Nine Inch Nails
And All That Could Have Been
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While the new Nine Inch Nails has an adequate level of polish and the usual fairly thought provoking and intense lyrics of Trent Reznor, the question I couldn’t relieve was this: why would someone go to a concert to feel hopeless?

In And All That Could Have Been, the new live cut from Nine Inch Nails, Reznor tries to make a some-thousand person communal live celebration of hate and sadness make sense. And it’s fathomable; though it’s possible that this only makes sense when you happen to be on a number of mind altering but not too psychological drugs. Throw in a screen showing animals having sex, things being ripped apart, bugs, etc, and you have a good old outcast hoedown. Except for this very appreciate bunch, I just don’t see many people relating to Reznor. For some there are moments. The moments can be prolonged, but ultimately a few pushups, a punching bag, self mutilation, broken furniture, screaming, fighting, firing a gun, repressing- these are the solutions which curb the dangerous mindset a person needs to be in to relate to the tortured lyrics of Reznor. And the moments in which someone is this angry and possibly suicidal are limited.

And All That Could Have Been is a precise and well recorded live disc. Reznor is able to recreate the unique sound within his albums effectively. His voice is audible, which is almost irregular in modern music with metal undertones. The songs flow smoothly, and the set list is filled with cyberpunkish electro-metal cuts such as “March of the Pigs,” and “Gave Up,” blended with disheartening ‘kill me’ typical nineties we’re-depressed-and-we-don’t-know-why tracks including “The Wretched,” and “Hurt.” The song list is a buffet of modest versatility, and gives a nice synopsis of what Reznor’s been up to since 1989. The arrangement is thus so that the audience can be jumping up and down in a fury one song, and remain in an almost stoic sort of despair the next. There are even a few tracks (“Sin,” “Suck”) where you’re able to visualize a select number of people dancing, along with the select number of others pondering their slaying with some sort of computerized bludgeoning device.

A lot of the backup sounds (a sonorous robotic German voice often sounds fitting) come across as perhaps too simplistic to evoke a truly estimable live show. Reznor’s thoughts are completely morbid, but they seem honest, and can be captivating. But in recording a live display of such an overtly personal collection of feelings, Reznor evokes a risk of alienation between himself and his fans.

His backup band seems to be a distant distraction in the sense that such tormented lyrics are much too personal to be taken as any kind of alliance. Surely a joint proclamation of such anguish can’t be taken seriously. Musically, the band makes the music a bit more intense, and steers it away from what would otherwise be a near replication of Reznor’s studio work.

Any Nine Inch Nails fan would certainly be happy (well…) with And All That Could Have Been. The only objection they might have is that the music sounds almost too identical to the albums. The work contains a strong mix of electronic music accompanied by enough speed guitar and morose piano to call the recording diverse. The notion of attempting to share torment at a concert bewilders me. It seems to go against all the traditional incentives in attending a live show. Maybe that’s the point. But if you actually want to be more bitter, ungrateful, and suicidal, check out And All That Could Have Been.

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