Review Summary: Not only the strongest of the trilogy, but the strongest Nine Inch Nails have been in a long time
So here we are, the conclusion of Trent Reznor's trilogy of EPs(now 2 EPs and an album) has finally arrived nearly 2 years after said trilogy was announced. Starting with the angry, metallic, fury of Not the Actual Events, and following with the brooding, electronic driven Add Violence, it was anyone's guess how Bad Witch would actually end up sounding. Well as it turns out, this is the not only the most experimental of the trilogy, but possibly of the entire Nine Inch Nails discography.
Coming out swinging with Sh*t Mirror, the most straight forward track of the album, we're introduced to a noisy wall of guitars against a distorted, digital hardcore style beat. This is Nine Inch Nails at their most classic, the track is highly reminiscent of Branches/Bones off of Not the Actual Events, itself reminiscent of the metallic bangers of NIN's 90s heyday. Its a song sure to please long time fans, but from there things start to get a bit weirder. Strong influences of jazz and drum and bass pop up on lead single God Break Down the Door, with Trent delivering a very Bowie esque vocal performance against wild jazz saxophone playing and an aggressive Aphex Twin esque beat. Indeed the influences of Bowie, namely of his swansong Blackstar, are readily apparent all over Bad Witch. Not a bad thing in the slightest, as Trent's Bowie fandom has never been a secret and the record thankfully never ends up sounding like a rip off, even with its influences held so high. The strong influences of jazz coupled with Trent's rediscovered love of the saxophone are also very welcome and add quite a bit to the record, his frantic playing fitting cozily into Nine Inch Nails' industrial soundscape.
Perhaps the most jarring moment on Bad Witch occurs in the form the nearly 7 minute instrumental track I'm Not From This World. Looped samples and industrial noises slowly build upon each other, layer after layer, creating a sense of fear and dread I've never experienced listening to Nine Inch Nails before. The massive, noise addled, climax of the song feels almost like a relief when it comes. Trent and co producer Atticus Ross have taken the best of their film soundtrack work and incorporated it directly into Nine Inch Nails here and there's lots of little intricacies and details in the production for listeners to pick up on after multiple listens. The little piano notes at the beginning of Over and Out, which directly recall tracks like La Mer off The Fragile, is just one example. The production on Bad Witch is abrasive and noisy too, the noisiest this band has been since Year Zero, tracks like the before mentioned Sh*t Mirror sound just as indebted to noise rock as they do industrial rock.
Experimentalist doesn't always lead to success. Bad Witch could have easily ended up being an album thats 'weird for the sake of being weird,' one that buckles under the weight of its own ambitions and ends up being a mess. Thankfully this album feels just as cohesive as it does experimental, with a strong attention to detail and a sense of identity that makes it definitively Nine Inch Nails even in its most bizarre moments. The short length is worth addressing, at 30 minutes its the shortest album in their entire discography by far, and it does leave you wanting more by its end. There is still some debate as to whether the record should have been released as an EP instead of an LP, a conversation I'm sure will spark arguments for years to come. Still, Trent and Atticus have crafted not only the strongest outing in this trilogy but possibly the strongest of the entire modern Nine Inch Nails discog. Bad Witch is short but oh so sweet.
