Industrial superstar
Trent Reznor always put a lot of effort into making his singles better than most rock bands. On
Sin, he has three versions of the title track to show how it might have turned out (and how it might sound live for that matter). The first version is the best, with a strong remix by
Tackhead masterminds
Adrian Sherwood and
Keith Leblanc that is both vicious and urgent. The second version, remixed by the same team, brings the bassline to the forefront, edits out most of the vocals, and puts emphasis on the percussion. The final version is the same one from
Pretty Hate Machine, and points out how poppy the original really is. Strangely enough, what stands out the most is how important
Reznor's acidic vocals are to the music. Even "Sin (Dub)," which cut out almost all of the lyrics, reaches its highest point when a sample of
Reznor screaming "sin" is repeated again and again. The only other song is a
Queen cover, produced with fellow industrial guru
Al Jourgensen of
Ministry. This bears no resemblance to the original, but stands on its own as a crawling electronic beast with a hummable chorus. This single is actually a good listen on its own, something that is quite surprising considering that three of the tracks are the same song.
Trent fans and industrial freaks will probably enjoy, but even curious listeners might want to start their
Nine Inch Nails collection with this inexpensive treat. ~ Bradley Torreano