Nine Inch Nails have been a huge love of mine since I was a wee lad. There was something about the sound and the destructive properties that really resonated with an idiot boy who knew not what to do with himself.

This album came out when I was 18 years old and I remember listening to it on repeat. I was in love with every track and could not comprehend how it was able to evoke so very many emotional landscapes from within. There is despair, hope, pain, suffering, joy, love, angst, and calm.

From distortion heavy guitars to synth oceans to broken-sounding acoustic guitars, the production is a masterpiece of sonic variation and dynamic presentation. Soft spots lull you into safety and loud punchy spots jar you out of the comfort zones.

Every listen is both a return to what I first fell in love with in the music and a new layer of enjoyment. For that, this is in my top 5 albums of all time list.