Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks (2013)

As one of my most anticipated albums of the year, "Hesitation Marks" had a lot riding on it, especially after being impressed with the new How To Destroy Angels record, and I can gladly say it didn't disappoint. Overall it seems to continue in the same vein as the past few records while doing a bit of experimentation. New directions can be heard on songs such as the punkish "Everything" and the infectiously groovy, yet still quite dark "Satellite." The songs on "Hesitation Marks" don't have quite the same edginess as material from, say, "The Fragile" or "The Downward Spiral" but this reflects Trent Reznor's maturation as an artist and the point where he is now. It may be more poppy and accessible but it still unmistakably NIN and something I'm very happy to see added to the NIN discography. While it's not perfect, it's the best they've put out since "The Fragile." While other older bands/artists rehash material, NIN continue to innovate and not ride on their past glories.

9/10

 

Yellow Swans - Going Places (2010)

I'm hardly familiar with the "noise ambient" genre, but if there are other albums like this out there then I want to hear more of it. In contrast to the sharp, ear-destroying aggressiveness of artists like Merzbow, Yellow Swans use noise in a much more subtle fashion preferring to immerse the listener into a dreamlike, but chaotic state rather than shock you into submission. The noise samples are seemingly random yet there is a clear sense of progression in each track as marked not only by volume/intensity, but also by subtle changes in the underlying musical structure. It's a bizarre, yet beautiful kind of ambient music that shows the incredible diversity of the genre and has made me want to explore the noise world more.
9/10

 

Raison D'Etre - The Empty Hollow Unfolds (2000)

 

Here's a pretty decent dark industrial ambient album that should be enjoyable to most fans of the genre. I don't particularly enjoy some of the parts on it, especially the screeching chairs (yeah, it's scary but it detracts from the atmosphere) but overall it's a pretty spine-tingling affair.

8/10 

Author and Punisher - Ursus Americanus (2012)

Well this guy is pissed off. It really comes through in the pseudo-metal/industrial music this one-man band creates. He uses the instruments he designed to replicate the sound of a guitar and then adds some beats a la dubstep (although this is much better than dubstep). It's basically a mix of Nine Inch Nails and Nadja (a drone artist). Definitely one of the most disturbing (in a good way) releases of the year.

9/10 

Swans - The Great Annihilator (1995)

A dark, intense and emotional album, The Great Annihilator is a quite a puzzle to wrap one's head around. It's so eclectic and non-linear in its approach that one will have great difficulty in deriving any sort of musical consistency. However, I think that is what makes this album and the band in general their distinctive, uncomprising sound. Songs the apocalyptic She Lives and the industrial atmospheric number Mind/Body/Light/Sound demonstrate the band's knack for diversity and drama. Unlike this year's The Seer (which I'll review later), this album is relatively accessible and a good introduction, at least to me, to the band's discography.
8.5/10