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Sono passati ben 7 anni dall'ultimo disco in studio, il momumentale doppio “The Fragile”. 7 anni di lotta contro la bestia di una dipendenza che ha rischiato di portarci via uno dei più grandi artisti della storia della musica. Ma Trent ne è uscito “With Teeth”, un disco che indubbiamente spiazza anche il fan più accanito dei NIN al primo ascolto. Ma non sorprende, perché i grandi non rispettano mai le aspettative del pubblico. Seguono istinto e talento, senza sedersi sugli allori e soprattutto mettendosi sempre in discussione. Il risultato è un disco diretto, crudo, che per la prima volta usa l'elettronica come colore, e non come struttura compositiva.
Trent si mette a nudo più che mai in questo disco. Nei testi si vede un uomo che riflette su ciò che è stato e sulla sua vita adesso come se si guardasse da fuori… “No one’s heard a single word I’ve said/ They don’t sound as good outside my head/ It looks as though the past is here to stay/ I’ve become a millions miles away”: Queste parole lasciano intravedere una profonda malinconia nella straniante intro “All The Love In The World”, di certo una canzone che non ti aspetti da Reznor ma che sa unire alle atmosfere dolci e oniriche (splendida -e inusuale- la voce ed il motivo del piano) della prima parte un finale decisamente incalzante. La cattiveria dei NIN che conosciamo spazza via a ritmi martellanti (monumentale Dave Grohl, più che mai un metronomo umano) il senso di piacevolezza insolita della prima song in “You Know What You Are?” e “The Collector”; la prima di queste è devastante come poche altre live (provare sulla propria pelle, io ero allo Zenith di Paris il 22 giugno!). Dopo il singolo “The Hand That Feeds”, decisamente radiofonico ma coinvolgente, e “Love Is Not Enough”, scura e malata, c’è la splendida “Every Day Is Exactly The Same”: “There is no love here/ And there is no pain/ Every day is exactly the same”, una electro-ballad dal taglio pop ma dalle melodie toccanti ed efficaci. La title-track “With Teeth” è la sintesi fra un ritmo tribale alla “Somewhat Damaged”, quasi zombesco, e chitarre contorte, che scompaiono dopo un intermezzo pianistico, ma solo per riapparire più marce che mai nel finale. Sembra quasi di vedere la smorfia di Trent nel ritornello… Il secondo singolo del disco, “Only”, è una delle perle di questo disco, un'altra canzone che proprio non ti aspetti. Ritmi funk-retrò, distorsioni lancinanti, synth e piano, in un mix che proprio non può non fartela prender bene (bello anche il video di Fincher tra l’altro). “Getting Smaller” è un'altra scheggia impazzita, molto rock e dalle distorsioni ricercate. Segue “Sunspots”, una delle mie preferite, dal giro sornione di basso di Ramirez, ai falsetti, ai synth modulati. “The Line Begins To Blur” e “Beside You In Time” sono i due brani in cui si vede di più il talento che contraddistingue Trent nella ricerca sonora. La prima fra muri distorti e suoni laceranti che sfociano in una melodia di una bellezza rara; la seconda, un viaggio ipnotico al limite della psichedelia, che mostra fra l’altro una maturazione ulteriore di Trent nella scelta delle melodie vocali. Ed eccoci arrivati al pezzo da 90 di questo disco, “Right Where It Belongs”. Che dire di una canzone come questa? Credo che parli da sola… “What if all the world's inside of your head/ Just creations of your own?/ Your devils and your gods/ All the living and the dead/ And you really are alone/ You can live in this illusion/ You can choose to believe/ You keep looking but you can't find the woods/ While you're hiding in the trees”: una dimostrazione che la genialità di un artista si può manifestare anche (e soprattuto) nella semplicità. E quando il disco sembra sfumare verso la fine… un suono proveniente da un sogno ci sveglia. Ultima perla di questa disco, la bonus track "Home" ci offre una delle più belle melodie della discografia dei NIN… . da provare dal vivo, un’esperienza da brividi.
In conclusione, l’ennesimo grande album di uno dei più grandi geni musicali di sempre, difficilmente uguagliabile per continuità, gusto, ricerca artistica, rifiuto del compromesso. Un disco diretto, in cui la forma canzone predomina… e che al tempo stesso offre una ricerca sonora pazzesca ad un ascolto attento. Qualche esempio? Una batteria che suona da Dio, le distorsioni originali di "Getting Smaller", o "The Line Begins To Blur", o "Beside You In Time", la stessa Only; l’uso minimalista ma sapiente del piano ("All The Love In The World", "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" per citarne alcune). Un disco certo completamente diverso dai precedenti, che forse avrà deluso le aspettative di qualche fans che pensa ancora che un artista debba ripetere il suo talento nella stessa direzione una volta raggiunto il successo. Beh, questo succede solo ai perdenti, la storia ne è piena.
Trent, fino ad ora, ha avuto ragione.
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 You Know What You Are? (03:41)
I tried to sneak myself through tried to get to the other side
I tried to patch up the cracks and the holes that I have to hide
For a little bit of time even made it work okay
Just long enough to really make it hurt
When they figured me out and it all just rotted away
Don't you fucking know what you are?
Don't you fucking know what you are?
don't you fucking know what you are?
Go on get back to where you belong
You better take a good look cause I'm full of shit
With every bit of my heart I have tried to believe in it
You can dress it all up you can try to pretend
But you can't change anything
You can't change anything in the end
Don't you fucking know what you are?
Don't you fucking know what you are?
Don't you fucking know what you are?
Go on get back to where you belong
Don't you fucking know what you are?
Remember where you came from
Remember what you are
(9x)
Don't you fucking know what you are? (go on get back to where you belong)
Don't you fucking know what you are? (go on get back to where you belong)
Don't you fucking know what you are? (go on get back to where you belong)
Don't you fucking know what you are? (get back to where you belong)
03 The Collector (03:07)
I pick things up
I am a collector
And things, well things they tend to accumulate
I have this net
It drags behind me
It picks up feelings for me to feed upon
There are times, plenty of times I wish I could let it go
But they start to breathe
And they start to grow inside me
There are times, plenty of times I wish I could let it go
But they start to make me think
Things I don't wanna know
I'm trying to fit it all inside
I'm trying to open my mouth wide
I'm trying not to choke and
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
I am the plague
I am the swarm
All your hurt sticks on me and I keep it warm
They make me stay
They won't let me leave
There are so god damn many of them it gets hard to breathe
I'm trying to fit it all inside
I'm trying to open my mouth wide
I'm trying not to choke inside
I am a good boy and I will
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Swallow it all
Every last one (20x)
04 The Hand That Feeds (03:31)
You're keeping in step
In the line
Got your chin held high and you feel just fine
'Cause you do what you're told
But inside your heart it is black it is hollow and it's cold
Just how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you wanna change it?
What if this whole crusade's a charade
And behind it all there's a price to be paid
For the blood which we dine
Justified in the name of the holy and the divine
Just how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you wanna change it?
So naive
I keep holding on to what I wanna believe
I can see
But I keep holding on and on, and on, and on
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
Will you bite the hand that feeds you?
Will you stay down on your knees?
07 With Teeth (05:37)
She comes along
She gets inside
She makes you better than, anything you've tried
It's in her kiss
Black as sea
And it runs deeper than you, dared to dream it could be
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
Wave good bye
To what you were
The rules have changed, the lines begin to blur
She makes you hard
It comes on strong
You finally found, the place where you belong
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
I cannot go through this again
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
With teeth
She will not let you go
Keeps on and on
She will not let you go
Keeps on and on
This time I'm not coming back
She will not let you go
This time I'm not coming back
She will not let you go
09 Getting Smaller (03:35)
Getting a little erratic here
And I don't know who to trust
I guess they got a way of reading my mind
I guess I gotta adjust
Got my arms they flip flop flip flop flip
Got my head on a spring
Well I thought I got you on my side
I haven't got fucking anything
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even tryin' to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I have nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
Uh-huh
I cannot see through the cracks
When I'm pressed up on the wall
I'm not looking to stand up real high
I'd be happy to crawl
I think I'm losing my grip
But I can still make a fist
You know I still got my one good arm
That I can beat...
nnn, I can beat myself up with!
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even tryin' to stand out
I'm getting smaller
And smaller and smaller
And I have nothing to say
Its all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
And for what it is worth
I really used to believe
That maybe there's some great thing
That we could achieve
And now I cant tell the difference
Don't know what to feel
Between what I've been trying to hard to see
And what appears to be real
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
(and thats ok)
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
(and thats ok)
10 Sunspots (04:03)
sunspots cast a glare in my eyes
sometimes i forget i'm alive
i feel it coming and i've gotta get out of it's way
i hear it calling and i come cuz can't disobey
i should not listen and i shouldn't believe but i do
yes i do
she turns me on
she makes it real
i have to apologize
for the way i feel
my life it seems has taken a turn
why in the name of god would i ever want to return
peel off our skin we're gonna burn what we were to the ground
fuck in the fire and we'll spread all the ashes around
i wanna kill away the rest of what's left
and i do
yes i do
she turns me on
she makes it real
i have to apologize
for the way i feel
and nothing can stop me now
there is nothing to fear
and everything that ever was
is inside of here
woah woah woah woah
inside us here
now i just stare into the sun
and i see everything i've done
i think i could have been someone
but i can't stop what has begun
when everything is said and done
and there is no place left to run
i think i used to be someone
now i just stare into the sun
11 The Line Begins to Blur (03:44)
There are things that I said I would never do
There are fears that I cannot believe have come true
For my soul is too sick and too little and too late
And myself, I have grown too weary to hate
The more I stay in here
The more it's not so clear
The more I stay in here
The more I disappear
As far as I have gone
I knew what side I'm on
But now I'm not so sure
The line begins to blur
Is there somebody on top of me?
I don't know, I don't know
Isn't anybody stopping me?
I don't know, I don't know
I won't try and hold my breath
I don't know, I don't know
Just how far down can I go?
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
As I lay here and stare
The fabric starts to tear
It's far beyond repair
And I don't really care
As far as I have gone
I knew what side I'm on
But now I'm not so sure
The line begins to blur
13 Right Where It Belongs (05:07)
See the animal in his cage that you built,
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye,
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all, right where it belongs
What if everything around you,
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know,
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection,
Is that all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks,
Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?
What if all the worlds inside of your head,
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your Gods, all the living and the dead
And you really are alone?
You could live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees
What if everything around you,
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know,
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection,
Is that all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks,
Would you find yourself, find yourself afraid to see?
14 Home (03:14)
Everything
Is catching up with me
I awake
To find i'm not at all where I
Should be
And it feels
I'm getting to the end
And it's hard
To figure out what's real
And what's
Pretend
To break from what
We're tied to
God knows
How much i've tried to
And I am still inside you
And I am still inside you
I escape
Every now and then
And to think
I find myself
Back here again
And again
I used to know who I was
Untill you came along
I return
To the only place
I've ever felt
That I belong
To break from what
We're tied to
God knows
How much i've tried to
And I am still inside you
And I am still inside you
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Altre recensioni
Di josi_
No, Trent non può pensare di accontentarci così.
'With Teeth', che dieci anni fa sarebbe stato un bel disco, ma che adesso è - in una parola - inutile.
Di Carillon Infernale1
Il disco riflette un giro di boa nella mia vita, il messaggio è più umano: il computer naturalmente è lì ma questa volta anziché la fonte, è un veicolo.
Anziché suonare le diverse parti e inserirle poi nella struttura, sono partito suonando le canzoni intere prima, per poi aggiungere la batteria per avere un’energia diversa.
Di Brizz89
«Questo album è la conferma di come Reznor sia musicalmente un grande compositore, e di come abbia saputo portare avanti per più di 15 anni un genere che lui ha praticamente inventato senza uscire mai di strada.»
«Only è forse la canzone più bella dell’album: una mistura di elettronica, industrial, techno-metal e funk anni ’80 che conquisterà chiunque.»
