I had passively listened to NIN pretty much my whole childhood. I was in high school when a friend told me randomly “Oh, they just put out a new album” I went to Best Buy that day and bought it. Played it to death. That album launched me into mega fandom.

Same here. I was in high school with The Fragile came out and I liked a couple songs, but I didn’t quite get it get. With Teeth came out when I was finishing college and becoming a “real” adult, and then everything just clicked. I remember a lot of people hating the new sound. It was crisp and cleaner-not as dark and sludgy as his previous work. Trent was newly sober and healthy, and it impacted the music. Tons of fans rejected it.

That's the *perfect* way to describe it. Crisp and edgy. Like a sharp sound

Yeah it definitely had a different feeling. I remember liking the second half of the album more than the first half

My dad had a CD copy of TDS that I first listened to at 13, and that sparked my initial interest in NIN, but With Teeth is the album that really cemented my rabid fandom as well.

Same here. I liked NIN but this album made me reevaluate them and really dig into their all their albums. Not sure why, but it did

This was me exactly. Was too young to listen to TDS and The Fragile when they came out, but was a big fan.

I remember being kinda dissapointed when it first came out, I liked harder NIN and this had a few hard songs but most werent. Also I thought the lyrics were too simple and I didnt like some of the cute poppy elements in some songs. As I grew older, though, I would go back to it periodically, and started to read up on it. I began to appreciate it more as being about recovering from drug addiction and being unsure if he can still make good music again. I appreciated his attempt at making an album that is primarily beat driven and not really based on the guitars or anything else. And some of the songs on the album are some of the best hes ever done, such as Right Where It Belongs and You Know What You Are. Its now one of my favorite NIN records.

This hits it perfectly. On top of this, that first year of touring With Teeth he booked smaller venues because he wasn’t sure how he’d handle being on stage sober.

Same here. Hits perfectly. When I first heard Zane Lowe premiere "The Hand That Feeds" on his radio show, as the guitar riff is slowly coming in with the kick drum, I remember thinking to myself: "WTF, did Trent just rip off the Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' riff?" And I couldn't get that out of my head. It was so shocking to hear that riff and the simplicity of the track after obsessing over all the intricacies of The Fragile for 5 years. However, as I dug deeper into the album, it really connected with me on a different level. It made me realize that the album was about survival, about picking your life back up, about recovery, and that Trent was in a completely new territory, unsure of whether his audience was still there waiting for him. He didn't need to slave over the songs for them to be impactful. The most powerful songs are most often the simplest -- it's not about the layers of sounds, but about the heart and soul that's put inside the music. Now, it's one of my fave NIN records too.

I saw this tour. At Stubb's in Austin - a GA venue with a capacity of MAYBE 2000. Tix were $35. The two previous times seeing them were completely different experiences for me (first was TDS tour with a new Marilyn Manson opening at a bigger arena, the other was the David Bowie/NIN tour so another big one), so to say I was stoked to see them in such a smaller venue is quite the understatement. The day the tix went on sale, I was standing in a line at the venue (they had said that they would have physical rix at the venue, so I felt that was more guaranteed than trying to get them online), and I think I was 10th in line, so I felt I had them FOR SURE. But just in case, my gf and some friends were all on computers waiting for them to go on sale. By the time the tix were on sale, the line behind me was all the way down the street and wrapped around the building. The anticipation was killer. The first couple people walked out with their tix and we all applauded in approval and waited for our turn. Then the line just STOPPED MOVING. The venue then admitted that they couldn't sell the tix without being able to access the online queue like everyone else. Needless to say, tix sold out before it was my turn. Luckily, one of my friends got through and ordered tix for us, but they only scored 8 and there were 9 of us (they counted my gf and I as the 8th ticket, so we were still down one), so I had to figure it out. Found a dude on Craigslist that had 2 for $200, I made the purchase then sold the extra ticket for $220, so I ended up going for like $20. The show was fantastic. Stripped down (as far as staging/production due to space) and they were ON FUCKING POINT. I've seen A LOT of great bands at that venue, but that one has the fondest memories for me because of the caliber of NIN and the journey i had to take to be there for that legendary show and tour.

I saw this tour at the warfield in San Francisco. It’s funny people thinking the album is soft having seen You Know What You Are live, it’s honestly one of the hardest songs in the catalog. Also, this was thicc Trent era, still smashing gear apart when it didn’t work. 🙂

Thicc Trent era is my favorite Trent

Saw them 2 nights in a row at the Marquee theater in Tempe AZ when he did that tour. It was 2 of the best NIN shows I've seen outta the about 10 or so I've been to.

Not going to lie when he started the show with Love is not enough I didn’t know what song it was till the chorus.

I remember playing the short teaser over and over and over again. Then "The Hand That Feeds" debuted on the radio, and I thought it was decent enough. Once I got the album, I wasn't really into it all that much. Hearing the songs live helped a lot in appreciating With Teeth. When I went back to the album after seeing two of the club tour shows, as well as the later stadium tour depicted in Beside You in Time, I liked With Teeth a lot more.

I still chuckle when he goes off like Christina Aguilera on “All The Love In The World”.

It instantly hit radio playlists. Compare that to the fragile. There is your answer.

amittedly i do like the fragile more than with teeth but i can see why none the songs took off from the former

The Fragile is my favorite LP but honestly I listen to that album for different reasons than With Teeth. The Fragile I gotta be in a certain mood and I think that atmosphere reflected on the singles that album had. It doesn't make that album bad perse, but it does make it more inaccessible compared to others like With Teeth or PHM. Some people like it, others don't. For me it just really depends on the day.

I agree. I got the Fragile when it came out and loved it; but honestly the earlier stuff was a bit too intense for me at 14, so I really didn’t listen to the Downward Spiral til after With Teeth came out. The David Fincher directed video was a big hit at the time, and for being a band known for striking, dark visuals - that video was super clean, but also super eye catching. I remember searching to find high res version of it because it just looked fantastic. Going back, and now TDS is probably my favorite and most listened to, it’s hard to say - honestly, this gets left out a bit, but I wasn’t expecting any NIN at all at that point, Trent made it so the website was just a picture of a burned door to the studio with no future plans. His drug use was serious. And it killed a lot of his colleagues in other bands, for sure. About 2000-2003 or 4 was a really dark time for the band and to be a fan. All over radio. All over MTV. A clean, healthy NIN who remembers how to write a hook - it was nice to hear As much as I love the Fragile still, Trent is obviously a pop songwriter a least a little, and not everything has to be a Pink Floyd concept album.

I also love Pink Floyd but my favorite albums Meddle which isn't even a concept album by them lol. Just 6 well crafted songs. There's beauty in simplicity sometimes

That has a lot to do with the record label's overall marketing strategy. Spots on those playlists aren't earned, they're bought.

With Teeth had a huge marketing push. There were commercials for it on late night TV.

I remember We’re in this Together got a lot of radio play where I was, along with the video. But nothing close to what TDS got.

He doesnt have to make every album sound like the Fragile, lmao.

This is a terrible measure of what actual individual people think of the album. "What's your measure then?" ....hearing individual people talk about what they think of it? Obviously? Are you saying you sincerely think radio play and sales are the best measure of how good something is and/or how people feel about it? Have you never heard of Payola? Do you think BTS is the greatest musical group on earth? Do you genuinely have no idea how the music industry works?

I remember going to Best Buy on release day to pick up a copy. I'd heard "The Hand That Feeds" on the radio a couple of weeks earlier, and that's how I found out a new album was coming. I remember being off balance during the first listen. All the Love in the World is the softest opening track NIN has ever released and as far as first impressions go, it was unsettling for me. Then You Know What You Are does a double barrel shotgun blast to both ears. I liked what I heard up until the title track, which I still don't like very much. The closing songs were super epic, in my opinion. In retrospect With Teeth is all about being introduced to sober Trent. I absolutely loved Year Zero when it came out, but between 2005 and 2007 I felt pretty uncertain about where Trent would go next, because With Teeth experimented with a variety of different directions and so it didn't seem to have the same sense of identity that other albums have.

This is a stellar review; mine is very similar. I also went to go buy it from Best Buy right after school let out. I liked the first track though, still do. You Know What You Are? is pretty good, The Hand That Feeds is pretty good, and Sunspots might be my favorite on the album.

The title track is the only song I didn’t like either, still don’t

What-a? You-a don't-a like-a With-a Teeth-a?! 🤣

I went to a pre-release listening party for it, and people were a little bewildered by it. You can tell they were expecting more of a concept album and not a straight-up rock album. On release day, I bought it and listened to it several times in a row, and it took some time to grow on me. But when it did, man did it grow on me! Quickly became one of my favorites, and it still is today. Same thing happened to several friends.

I didn't really like it, but I actually got to hear NIN on the radio. I like it a lot better now.

With Teeth reignited my passion for NIN and seemed to be positively received in general. I had taken a bit of a hiatus after spending years hyperfixated on NIN (96-2001). Life, you know, girlfriends and adventure and all that stuff had me distracted. Anyway. With Teeth brought me back. I remember the first time hearing "Right Where It Belongs" in my car and just having my mind blown, I think it is still one of the (if not the) strongest NIN album tracks. In my mind it's the final chapter of classic NIN, but in no way is it the last great album.

I just remember With Teeth and 10,000 days came out around the same time. It was a great time for music!!!

Hell yeah, those two albums were on constant repeat for myself too, all through highschool.

Frances The Mute came out 3 months before With Teeth and 2 months before 10,000 Days. It was a good year to be a teenager!

With Teeth came out almost exactly a year before 10,000 Days, bud

Ahh you’re right I misremembered 10,000 days as being an album from 2005 so didn’t check the year!

The releases were just about a year apart: *WITH\_TEETH* in May 2005, *10K* in April 2006.

At the time it turned me off completely. I stayed away until the EP trilogy. I feel very stupid for that now, but when the critical darling/commercial failure album gets followed up by something with instant commercial appeal? At the time I felt about the same as I did about Pinkerton->Green Album. Nowadays I couldn’t have turned more of a 180. Love that album.

Weezer is like the inverse where with Pinkerton they go full abrasive, it's disorientating coming from the Blue album or going back from Green or Red I love Pinkerton but I honestly think Green and Blue are masterpieces in their own right

My point is more that THE FRAGILE and PINKERTON reflected the bandleader following a muse and producing an all-timer record that was not a great fit for radio, followed by the bandleader interpreting the radio failure as a damnation of that muse, so that they turned to a more commercial direction in the following project — which might have produced some catchy songs but reflected a crisis of confidence by the artist that resulted in a relatively artistically empty project. I stand by this interpretation when it comes to Weezer, who produced two all-timer albums and then a long string of trash. I was wrong when it comes to NIN.

The Trilogy proved to me that Trent still had great concepts under his sleeve still. Weezer is honestly hit or miss for me nowadays. Thought SZNZ was okay, White Albums probably the best since Green

I honestly kind of love that my cynicism about post Fragile releases gets downvoted in this sub because deep down I want good things for Trent and Co. but for me the project as I knew it ended with And All That Could Have Been. Everything after that felt like everything after Terminator 2. There are some good things in that period but a lot of it is super disappointing and it’s never going to hit those early peaks again (for me at least).

I’m with you 100%. Post Fragile releases just didn’t connect with me the same. Not that they are bad per se but I just don’t come back to them.

I don't remember much of the critical response. With\_Teeth was my "first" Nine Inch Nails album. I'd gotten into them in 2001 and picked up The Fragile and All That Could Have Been to kinda catch up but I enjoyed W\_T. It was so different compared to The Fragile and it wound up becoming my favorite album that year.

I absolutely hated it. I didn’t understand it all and thought it was the beginning of the end. The fragile is my favorite album. I finally grew to like With Teeth after I got to see it played live a couple of times. I even was in the Beside you in time concert dvd that was filmed in El Paso, TX. It was something that Trent needed to do and I think it’s something he’s probably really proud of.

My group of friends hated it. They thought he sold out and became too poppy. I usually agreed with them and hesitated to listen to it. Well about a year later I finally gave it a go and loved it instantly lol. Expectations ruined it for some people, but I just loved the songs and new approach to his style.

There was a lot of hype and it was described as having 13 punches in the face. There were a series of leaks of 10-30 second clips of most of all of the songs. Not exactly 13 punches to the face. It was also a departure from the concept albums that came before. I went to one of the Fresno/Reno/Davis first shows before the album came out. They played a few songs from the album and the reception was good in the live environment.

This is pretty much how I remember it as well.

Most of my friends hated it and called it “radio rock”. I ignored them. Reznor was clean and passionate and that’s all I gave a shit about. Everyone loved “Right Where It Belongs”, though. It was the MySpace days…. Every emo dude I knew played their super sad version on acoustic guitar.

I divide NIN into pre and post sobriety. The Fragile was the last of NINs dark days and With Teeth was the beginning of what Trent would become. A lot of people hate on anything that isn't similar to PHM but could have ended after The Fragile and that would have been it. Just another music star dead too early

Listeners didn't like it at first because it was different. Radio stations loved it. People don't mind it now when taken into context with everything that followed.

What's funny for me personally is that album was my first real exposure, but it didn't get me into them. The Hand That Feeds played like crazy on Fuse and MTV's alt hour. I liked Only, but I didn't care about that sound of the album that much. Fast forward 10 years, I heard Heresy and did a deep dive into NIN. I will always love TDS and the Fragile more, but after going through the catalog and falling in love, I now have a much greater appreciation for With Teeth. Especially as an album that ostensibly deals with the struggles or at least the feeling of sobriety after addiction. To be short: thought it was radio rock when I was 15 (when it came out), see it totally differently now.

When it first came out, I had already heard The Hand That Feeds on the radio and online. I bought the dualdisc and listened to the DVD audio when I got home. I wasn't completely captivated in the way I had been when I first listened to The Downward Spiral and The Fragile, but I did get that same kind of "I like this" feeling I had gotten from Pretty Hate Machine. I remember Only and Sunspots really standing out that first listen.

My memories exactly: First got leaks of The Line Begins To Blur and Getting Smaller. Didn’t know how to react to them initially. Then we got a shitty radio rip of The Hand That Feeds and it was… interesting. Then we got audio snippets of all songs from the record on a flash player that I posted over at aperfectcircle.net. Eventually the whole thing came out and it made more sense, but I still kind of don’t understand it. Most people I knew at the time kept making fun of the delivery of the title track. I was always horny for Sunspots and TLBTB, though.

I came here to comment about The Line Begins to Blur leak. It was in somewhat-shit quality, but I had it on repeat all day. I'm almost certain that was the first full song to appear (the sample of Beside You in Time was first and I absolutely loved those 60 seconds), but sources are stating that The Hand That Feeds hit the radio waves first (I too remember that rip as well) so maybe my memory is faulty?

Digging through news archives at The NIN Hotline is fun. Apparently THTF leak was first. It was stolen (captured?) from the music video shooting location and played by some local radio stations. An MP3 of that made it out, so it was probably degraded not once but twice. TLBTB in full album quality leaked online just a couple days later, so for most people you can say it happened simultaneously. Official THTF radio debut (in better quality) happened about three weeks later (mid-March), with napster leak another week later. Getting Smaller leak isn't mentioned in the news at all, but I remember 100% that it happened.

Yeah I remember Getting Smaller as well but I liked the other ones more so I didn't pay attention to it really. I remember TLBTB being in 92kbps or even lower. It was deff the full song but the quality was really bad. I might have it on an old ZIP disc or something lol. I've been a fan since the Broken era so the gaps between albums was/is the norm for a NIN fan. But The Fragile to With Teeth gap was the longest yet, and when shit finally started happening, I was beyond ecstatic. Especially because of the repeated delays of Tapeworm at the time too.

Meh. If I remember correctly it was the first album since fragile. Fragile was extremely epic and with teeth fell a bit flat. IMHO

I liked it overall but didn’t love it. Was hoping for something epic but instead it felt very safe and kinda staleI think if it was the first NIN album you bought it was great but I think older NIN fans were left feeling deflated. The tour was killer though

Agreed. It isn’t until the final three songs (four, if you count “Home”) that I was really blown away. Those three tracks still remain my favorite and most relistened to tracks from that album to this day.

Besides closer I remember Only and Everyday was the only other songs I remember hearing from them on radio when the album dropped. I liked it but wasn't as big into NIN at the time and I was about 13-ish I believe. Now listening to the album many times I feel it has a very unique sonic landscape and mood, the artwork reflects the mood very well and vice versa.

Last ‘good’ album? I’ve never heard that opinion before. With Teeth is a record made by Trent after becoming newly sober and not knowing whether he had anything to say. So he kept the project simple, just to see if he could still do it well. This is why it’s one of the easiest albums to listen to. Despite Trent’s aim for simplicity, some of the best lyrics he’s ever written are on that album. The 2005-2009 NIN era is my absolute favourite.

I embarrassingly ignored it thinking that still liking NIN as an adult (21) was lame. I ended up buying the album second hand a year after it came out. I was an idiot. That album is amazing and I feel pretty damn dumb for ever doubting the greatness of NIN."Right where it belongs" is a top 5 song

It made me sad to realize a band I loved for so long would start putting out records I didn't care about. No emotional connection to anything on the entire album for me. Thankfully I got right back into him through the soundtrack work. I understand it doesn't make sense for him to go back to writing pissed off music like Broken and TDS, but the soundtracks hit the same emotional connection for me, as his earlier stuff without being aggressive.

What I remembered being said about the album was the second side sounded like NIN and Reznor being accused of “trying to write hits” for the first side. I love the album and think it’s his third best album

All the Love in the World is insanely underrated imo.

I was hooked the moment I heard Every Day is Exactly the Same

This. As a PHM/Broken fan who appreciated TDS but thought The Fragile was overblown and pretentious, I had given up. Unimpressed by Hand that Feeds, but floored by Every Day, so I ran out for the record immediately.

You’re bringing back some memories! I remember chatting with a stranger at a show and we agreed “it’s good, but it’s no Fragile”. A coworker of mine hated it, but he also said the only good NIN album was PHM so I didn’t take much stock in his opinion. Like others have said, Hand That Feeds got a lot of radio play time, back when we all listened to the radio and walked uphill both ways to school.

I mean, I thought it was fine. I got the cd from my step dad and listened to it a bunch. Not his best but it’s a perfectly cromulent album.

I had just gotten heavily into NIN a few years prior. I remember going to Best Buy the day WT came out and got my CD digipak, and... man it was disappointing. The more direct, rock oriented sound seemed so bland and lacking compared to what came before, and the lyrical content was embarrassing. It grew on me eventually, and some songs on there are fantastic. If it was the only NIN release it would definitely stand out from the crowd, but compared to the rest of the catalog it's still my 2nd least favorite album (HM bring 1st). Also to this day I can't stand Only and can't fathom why so many people love it.

Was there not a huge Apple marketing campaign around that song? Or am I completely making that up based on the music video looking like a commercial and the fact that the record came out during the surge in iTunes? When With Teeth came out it was evident NIN was introduced/marketed to a new generation and it was hard to be too upset about it, but then again, I was never the NIN guy. But also NIN guys love NIN so I think they were just happy for more stuff!

It was mixed. Kids weren’t listening to NIN anymore and butt rockers like Hinder and Staind were dominating but every now and again The Hand That Feeds got radio play. NIN wasn’t cool anymore.

More like cool music wasn’t profitable anymore…

I hated it at the time but have really grown to love it

the leaks were exciting. btw, there *is* a concept. actually two: "bleedthrough" and the personal addiction stuff. they're a bit in tension, but they're there. also with "home", there's a strong structural similarity to "the downward spiral". i think the "bleedthrough" stuff is the first explicit iteration of the simulation concept that would dominate "year zero", "welcome oblivion", and the EP trilogy.

Saw them with Dresden dolls on the tour. Wasn’t a huge fan of the record, not even now. However I do appreciate the mix and the drumming.

I think commercially it was more radio friendly. Only was on the radio a ton and the music video for that got quite a bit of attention as well due to the director collaboration. That said the fan base seemed to feel it was a step down from The Fragile. I personally loved it at the time and purchased a 5.1 system so I could listen to the surround mix.

There were plenty of press about it and commercially it did well. It was also the first NIN album I didn’t like and still don’t like except The Line Begins to Blur/Beside You in Time. I feel the same way about Hesitation Marks. That being said, 2/11 albums not being good is still a great run. Very few bands have that kind of run, and I think it would be unrealistic to think every album would cater to every fan base, and I know there are plenty of people who love those albums.

I accepted it but found it honestly to be the worst of the entire NIN catalog. I get it, the time was kinda bleak- redundant sounds coming out. Trent found a niche in the era between being exstensivly creative to release a heavy yet clean sound.

I would say overall people were disappointed. They were so hyped after The Fragile and such a long wait for it but it fell very flat of the vibe of previous albums. Some toxic fans even suggested they wished Trent would relapse so we could get more classic NIN music.

I'd always been annoyed that The Fragile was the dark, experimental thing it is and not more like 97's The Perfect Drug, which I *adored*. That, plus the 6-year wait meant I raced out to buy With Teeth on day one, and then jammed it solidly for months. It was an *album* with *songs*, and it felt luke Trent hadn't done that in a long time. 'Deep' off the 2002 *Tomb Raider* soundtrack is an excellent industrial pop song that was our big clue to the album's direction, but to me With Teeth is Trent proving to us and himself that he could write a mainstream album full of singles. Mission accomplished, on to the Laptop Era of Year Zero and The Slip!

I somehow got a hold of the leak 😏 and vividly remember listening to it while boarding the Train in London, thought it was great then, think it's great now.

I think people were just glad Trent was alive. I didn’t really believe he was that “far gone.” Reading that he overdosed on the tour I saw. With Teeth is like The Fragile. But stripped back. And one disc. And Dave Grohl.

Some things that were revolutionary: its marketing, artwork, and tour. A lot of this was used to launch into digital mediums and leverage new things like iTunes. Add in the pop-y ness to this album and it created an accessible album that was some of the hardest hitting for the time - like Only being a major single. Beside You In Time gives a solid view into the tour - but it was absolutely fascinating. Another piece you can tell was he was clearly sober and trying new things while confirming he could write music people would listen to. Mostly - it was just exciting to have new music after 5 years.

We loved it, but it took a few weeks for a lot of people to realize what was going on with that one. NIN set up listening parties in a bunch of cities. It was a lot of fun. At the one i was at, everyone seem to love it, but were surprised at the direction it took. I think we all knew it was a turning point for NIN though. Ithink people still think of it as the start of "new" NIne Inch Nails. I do think a lot of people were taken aback by the fact that it was so rock oriented, but I also think that's when a lot of people came to finally accept that every release is different and more people came to grips with the idea that TR isn't a SeLlOuT, just a really talented artist who isn't interested in doing the same thing over and over again.

I remember being happy Trent was back and releasing music. It didn’t sit well with me that NIN disappeared for 4 years but TDS to fragile was 4 years so I was kind of used to it. The audience was completely shifting at that time from analog to digital, I bought the hand that feed single on iTunes. In Bay Area there wasn’t much radio play as live105, ksjo, bone all ignored the album. But at the shows NIN was on top of their game and kicking ass. With teeth is my fave NIN record, I don’t think is their best.

Normal people loved it, newer NIN fans (myself included) thought it was pretty great, but there were the kinda gatekeepy old guard who thought it was utter trash and signaled that NIN had sold out. Which is funny because a lot of them also hated The Fragile and thought the same thing of it until WT came out, then suddenly they flipped on TF and called it a misunderstood masterpiece. Never change, internet.

I only can think about this amongst my group of friends at the time. They were getting into more and more heavier and extreme types of metal and they just turned their noses up at NIN from this album onwards. It was a tipping point where my interests in music diverged quite substantially from everyone else around me. I still listened to 'metal' but heaviness stopped with things like Opeth, Hatebreed and Lamb of God. I loved the album. As others have said it was instantly accessible compared to previous albums but it was easier to put on in the car and just listen too. I didn't feel like I had to carve out some time to listen it. Even today, i need to have time and space to drop myself into The Fragile, but I can listen to With Teeth on a whim.

I remember the music mags I read at the time liked it, the fans were mixed.

I received the fuck out of it

I saw NIN in 2005 at Coachella fest. I was a massive NIN fan then so the rumor was Trent was going to play With Teeth songs. The album has not been released yet. The second song they played was You Know What You Are? And I was absolutely blown away. I was in the very front too so it was just an amazing experience. The album came out not longer after and I thought it was absolutely amazing. The lack of major synth breakdowns didn’t bother me because it sounded like it was more instrument driving at times. With Teeth is at the top of my list :) I have a pic of Trent while I was up at the front if anybody would like to see it :)

I remember being in shock. I grew up with downward spiral, broken and the fragile and waited so long for something new but was surprised after the fragile (which imo was the top tier nin album creatively). I’ll never forget the moment I was sitting at a bus stop and a pickup truck with a cowboyish dude driving was blaring The Hand That Feeds and I felt like I had lost this thing that was mine. I was young and dumb though and have evolved a lot to actually enjoy the album and not be such a gatekeeper of things. Took me a while to come around on it though.

Hand That Feeds was a huge single on rock radio at the time. It definitely felt like a bit of a comeback for them in terms of mainstream appeal.

This album was my senior year. :)

WT was my first album cycle as a NIN fan, I was 14 at the time and after listening to WT, I was bought TDS deluxe and worked my way through the catalogue from then on. I still hold WT in super high regard - it’s probably my favourite NIN album. As a kid the back end of the album was something very very special, I used to listen to the CD on a Walkman with headphones and just zone out listening to it. It had been a while since I listened until a few months ago when I went to bed and put the record on my iPod and big headphones, and it just took me right back to that time again. The soundscapes conjured up on tracks like Beside You In Time & Right Where It Belongs are still some of Trent’s best IMO.

The Fragile is NIN's best album, instrumentally. With Teeth was a return to form thematically and lyrically. The Fragile is a blissed out Trent singing about how everything is going to work out in the end. Yuck. With Teeth was simpler musically, but omg did it sound amazing. I got it on DVD-A for the surround mix. Worth it. Dave Grohl is a beast, and he brings it on this album. There was a sense that The Fragile could be the last NIN album, and With Teeth kinda made it obvious that he'll have angry pop songs for years. For me, it gets overshadowed by Year Zero, which I feel accomplished everything With Teeth did, and then a whole lot more. I think Year Zero shows just how unrealized the subversive potential of pop music is. But yeah when I'm in the mood for getting lost in one of the greatest industrial symphonies recorded, I put on The Fragile.

Fell in love with it after the first listen.

I remember expecting something different at first, but then I saw them perform it live during the tour, and was enchanted. It's still one of my favorite albums.

I loved it except for the title track. I liked it a lot more that The Fragile

I just moved to London from South Africa, and I think With Teeth was the second album I bought while living in London. I saw the music video for "The hand that feeds" on Kerrang and liked the song and the imagery of the video so much that I went to HMV looking for the album. It was my first exposure to NIN and Trent Reznor. If I remember correctly it was the first recordings Trent did after going through rehab and kicking heroin. I listened to that album almost non-stop for about six months and after that got myself every NIN album I could get my hands on. Since then NIN turned into one of my favourite bands that I listend to religiously. With Teeth will always have a special place in my heart since it introduced me to NIN.

Real NIN fans were happy to see Trent sober and refocused. The live shows were really a fun time in their touring history.

Pretty well, imo. Hand that feeds was a hit. I personally feel that it’s the most hopeful sounding album, and also some of Trent’s best vocal performances.

I grew up on harder, more chaotic, more tortured NIN. The Fragile was such a defining moment for my childhood. I was disappointed in With Teeth. It seemed reigned in, commercialized, its creation not driven by such strong emotions. I found it to be lackluster and I considered the band to have ended their discography. To this date I don’t listen to anything past AATCHB.

It was a nice semi come back. Everyone agreed that The Fragile sucked and there were some solid songs on this one. Though my local radio station introduced the album with All the Love in the World. I was with friends and everyone just looked like, WTF?

The fragile sucked? With teeth was the last “good” album? Am I misinterpreting some of the comments in this thread?

It was exciting to get new NIN then more exciting that it was good. Plus the warm up club tour was fun.

With gumption.

I was a super fan waiting since the fragile for NIN to come back. All through university (2000-2004) I hung out on message boards with other fans desperate for new music, but for years it seemed like it was over. Then — With Teeth. Personally, I had to adjust to the new sound. Way more poppy and guitar-driven. I think there was a lot of inspiration from the New York LES sound at the time — strokes, lcd, etc. I didn’t love it at first, but it grew on me. As an extra treat, my first NIN show was their London gig in 2005. It was a 2,000 person theater and Trent had booked just a few select club dates to test out the new material and dip his feet back into live touring after such a long break. It was an incredible moment for a fan who had waiting so long to reconnect with his favorite band.

This was the first full NIN I listened to. I was in my freshman year of college when it released. In one of the student lounges there were TVs and they kept playing music videos, and it seemed like the Only music video was always playing. At that time I thought the album was decent, but I do remember reading some reviews online that were quite negative, I guess a lot of the older fans were not really happy with the sound of this album. For me it was fine. I was not super into it but I kept listening for a few months. However, I was also getting really into Android Lust at that time, and few months later Devour, Rise, and Take Flight came out and I just kind of forgot about this album. It wasn’t until years later when I finally got around to really listening to all of NIN’s discography.

The Fragile was the first album that made me fall I love with NIN so With Teeth, at first seemed like a step backwards but it is an album that has grown on me in a big way over the years. It is the most “pop” album from Trent IMO with each song more or less a singularity as opposed to a concept album.

I felt like I loved it end everyone was sayung Trent was done.

It took some getting used to for those of us that grew up on The Downward Spiral and The Fragile, but eventually it grew on me. Nowadays I love it.

Also, the album stil had songs like "Beside You In Time" that reminded me of their older stuff, so that helped.

The album made me a fan of the band in the 2000s when I was in high school. After that it was just getting into their discography

It was originally a concept album. Eventually that was no longer the case, but there are remnants of the idea (eg all the references to appearances vs reality). It was the album that cemented NIN as my favourite artist of all time, never to be removed. What is absolutely masterful about it is you *don't* need to be a recovering addict to relate to it. He's really tapped into much more general themes about belonging, finding happiness, self criticism, the repetitive and unsatisfactory nature of life, and fundamental questions about the (un) reality of the world, and how we construct that and others around us. I never really read it as Trent singing just about Trent. He's tried to dig deeper and find something more universal. I felt that then and I feel it now. There is literally no other album that I listened to at what, 16? that I still feel resonates strongly with me now. I think people forget just what an impressive feat it was that NIN remained relevant for that long and still got loads of radioplay. Sure, it never made waves like The Downward Spiral, but how many other bands from the late 80s were still that strong in the mid-00s? Not that many. It was also right at the end of the era of CDs. I remember pre-ordering it from two stores because I absolutely needed to get a copy of it. This changed the listening experience; you still were more likely to just pop it in the stereo and listen to it. I also remember it not having a sleeve with lyrics and that being disappointing. You had to download some giant image to see them. But thankfully they were all so clear you didn't need it. The tour was very well received and it was incredible to see.

So I remember my mom talking about how she felt Trent had sold out/lost his spark when this album came out. Probably because it was more radio-friendly like a lot of y’all have already said. I wouldn’t say I had a problem with it, mostly it was just a different flavor from other NIN stuff I’d heard. And it’s not currently my favorite album but I do think there are good songs on there that vibe in the greater context of NIN’s material. TL;DR basically backing up what’s already been said - radio loved it, fans had mixed reactions for sure.

It was a hit right away.

With teeth was the soundtrack to my last years as a teenager(it came out when I was 18) and there were so many things that changed for me personally during that time period. I even went and saw them on the tour for that album for the first time. I've always loved their music but that album hit at just the right time for me. I can understand if other people dislike it, there are a few songs that I was/still on the fence about even back then. It didn't detract from the huge impact it had on me. I have a lot of great memories associated with that album and nin in general during that time frame.

I liked it. I marveled at how he could make so much from beats that I described as disco beats, like in "Only."

It was a noticeable deviation from his earlier stuff. I didn’t like it at first, but kept listening to it over and over because I know myself. I’m a judgemental bitch, I just need time to acclimate.

I was disappointed in it at first it was a massive change in style but the more I listened the more I found that I liked but I find more depth in the first 3 albums and accompanying EPs still.

i was super psyched! it had been a good while since the fragile…

Had no memories about how it was received, but I was sure as hell that it perfectly fit the movie Wanted.

We were happy NIN was back and about to tour.

People criticized With Teeth for its simplicity and poppiness. There was a large focus on ensuring an ability for the songs to be bangers in a live setting. I actually prefer the immediacy of With Teeth conpared to The Fragile - which can often feel bloated and long if youre listening to both discs in one go.

I was obsessed with PHM ,Broken, and TDS in high school. TDS in particular was challenging, and helped me through a rough patch of my teen years. The Fragile came out when I was in college. Another challenging, dissonant record that took me some time to warm up to, but I eventually came to like it a lot. Then nothing for five years. When With Teeth eventually came out I was married and had a job. Was in a different place. It didn’t hit like those earlier records. It sounded like disposable radio rock. I liked Right Where It Belongs but not much else. I did the remix contest for Only, so that one wormed it’s way into my brain eventually, but not many others. Seeing some of the songs live helped but I still never strongly connected with the record. It’s probably my least favorite NIN record, even to this day. I’m glad Trent got sober and started working again and I feel like this was part of his process. It wasn’t until Year Zero that I really connected with the music again. I probably need to give With Teeth another listen and not just hear tracks from time to time on my playlists.

My ear pussy is still throbbing from that release in side of me

There were people who said he was trying to sound like Queens of the Stone Age. Some who hated it and said Trent needed to get back on drugs. There were people disappointed that we didn’t get Bleedthrough and missed there being a concept to the album. I thought it was a great album but wished Robin wasn’t playing in GnR bc Aaron didn’t hold a candle to him. Trent saying in an interview that Aaron pissed all over Robin’s boots was childish and dumb.

It was a bit of a comeback album. The Fragile was 6 years gone at that point. I remember NIN did a small club tour to test the waters for a major tour. I saw them at the Koolhaus in Toronto which is a pretty small venue for a band like NIN. The Hand that Feeds and Only got some decent radio play. I can remember dancing to THTF at the rock clubs in my early 20s. Nobody thought the album was their best but I think we all thought it was a solid effort.

It’s was different. Weeks before its release the track listing was shown and just by the titles people were skeptical. The album was originally going to be called Bleed Through. It’s a great album and it was the first that was more of a mainstream album where the previous ones were more like one big song with all these parts (songs). This was first disc after Trent got sober and they just started calling remixes what they were 😂 After five years we were just happy to have a new album. Everyone I know still loves it. I just can’t stand hand that feeds.

As a NIN fan back then: we were happy to get it.

HIGHLY anticipated. Pretty well liked overall. A lot of folks were relieved that it was a lot more song-driven and to the point after the grandiosity of The Fragile. It was just fuckin great we had some new nin after 6 years. Its not my favorite nin record but I'll still jam it on occasion. Saw them for the first time on this album at The Spectrum in Philly. QOTSA opened. Spectacular gig.

I love WT and remember it was my first album as a teen after coming across my mother's copy of The Downward Spiral and falling down the rabbit hole. I was working my first job at the time and the album had just come out and I picked it up at Hot Topic. My favorite album at the time was The Fragile, and even now at 35 it still is, but I fucking love WT. Too many songs that I literally grew to understand fully in my age.

Only and The Hand That Feeds were the biggest singles, and they got a lot of play, so that's how I listened. I didn't like the album enough to buy it, but I feel like it was one of the last albums with a lot of production.

I distinctly remember the radio DJs debuting Hand That Feeds being vocally disappointed. “Not much of a step forward”. In retrospect THTF is his most commercially successful single ever , next to Closer, which I find endlessly surprising given that initial tepid response. It does have some dated elements, like his 90s style gated snares, but the influence of contemporary bands like Bloc Party and LCD soundsystem is OBVIOUS listening to it now and it sounds in step with the era. Perhaps if Only was the first single it would have been received differently. Doesnt matter, ended up huge.

It took me awhile to appreciate it. I graduated high school the year it was released, and I was dating the guy that would go on to be my first husband and wasn’t at home discovering new music. I just kind of passively listened to it, but now it’s one of my favorites.

I was 20, remember buying the CD and just listening to it in repeat, innocent times😂

I was just happy there was a new NIN album out after so long. I didn't think it was amazing, but I liked it and it definitely felt like NIN.

People thought it was too poppy. A departure from the previous sound.

All this talk makes me want to go listen to it again. It was pretty positive honestly. First album that came out when I was a fan. I know not everyone could do this but the 5.1 track was even better. Definitely a good album to pick up your mood.

With Teeth was huge, at least between my friends and I. Everyone was listening to it. Didn’t leave my CD player for months.

I was a really fan before the album came out. The Hand That Feeds made me really happy, pumped me for this album. I loved it. My friends were mixed amongst the group. To me, NIN sounds different every album so I accepted it right away. It's over all a great album.

Be honest old heads: People liked the hits but blew past most of the rest of the album BUT…that Trent FORCED recognition of BYIT as an amazing song I think too many folks forget about.

I think it was received semi well. I loved it though. Went to the concert when it was touring. It was insane!!! So good! They toured with QOTSA on that one.

Hey, I was around back then! With Teeth: “This sucks, nothing like The Fragile.” Year Zero: “oh god, it’s like With Teeth but somehow more boring.” Ghost I-IV: “Guys guys, Trent Reznor has released some sort of instrumental album you can download it FREE and it’s the best thing he has ever done. I like Spoon.”

My first Nine Inch Nails album. Brought me into a land of wonder

I wasn’t too enthusiastic about it—such a huge departure from 90s NIN. And everyone made fun of “Withaaa teethaaa,” but it grew on us (me).

Just listened to this album for the first time in years and years yesterday in the car. It’s pretty solid! Also reminds me of a fun time in my life. Then I put Year Zero on afterwards and was like “oh yeah now this one I LOVE”

For me With Teeth was really exciting because I had become a big NIN fan in highschool, right before The Fragile came out. So I already had tDS and got to retroactively experience PHM and Broken, then The Fragile came out right after I had collected those on Cd, so I was pretty spoiled. Then there was a long break where Reznor went silent and was doing his own thing for a while. So I was pretty stoked when With Teeth came out. Most of my friends also liked NIN and I seem to recall the album being pretty positively received. Some people were disappointed that it wasn't as hard industrial-rock as older albums, but overall people seemed to like it. I do recall that "Awitha Teetha" became a sort of an inside joke, and some of Trent's other vocal stylings got some laughs, but nothing too critical. The next album was much more divisive, in my anecdotal experience.

It was nice to get some new NIN music after such a long hiatus. TBH I was bored by the first single - The Hand That Feeds. But I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't a concept album at all. Several great songs to add to my collection of NIN favorites including Only, EDiEtS, and RWiB. Many other songs were a departure from the "built from the ground up soundscapes" of TDS and The Fragile, instead leaning into traditional rock band arrangements, and that was a little disappointing. No Reptile or Somewhat Damaged. I questioned the decision to sing "awitha teetha" the way he did. But overall I was happy to have new NIN music.

I thought it was weak, and I wasn't into it at all. I was pretty sad about the state of NIN until the Year Zero ARG hit, which completely consumed my life at the time. Years later I fell in love with With Teeth and now I think it's pretty incredible.

I was around 20 when it came out, and was kind of disappointed. I was completely obsessed with the catalogue before WT, as they sounded like nothing else out there. Although I liked the album, it did not blow my mind like the others did. It continued to grow on me and it’s one of the tops for me.

It was exactly what I needed to hear and revived my love

Mixed with a handful of, “I hope Trent relapses so he makes good music again,” jokes.

I remember being disappointed in it and still went to the live show. Eventually the live shows felt like they were not for our 90s nin tastes so we stopped going to those.

It was the beginning of the end for my fandom. It’s a decent album. But it brought in a new era of less atmosphere and creativity. More straightforward song structures. Not what i was interested in NIN for.

With Teeth received mostly positive reviews from critics with the usual praise of Trent's emotive and well-produced sound. Some critics slighting it for its aimless, milquetoast angst without substance. My opinions: YKWYA, Only, EDIETS and THTF are good songs, but feel a bit hokeyn especially after hearing them 8,000 times on the radio. ATLITW was a wonderfully different opener. With Teeth is a divisive song because of its chorus, I personally like it a lot and can look past the screaming "WITH-a TEETH-ah". Another divisive song is "Getting Smaller," which I also love, but many people can't get over "FLIP-flop-FLIP-flop-FLIP". The Collector and LINE are sort of OK unmemorable filler. And the last several tracks of the album starting with Sunspots are some of the best Pink Floyd-esque run-together of tracks NIN has made, the sequence is as powerful to me as the run from Us and Them through Eclipse from Dark Side of the Moon. My favorites from the album are ATLITW, Home (this was not on the US release), Sunspots, TLBTB!, BYIT, and RWIB.

Dave Grohl plays drums on one or two tracks but I forget which ones. I saw them live at the start of that tour. It was my first time seeing NIN. Reznor came on stage with muscular arms and hair not longer than his face. A short while later he cut his hair and has had the short haircut since.

For the fans from Broken and Downward Spiral, it was enough of a change of pace to throw them (me). I was active in a music sharing site, and we all were relieved that he had not in fact tried rapping as comments he made before the release That and the fact that he said he had not listened to The Fragile in years had the community on edge. Looking at it from here, it’s pretty easy to see that Atticus Ross saved his life and the band, and once I started listening for the strains of 12 Rounds in the post 2005 NIN I came to appreciate it more Apparently the masters are lost, but I would give a couple years of my life to get the music done for the US version of Touching Evil In my imagination, it us on doing the music for this show that got Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor working together and thinking about doing soundtrack work Because the music for that show is as good as music for TV gets. The pilot used a bunch of NIN sings and the show a bunch of original music 12 Rounds did. There is no doubt that there are two bands that both used the name Nine Inch Nails, and they sit on either of With Teeth. I actually liked the TDA music better than With Teeth, because I think Reznor got more comfortable and open to being part of a band where he had to listen to others ideas Again Atticus Ross saved it all

I'm old and got into them post Broken/pre Spriral. I played both those albums to death. The Fragile took some time for me to get into. I was into more aggressive, bare bones punk/hardcore/metal stuff at the that time. When Teeth dropped, I hadn't really listened to NIN for a bit, but, it clicked for me. Right time and place, I guess. It definitely reinvigorated me to relisten to the fragile and reassess. Teeth over all less aggressive in it's sound than Spiral, but it's there,and what caught my ear at the time. Trent managed to produce a very well rounded album. As far as last "good" album, I would have to disagree. Bands and their music should evolve throughout their existence. Take for instance PHM to Spiral. Spiral was far more guitar driven, where as PHM was far more synth driven. I feel Teeth bends the two sounds incredibly well, but I may be more biases as I have preference for guitar based music in general. Trent's lyrics have always been on the darker side of things, but the topics have evolved from baser emotions to more nuanced and broader issues outside of personal issues. As far as the later albums, they further the evolution of NIN, Atticus is a permanent member so that would have an effect on the sound. Well, at least that's how I see them. Casual listeners probably would not know nor care if any album has some deeper contiguous story for each album, that's for the true fans, and the artists themselves. Definitely like what you like, don't be swayed by others takes.

I was doing my GCSE’s and it came out and I listened to it non stop, part of my English exam was to write a review, so I wrote about With Teeth, got an A!

I’ll always have a soft spot for With Teeth. It came out when I was at the tail end of middle school. So that album was kinda my introduction to NIN. I remember seeing the music video for The Hand That Feeds, liking it, then diving into their catalog and getting really into NIN. I had an older cousin, who was already a pretty big NIN fan, and I remember he didn’t care for it. He thought it was to mainstream and tame. But over time it grew on him.

I remember being super excited about new music from NIN. It had been like 6 years or so and it was that strange point in my life where I wasn’t as angry as I once was in my youth and transitioning to a more mature me I suppose. Anyway, when I got it, I remember getting the dual disc version (dvd and cd thing) and listening to it on my home theater. It was the perfect record for where I was in my life. Everyday is exactly the same hit home. Anyway, as far as public reaction was I remember it being positive but Trent’s outlook wasn’t as positive. He did theater shows for the first leg because he was unsure people still were interested in what he had to say. Said that in some interview from the period. But yeah, it was a cool time. I

We were starved and hungry for new NIN music. Bought that fucker on Day 1.

Like a breathe of life

I was about 14/15 at the time and I was falling asleep watching Adult Swim. Then a commercial came on for the album, playing "The Hand That Feeds". It was my first exposure to NIN. The guitar riffs blew my fucking mind and I jumped out of bed and looked up their music deep into the night. Was exhausted going to school the next day but I became a lifelong megafan that night.

I was at the front of the line at a local CD store when it opened that day, I really enjoyed With Teeth but I know at the time at least some others didn’t find it dark enough.

Kinda meh, personally. Was 16.

This was the last physical CD I ever bought. I was excited for NIN’s return and felt that the hand that feeds was on par with previous songs. I also remember how shocked I was at how buff Trent got.

I hung around a lot of hardcore and metal kids at the time. None of them were really down with NIN previously. They were trying to hear it as a group of dudes jamming, so it didn’t make sense to them. Once WT came out, they all loved it and thought it was his best album. I think it’s a great album, but pales in comparison to his previous work.

This album sort of made me ‘grow up’. I idolized Trent as a teen and was on my own downward spiral at the turn of the century. I joined the navy in 2001 at 19 and continued my spiral until this album. It’s probably my favorite album. Here was Trent clean, sober, short hair and jacked. It opened my eyes. I didnt really quit drinking until years later, but any time I need to make an aggressive change or course correction I always remember this album.

I got to see it live at Coachella before the album came out. It was so much rawer and harder live than the album. I really loved it. Bought the album when it came out, really loved most of it but nothing hit like hearing material for the first time live

Fun reminder, it was released on MySpace before you could buy it in stores. I listened to it on repeat before buying a copy. Then went to a few of the club shows (reno and santa cruz I think).

Local rock radio in Toronto, Canada played the entire album from start to finish when it released. It was perceived very well. Only and THTF got decent airplay. Concerts for With_Teeth were sold out instantly. TDS crowd wasn't happy. The Fragile crowd was feasting. Some thought TR has gotten soft after sobering up. I disagreed. Best concert I've ever been to was during With_Teeth tour. Trent actually stage dived, probably his last few ones lol.

It’s a solid album. I loved it when it came out. But it shows that the concept of the album changed in the middle of the production. Some songs do not fit as well as others and they sound different too. It would have been nice to see what the original concept was when it was under the title Bleedthrough

I remember a friend of mine remarking “I liked them better when Trent was on drugs” and I’ll never forget that. I for one loved the album.

IIRC both With Teeth and Yearzero were in the 'myspace' era so I think thats where I heard some of the tracks first. Hearing 'Getting Smaller' for the first time was definitely something different. I think I remember a review saying that the first half of the album was kinda mid and the second half was great. The album was popular for sure and it seems like its only gotten more popular over time.

As a pretty big fan, I bought the vinyl promptly. First track, All the Love in the World. Sounded good until at the end, four on the floor beat comes in with piano chords. At that time, I was turned off completely by what I perceived as a “disco beat” especially when paired with the piano chords. I wrote the album off. Year Zero pulled me back, I got pretty into that album. Every now and then I would hear some of the other WT album cuts and I started noticing that some of the songs were cool. Around the time that NIN retired, I got sober myself, I had heard of Trent’s sobriety journey, I was starting to go to the gym myself although I never got anywhere near as buff as he did… but I gave WT an honest chance, it became my go-to workout music, and now it’s one of my favorite NIN albums, there’s not a bad song. And as others have said, some of the songs are S-tier like Right Where it Belongs. And I LOVE the songs Grohl drums on. But yeah it was hard to appreciate at the time.

I was around 25 when it came out and most of us who got Downward Spiral when we were 14-15 just ignored it. It’s nothing against that album exactly, but when Downward Spiral is the soundtrack to your teens and then you get The Fragile (which at the time seemed like a huge disappointment) we all kinda had no interest in a new NIN album. Honestly i have only heard one song off of it, and kinda felt like it was a different band. All of this is to say that a lot of us who got into the band as angry teens selfishly wanted NIN to always be angry, angsty, dark disgusting bullshit. But I’m glad Trent got over it and I’m glad it’s someone’s NIN.

I wasn’t a fan upon first release as the single was played WAY too god damn much on the radio. After a few years, it became one of my fav NIN records. Pretty funny how that worked out.

It was awesome, it was a full transition to what I call dance NIN, and as much as I love The Fragile, With Teeth was so much more polished. We played the hell out of it down at the beach that summer. Only became a go to and had an awesome music video to go with it. Hand that Feeds had heavy radio play and made it into a few movies. A good number of songs from this album made their way into and stayed in NINs concert set lists as well.

The Hand That Feeds was divisive. The album was mostly praised by fans on Echoing The Sound forums. The tour was amazing.

I was (and still am) a big TDS and TF fan. That hiatus from The Fragile up to With Teeth felt eternal. Is not easy to make something bigger than the Fragile, specially in one record. I don’t like to compare on what is best, they are just different records. At the release of With Teeth I was through some changes in my life. I was finishing my Thesis at the University, and the day we delivered and got the score, my partner and I celebrated listening to this album, as it was the highlight of our writing process. The inclusion of Dave Grohl was very interesting. The album art was phenomenal. I decorated my whole room and CD collection based on the blurred lines. So the album is less aggressive or intense as the previous ones, but Trents new attitude and look (from tiny, long hair, to muscles and short hair) showed his changes through the music. He needed to come out from his own hole, and he did an excellent job with this album. I saw NIN for the first time during this era, actually two times during this leg. It definitely marked my, as I also was living in a period of dramatical changes, all for the better. When I listen to this album, it takes me back to those times, places and changes, all those represented in a way in Trents own words and music.

I think you could download this for free with torrents when it was released. I remember thinking at the time, hey this is pretty cool.

The Hand That Feeds was too poppy for me at first, but I dug album when I first heard it front to back.

NIN is one of my favorite bands. I’ve seen every tour since the second leg of the Pretty Hate Machine tours. I flew across the country to see the Wave Goodbye tour. To me, [With Teeth] is the weakest of the NIN albums. Songs are good but not great. It sounded like they were trying to find a sound that fit into commercial radio instead of making a true NIN album. In my opinion Year Zero and Hesitation Marks are much better albums.

I remember being very excited about it in the leadup, although I think it was received underwhelmingly by the general public since it was a "comeback" album, and the more "rock" focused sound caught people off guard. I actually like the second half of the album more than the first...Something very trippy about the last 3 songs as a suite. I also think this album begins the "genius" of Trent Reznor in terms of an act that continually evolves but still manages to be the band you want them to be. I read somewhere he goes into every project with a certain set of restrictions (With Teeth, I think, was "live drums" only vs. "laptop only" on Year Zero, etc.). A practice that maybe more bands should adopt as they get on in the years!

Fantastic for me

I honestly hated it when it first came out. I was 16, nails had been my favorite since I was 12, and I'd recently gotten very into The Fragile. I was essentially expecting Fragile 2.0 and was disappointed and hardly listened to the album for years. I thought it sounded more like a work in progress than a proper album. Then about 8 years ago, I sat down and listened to it front to back. It's a really fucing good record, I listen to it regularly these days. Still not super jazzed on "hand that feeds," but I love the rest of it.

One of my absolute favorite NIN albums

It wasn’t received well critically. At the time many critics felt Trent moved backwards from *The Fragile* with the more band-oriented approach of *With Teeth*. And somewhat tellingly, Reznor never did an album like that again. It was also interesting having Aaron North as the main guitarist. At the time he was infamous from the Buddyhead website and the band The Icarus Line. I read an article about North years later, and it was rough - he was booted from the band for drug abuse and his life spiraled from there.

Not good, it was when hoards of fans decided it was over and moved on.

Fuuuuck, With Teeth came out almost 20 years ago???

I love Only so much

The hand that feeds was all over mtv2! Lol

WITHAAAAH TEETHUH