Nine Inch Nails was one of the first acts to receive Vitamin's string quartet makeover, way back in 2002. The label has also issued at least two
NIN-themed industrial music compilations, both of them lackluster. And 2005's
String Quartet Tribute to Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine is probably meant to cash in on
Trent Reznor and co.'s concurrently released studio album. Even still, the band's insular, proto-industrial nihilism remains a great foil for the string tribute. This set doesn't disappoint, with the instrumental arrangements for violin, viola, and cello blending gothic tinges with detached lead lines, punctuating reports of cello, and weird introspection. A scaly, scarily laconic version of "Something I Can Never Have" is a big highlight; other standouts include "Terrible Lie" and "That's What I Get." ~ Johnny Loftus