Music Review: Nine Inch Nails - "Came Back Haunted"

This edition of Music Review takes an odd twist. Instead of reviewing a full-length album as I usually do, this time I will review the newest single from Nine Inch Nails, "Came Back Haunted," from their upcoming release Hesitation Marks.

Cover artwork to the upcoming Hesitation Marks album

Nine Inch Nails was the first concert I went to. It was just a couple days before my 20th birthday. I had tickets in the nose bleed, but I was still excited nonetheless. And equally saddened because at the time, Trent Reznor referred to that tour as basically a goodbye tour - the end of Nine Inch Nails, at least from a touring perspective. In the back of my mind, as in the minds of probably many NIN fans, I knew it'd only be time before Reznor felt the need to make sweet beautiful music again. We just somehow had to be patient while Reznor pursued other interests.

And we were right. Fellow NIN fans, the wait is over! Reznor is back with the first single off of the forthcoming Nine inch Nails album, Hesitation Marks. And if you thought this might just be a victory lap for the veteran musician...well, you had better think again.

"Came Back Haunted" is a good mix of sounds reminiscent of 2005's With Teeth, 1994's The Downward Spiral, and even 1989's Pretty Hate Machine. The song, however, is not simply a Gilgamesh of sounds once used to comprise the "new NIN." It still has a uniqueness and difference that plays into the constant evolution of sound and feeling Nine Inch Nails undertakes.

Trent Reznor, mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails. Photo found randomly on the Internet.

As is true of most Nine Inch Nails songs, synthesizers play key roles and drum beats have a precise timing to them. There is always a particular balance to each sound played and how they mesh with the vocals. And as always, Reznor's vocals are strong as ever and figure well into the song. It's fairly catchy after the first couple of listens and, in a peculiar sense, haunts you.

Lyrically, the song plays on the notion of coming back haunted. The lyrics are fairly repetitious and include a lot of "stuttering" (I'm sure there's a proper musical term for this, describing how Reznor often sings "hau-hau-haunted," as an example). What the meaning behind the lyrics is, I am not entirely sure (as usual). It could be a challenge, in a sense, to critics. NIN essentially disappeared four years ago and the last two albums put out (Ghosts I-IV and The Slip) are largely overlooked. Most people seem to long for NIN to return to the sound and feel of The Downward Spiral and may even question if Reznor still has it in him ("Everywhere now reminding me/I am not who I used to be/I'm afraid this has just begun/Consequences for what I've done"). So, the song, lyrically, can represent his answer to critics to say that yes he went off to work on other projects, but here he is, back, but feeling haunted by his past and how everyone wants him to be that past instead of evolving into something new.

Regardless, if this is a good sampler of what we can expect out of Hesitation Marks, I think the new album is going to be great. My only concern as we move closer to the album's September 3rd release date and a gauntlet of touring is how two members of the newly reformed NIN have already left the group. Certainly Reznor can find other musicians to fill the void, but does this perhaps hint at some deeper troubles that come simply with working with Reznor? Time will tell, but let's hope this is only a small bump in the road.

Sound Off! What do you think of the new Nine Inch Nails single? Do you think Reznor still has it in him or should he have thrown in the towel for good as he originally said he would? Are you planning to see NIN on the upcoming tour?


Rating: 5 out of 5 (I especially like the music to the chorus when it mellows out slightly and sounds a bit ethereal...it's very...dare I say it?...haunting? haha. Okay, I had to)

More Information: Official Site of Nine Inch Nails