Bad Witch
| Nine Inch Nails
Bad Witch
Bad Witch is the ninth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It was released on June 22, 2018, by The Null Corporation and Capitol Records. Bad Witch's announcement came simultaneously with that of the Cold and Black and Infinite North America 2018 Tour, for which Nine Inch Nails will be touring with The Jesus and Mary Chain..
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
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.
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Consequence of Sound
The triptych’s final installment, a six-song, 31-minute mini-album titled Bad Witch, proves far more fleshed out than the preceding releases: a refreshingly grounded conclusion to an ephemeral thrill ride.
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NME
‘Bad Witch’ is Nine Inch Nails’ best release in a decade.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
Reznor’s experiments still show him pushing the sonic form while he excoriates his demons
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SPIN
it’s a strangely tentative gesture from an artist who made his name as a longform auteur
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The Guardian
After last year’s Add Violence, Bad Witch completes the cycle, its three distinct moods suggesting a triptych within a triptych.
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Drowned in Sound
whilst Bad Witch is definitely guilty of too much looking backwards there’s enough to keep us focused on what lies ahead
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The Atlantic
It is enveloping and relentless: satisfyingly terse, built with an ear for energizing rhythm, and as adventuresome as anything Reznor has done.
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Clash Magazine
A daring, varied, and - yes! - dark return...
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Album of the Year
Within the space of three EP’s NIN have brought about such a new texture to their sound it’s astounding.
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All Music
Bad Witch reveals itself as the most cohesive and enveloping experience of this period.
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Soundblab
Bad Witch stands as the most unexpected and challenging work Nine Inch Nails has ever created
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We Plug Good Music
The traditionally distorted, industrial sound so familiar to Nine Inch Nails fans has a strong presence and feels wonderfully excessive and somehow reinvigorated.
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Albumism
Perhaps over the ensuing months and years (but hopefully not ten), the work will be appreciated for what it delivers and not for what many hoped it would be.
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Sputnik Music
Bad Witch makes me greedy. Greedy for more volume, more depth, more songs, more spins: it makes me want to write essays upon essays about the sound of its sound.
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Spectrum Culture
there’s little here that inspires reflection, no anthems to pump your fist to, no beats with which to pummel the dance floor with mindless tribal abandon
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No More Workhorse
The album is half decent and will please the fans
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No Ripcord
With Bad Witch, Nine Inch Nails has crafted a purposefully-unsatisfying conclusion to the journey that began two years ago.
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Music Existence
Overall, Bad Witch might only be thirty minutes in length but if ever there was a new listening experience to give an album, this one would be it.
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The Wee Review
Bad Witch is a well-made and to-the-point album; it’s experimental enough without becoming self-indulgent.
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The Young Folks
Reznor’s philosophical visions of humanity remain simplistic, even adolescent; however the music displays a maturity that is almost uplifting.
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The Jakarta Post
Bad Witch finds NIN shedding a good amount of their signature production tightness in exchange for something more crushingly raw, unguarded and deliciously challenging
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Hysteria Magazine
Nine Inch Nails on new album Bad Witch has committed the biggest sin in popular music today. They’re trying something new.
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Ear Buddy
It’s recommendation proof at this point, and all a critic can offer up is where it falls in the Nine Inch Nails’ library. I wouldn’t rank this one in his worst, but it’s not Downward Spiral or The Fragile either.
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Bullet Music
At its best, Bad Witch straddles the line between unfinished project and unfulfilled ambition.
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punknews.org
The album is a bite-size morsel of everything NIN can do very well and leaves the listener craving more of this delectable offering.
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Loud and Quiet
‘Bad Witch’ is as solid an ‘album’ as any of NIN’s recent releases
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Cryptic Rock
Overall, Bad Witch seamlessly incorporates some unseen styles and explores NIN’s broad talents.
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The Music
Still containing all the aggression and alienation that resonates with so many (particularly in a Trump-America), the album is markedly restrained and offers listener’s a fully immersive experience.
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Inquistr
The newest album from Nine Inch Nails is probably the consistently strongest of this recent decomposition triptych, it feels a bit more cohesive, a little more complete.
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Treble
The album may well scare off casual listeners, enrapture devotees and open-minded neophytes and discourage some fans. But it will not waste anyone’s time.
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The Needle Drop
The level of artistic freedom Trent and Atticus give themselves on the somewhat uneven Bad Witch is more exciting than just about any Nine Inch Nails release since 2008.
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Ambient Light
Listen loud, and listen closely; you are in for a sonic treat that will leave you eager for more. Much more.
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DIY Magazine
As Trent reflects on the value of a full record (or three of them in a row), from intense start to often intriguing, mysterious endings he conjures some of the most evocative and dense music he’s made so far.
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The Skinny
Bad Witch has a more palpable vein of nihilism coursing through it than perhaps any Nine Inch Nails release since the seminal The Downward Spiral
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Knox News
Reznor and his co-producer Atticus Ross layer inspiring elements of horn-driven jazz to provide an unlikely complement to the metallic/electronic frenzy, and the “Bad Witch” cauldron ultimately simmers down as it achieves potency
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Vulture Hound
So while the album doesn’t start or end particularly well, the real meat of the album is still exciting and worth your time.
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The Line of Best Fit
Bad Witch, however, is the finest NiN release since 2005’s With Teeth.
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Refelections of Darkness
it is great to see artists just following their visions no-holds-barred ... NIN fans will love it!
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Immortal Reviews
Nine Inch Nails dive deeper into chaos in Bad Witch, straying further from traditional roots in order to add further texture to an impenetrable story.
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ultimate-guitar.com
"Bad Witch" is a testament to the boundless sound of Nine Inch Nails.
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411 Mania
so regardless of reasoning behind making Bad Witch the Nails’ ninth studio album, the results more than speak for themselves
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Kill Boring Music
string the last three EPs together and you’ve got yourself a Nine Inch Nails album, of which Bad Witch isn’t a bad way to end it.
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The Daily Californian
With ‘Bad Witch,’ Nine Inch Nails is on an upward spiral
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Pure Grain Audio
Yes, it will most likely garner negative responses from certain corners, but it will tap into the hearts and souls of those who yearn to have their audio senses challenged.
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richersounds
A successful cultural commentary from NIN usually requires a lot of shouting and copious, copious amounts of reverb; both of which are present in Bad Witch, along with myriad other qualities.
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setlist.fm
Reznor keeps us on our toes for the entire 30 minutes as he dives deeper and deeper into an experimental frenzy
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Stack
NIN have truly pushed the envelope in this final entry to their trilogy
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The Soundboard
Bad Witch illustrates a band who continue to be forward-thinking and avoid resting on a legacy that could so easily see them coast by ... It won’t be for everyone, but neither are Nine Inch Nails as a whole; for those who want it though, there’s plenty to be enveloped by here.
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Rocket Review
Bad Witch is a breakthrough in modern music
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Uproxx
This is a record that pushes some pretty heavy ideas but ultimately challenges you to come to your own conclusions about them all.
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GID Magazine
Bad Witch is a weird, atmospheric experience that may not click with you after the first listen, but it’s worth revisiting to really appreciate it.
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Intravenous Magazine
But most importantly out of the albums in the trilogy this one feels the most complete and well-rounded.
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The Aquarian Weekly
Multiple layers of sound and passion intertwine to form the most put together Nine Inch Nails album to date.
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Birthday Cake for Breakfast
I would have actually liked this record to have gone on a bit more due to being left wanting more.
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Anhedonic Headphones
Sitting with Bad Witch for a number of weeks now, I find I’m still at odds with it—parts of it are embraceable, though parts of it are still pushing me away.
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Louder Than War
There is a beautiful detail to the soundscapes here and even the densest moments are full of twists and turns and nuances that take them way ahead of the imitators.
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The 405
Nine Inch Nails complete their recent trilogy of short releases with Bad Witch, Reznor’s best record in over 20 years
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The Student Playlist
It keeps you on your toes throughout with an unpredictable manner
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Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life
Very disappointing. It’s hard to shake off the feeling that this is an album of scraps.
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The Bunker
It's intense brutality that'll test you, and leave you feeling a bit empty - in all the right ways.
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Leon TK
eznor collaborator Atticus Ross into the fold – have stretched themselves into extremely experimental areas
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Audioeclectica
What Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have created is something that they should be proud of.
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Okzygen Studios
Reznor doesn’t feel bad about filling your ears with every imaginable variation of noise, because he does something amazing with it
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Chicago Tribune
'Bad Witch' is compelling, if not vintage
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Metal Forum
Who would expect that in 2018, Nine Inch Nails would release a hit album that not only ranks as one of the best in their entire discography, but one of the best albums of the year?
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Fidget Reviews And Fake News
I wouldn’t recommend this to a new NIN listener, but for veteran fans, there’s plenty to dig into and love here.
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Zumic
Reznor and longtime co-producer Atticus Ross have created a piece of work that balances aggressive hard rock against electronic elements and jazzy structures.
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Duluth News Tribune
Overall, it's interesting, surprising, odd, and a bit off-putting, and that's about all one should want from a Nine Inch Nails EP. Er, album.
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Melt Reviews
the furious delivery and negative perspective on the human condition over chaotic “Industrial” heavy production is genuine and believable
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News Whistle
It’s got the hooks when it needs them, aggression all around, and a completely uncompromising approach.
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