The Slip (also known as Halo 27) is the eighth major studio release by Nine Inch Nails. Produced by Trent Reznor alongside Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, this album is a leaner machine than their last label release Year Zero. Not long after the release of his instrumental Ghosts (which was somewhat of a letdown for me), Reznor announced "this one's on me" and gave this album away for FREE on his web site as a downloadable ZIP file. But this is no gimmicky throw-away album.

With the exception of an overly long instrumental track called "Corona Radiata," The Slip is as satisfying if not better than any of the other NIN albums. Closely resembling With Teeth stylistically and thematically, The Slip is streamlined and to the point, coming out the gates quickly and ready to rock. The quintuple bombast of "1,000,000," "Letting You," "Discipline," "Echoplex," and "Head Down" is the best 20 minutes from Mr. Reznor in years.

You can get it for free indefinitely on his web site but it's worth paying some money to support such a consistently great band. This limited edition CD includes a bonus DVD.

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