Music Review: The Fragile Nothing: Halo Fourteen (special edition)

Album: The Fragile Nothing: Halo Fourteen (special edition)
Music: Nothing/Interscope
Price: Rs 1,371
Rating: 3
Progressive/Industrial Metal: There are really no two ways to say this. The Fragile Nothing: Halo Fourteen will make for a great addition your prog rock collection, in case you do happen to like that music and fancy something that is both replete with lush sonic textures while all the time not sacrificing the overall edge.
The opening 'Somewhat Damaged' sets the tone and tenor for what is to follow, with other tracks like 'The Day The World Went Away' and 'Even Deeper' (also, incidentally, the longest cut on the collection) amping things up a notch in terms of intensity and instrumentation. And lest you think that this is just an album of heavy, crunchy guitar and keyboard-driven distortion, a quick glance at the liner notes will give you an idea about the number and variety of musicians that played on it. You have a veritable litany of vocalists and string instrument players who all help Trent Reznor weave together the kind of music that has helped him win a Grammy or two and gather a bunch of other awards too. So, more about the music. The Fragile title track itself is probably one of the most hauntingly sparse tracks Reznor has ever made. The Wretched has piano, guitar and electronic mayhem doing the tango, and creating what can be described as a giant chunk of musical attitude. On the whole though, this is, despite the experimentalism, an album where the emotions of the composer (Reznor) come across very clearly. No attempt is made at shying away from exorcising personal difficulties. It is this, despite the electronic wizardry, that makes this music somewhat endearing, and honest.