CD, Interscope Records, 2005
www.nin.com
After a long wait, with the only material to come from Trent Reznor since “The Fragile” being some (excellent, but still too few) tracks on the bonus disc of the limited edition of “…And All ThatCould Have Been”, comes “With Teeth”.
How apt the title is, one may wonder, when the opening track, “All The Love In The World” starts playing. Calm, collected, with Reznor singing in a low voice over synth drums and keyboards not unlike those on “Still”, this track is deceivingly mellow compared to the rest of the album, yet still one of its highlights. The next four tracks scream with pure Industrial-Rock power: gritty, distorted, and angry, with a pace reminiscent of older NIN material, they’re the stuff that made NIN into the legend they are. Interrupted by the slower, but not in any way weaker “Every Day Is Exactly The Same” and the title track, “With Teeth”, the album’s dominating sound is that of guitars distorted to Reznor’s personal hells and back, grating against his vocals, which overcome with Reznor’s trademark passion their (trademark as well?) imperfection.
Overall, this album plays out more like a distorted rock record, Reznor focusing more on expelling his feelings through his songs, unlike his previous, more collectedly introspective work. Replacing most of the pessimism with lashing out aggression, the result is a bulldozer of a record. Strong, deep, and definitely not subtle, it will win most listeners over with its bravado.. the rest can stick to listening the 2-3 calmer tracks, which are almost worth the price of admission by themselves. Maybe not a masterpiece, but “With Teeth” certainly carries along the Nine Inch Nails tradition of great records..
[8/10]
— George Mouratidis