Bad Witch

AlbumJun 22 / 20186 songs, 30m 15s
Experimental Rock Industrial Rock
Popular

*Bad Witch* was first envisioned as the final installment in an EP trilogy, following 2016’s *Not the Actual Events* and 2017’s *Add Violence*. But, wary of falling into patterns of musical predictability, Trent Reznor scrapped the concept, and instead released the project as NIN’s ninth, and shortest, full album. It feels like pure experimentation—a direct rebuttal to that sameness he was worried about. It alternates between anxious beats, jarring vocals (“Ahead of Ourselves”), and intriguing ambience (“I’m Not from This World”), clearly influenced by Reznor’s masterful score compositions for films including *The Social Network* and *Gone Girl*.

257

8.0 / 10

Trent Reznor’s third EP-length NIN release in the last two years is the best of the lot, with a raw and rough sound that feels both unfinished and alive.

D+

Bad Witch is a thin, if rewarding, listen from Nine Inch Nails; while Kamasi Washington’s cinematic soul-jazz is more ambitious than ever on the awe-inspiring Heaven And Earth; and Gang Gang Dance turn in a somewhat too-impeccable sixth LP with Kazuashita. These, plus Martyn and The Orb in this week’s notable new…

7 / 10

The conclusion to Nine Inch Nails' EP trilogy, 'Bad Witch' is their best release in a decade.

8 / 10

Trent Reznor channels the sonic intensity of former glories to create his best record in some time

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch

Some of the most evocative and dense music Trent Reznor has made so far.

Also: Kamasi Washington’s ‘Heaven and Earth’, Binker & Moses, and Jack River

On Bad Witch, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross conclude the conceptual narrative arc started on 2016's Not the Actual Events and continued on 2017's Add Violence.

7 / 10

Completing the three EP/album cycle which began with 2016’s ‘Not The Actual Events’, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross return with their

(Caroline)

6 / 10

'Bad Witch' may be a Trent Reznor comment on the LP vs EP debate in modern music - it's also a reliably solid Nine Inch Nails collection.

Nine Inch Nails’s Bad Witch wrestles with a depraved culture that’s showing signs of impending collapse.

8.0 / 10

Nine Inch Nails redefine themselves in our review of Bad Witch as Trent Reznor brings elements into his sound while going back to his signature sounds.

45 %

Things have changed since Nine Inch Nails’ early days.

4.1 / 5

Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch review: year of the witch