to first principles while shifting their focus with each successive album and achieved a level of success based on a fanatical following that makes a mockery of any idea they were ever cut out to be a cult act. NINs sales have exceeded 11 million in the U.S. alone and over 30 million worldwide.

After the quadruple platinum success of The Downward Spiral (1994) it would be a further five years before NINs returned with a studio album. For The Fragile (1999) Reznor worked with Alan Moulder as his production sounding board. Moulders meticulous approach and his understanding of sonic textures complimented Trents flights of fantasy which stretched the material way over the 100-minute mark bliss for Nails fans. Conceptual again and stacked high with surprising melodic excursions, The Fragile attempts to make order from chaos: it begins with Somewhat Damaged and closes on Ripe.

Spread across 3LPs youll find a wealth of incredible sounds here and if it wasnt fully understood on release it seems to have became many a Nails followers album of choice. Certainly Reznor has always been adept at using high-class help even when he appears to be hurtling towards destruction. Guitarist Adrian Belew, Bowies sometime pianist Mike Garson, hip hop master Dr. Dre and uber-engineer Bob Ezrin are amongst the stellar supporting cast.

This definitive version of The Fragile, meticulously prepared by Trent Reznor and NIN art director John Crawford, was remastered from the original sources in 2016 and comes pressed on 180g 3LP with lots of details attended to that you may not even notice at first.