Trent Reznor, as well as his band Nine Inch Nails (NIN), was my long-time “hate”. Just like the title of NIN’s debut album in 1989, he was a “hate machine” for me (the first NIN music I listened to was The Downward Spiral in 1994). Why? NIN was among the alternative rock movement in the ‘90s, including grunge rock, that destroyed my favorite hard rock/heavy metal scene, as briefly written on My Music Influence, and Trent was its sole creator and brain. To make it worse, I hated the category that best described NIN’s music, industrial rock, more than grunge. I didn’t feel emotion from their skull-crunching music with drilling cold riffs. My attitude was, what was funny for the music to be controlled by a machine? I didn’t understand the reason Trent and NIN tried to archive their music. Old fashioned? I was still in my early 20s! No matter how much I knew NIN was doing their original in the alternative rock scene full of many clones, that was unnecessary originality for me. But originality can’t be created without intelligence. I admit Trent Reznor’s intelligence from his works and collaborations (though I still don’t like NIN).
Halsey. Needless to say, she has been an alternative rock princess since her debut in 2015, almost 20 years after the decline of subculture while NIN was one of a few remainings. Contrary to my hate for alternative/grunge rock, I always paid attention to Halsey’s talent. I thought she was a creative musician always challenging her music. All her albums were different but still kept her identity with her recognizable voice. Along with being a fashion icon and the target of admirations, her unstoppable success in the alternative rock scene was like rising from the ash.
Being crazy about her albums, however, was a different story. I had positive feedback about her albums but wasn’t addicted. I always felt something was missing from her albums. The quality was above average but didn’t have enough thrills and edges to catch me. Not charismatic enough to appeal to me. I felt that her albums were somehow hesitant, like 10% shy from complete.
But Halsey+Trent Reznor=explosive.
This Halsey’s 4th album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, produced by Trent Reznor along with Atticus Ross, the current fellow member of NIN. is a dramatically shocking album for me, enough to chop all my previous perspectives of both Halsey and Trent Reznor.
The album was released on August 27 but still keeps blowing my mind every time I listen to the album even at the end of the year. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is my personal best album of 2021 besides Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR (read OLIVIA RODRIGO, “SOUR”, ALBUM REVIEW).
What does Halsey’s latest album, a concept album about fears and happiness of pregnancy, make it musically so special? The key is the first 3 songs. The type of music I hated.
After the 4th songs are stunning, too, though they’re inherited from Halsey’s previous music. The grunge-pop songs, “You Asked For This” (6th) and “Honey” (9th) simply give joyful bouncing uplift within the album. Halsey’s challenge on a danceable tune, “Girl Is a Gun” is nicely done to express the quick bullets for a girl not to be defeated. “1121” (8th), “Whispers” (10th), and “Ya’aburnee” (13th/the last) are neither grunge nor industrial but the doomy darkness is the influence of that music. “The Lighthouse”, about the danger of being lured by devil, is heavily rolling grunge rock, heavier than Soundgarden, that Halsey’s pretty pop voice gives the song the weird effect of being even darker, and obviously that’s another Trent Reznor effect besides the beginning of the album.
Now you got it about the first 3 songs.
The arrival of the new Halsey. The heaviest, the most aggressive, the most powerful, and the most progressive Halsey that she achieved with Trent Reznor is just stunning with the first 3 songs. It was returning to Halsey’s grunge/alternative roots, and Trent, who was one of the true successors in the movement, knew exactly what to do with what he had done.
Accuracy and non-humanity Trent Reznor has pursued in his cold machine rock perfectly matched with Halsey’s expressionism while Halsey was still being her. That was the primal cause for the chemistry after an alternative rock princess met an industrial rock king who had kept breaking the system for almost 30 years. Trent completely stripped Halsey’s weakness and doubts and transitioned her into an iron maiden in the mechanically accurate melodies with those songs. The results: impressively chaos. Theater of hell. No mercy. Lyrically, they are about frustration and pains. Musically, the first 3 songs are the part where the chemistry of Halsey and NIN sparks more blowout than my expectation. Grunge/industrial rock is the music of 30 years ago that could be old school, but this combo plays like completely new solid music.
The first song, “The Tradition”, is a prelude to Halsey’s new chapter to more empowerment while walking with post-success self-doubts and depression in the wuthering hell. During the storm-calling choruses, Halsey’s frustration with her past and golden fame is getting removed. Anger and manic depression are so vivid with Halsey’s voice in the dark grey piano melodies like a witch-hunting theme.“Bells in Santa Fe” is beautifully cruel. The hell doesn’t sound temporary as the lyric but sadly endless. Once making Halsey arise from the cold bed then pushing her into 6 feet under with cold needles. The rapidly repeating cold keyboard sounds of “Bells in Santa Fe” are like expressing an electroencephalograph that checks the damaged brain waves by torturing souls. The mean electroencephalograph gets broken as the test progress and leads to noisy guitar sounds like NIN. Absolutely no happy ending of giving a new life. Both “The Tradition” and “Bells in Santa Fe” don’t contain distorted guitar riffs but are good examples that the clear piano/keyboard can be doomy grunge/industrial rock. Every single tone isn’t blossoming like a rose but a long iron needle. “Easier Than Lying” is the chaotic boiling point of Halsey’s anger, hate, blames, and frustration as Trent’s heavily distorting industrial rock sounds blast all over the song. The result: the heaviest metal. Impossible to stop headbanging like a machine. “Easier Than Lying” is the highlight of Halsey+NIN chemistry that lingers the rest of the album.
The chemistry between Halsey and Trent Reznor also succeeded to pull up Halsey’s talent as a vocalist. Her voice is expressive as ever across the album. Not dramatic or dynamic like Adele or Celine Dion, but Halsey’s theatrical approach succeeds to illustrate the world of each song over the eyes during this concept album. Still the same pretty voice but her characteristic voice isn’t buried under NIN’s charisma.
I don’t think Halsey will make a similar album next time because of her challenging spirit. As written earlier, she has never made the same album before. But her never-ending challenge spirit created this superior rock album which could be a masterpiece of the decade. And the album also gave me a positive turning point; hailing to the industrial rock god and alternative rock queen. Especially for Halsey, she gained both love and power with this strong album.
OVERALL POINTS: 98/100
- Songs: ★★★★+1/4
- Originality: ★★★★★
- Thrills: ★★★★★
- Song orders: ★★★★★
- Vocal: ★★★★★
- Background: ★★★★★
- Sound: ★★★★★
- Production: ★★★★★
- Strong songs: “The Tradition”, “Bells in Santa Fe”, “Easier Than Lying”, “You Asked For This”, “Honey”, “The Lighthouse”
EXTRA (NOT COUNTED TOWARD THE OVERALL POINTS)
- Title: A
- Album cover: A
RELEASE DATE (US): 08/27/2021
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