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This free Nine Inch Nails double album is what the world needs right now

Free ambient angst, anyone?

This free Nine Inch Nails double album is what the world needs right now
27 March 2020

In times of trouble, you can always rely on the world's great industrial rock band to swoop in with new music and that is exactly what has happened this week.

Nine Inch Nails, or to give them their hop-hop name NIN, are back with a double album of collected instrumentals, and the best bit is that they are free to download right now.

While Trent Reznor and the rest of the Nails are known for their brilliant blast of harsh, abrasive rock, they also do a decent side hustle in instrumental, veering into ambient, music.

Their first slice of this came in 2008, with Ghosts I–IV, which comprised some 26 tracks and was nominated for two Grammys.

Its update was announced on Twitter, with Reznor asking if anyone was out there, with a link to new music, "some of it happy, some sad."


You can download the album now from NIN's official website and it comes with the following message:

"As the news seems to turn ever more grim by the hour, we’ve found ourselves vacillating wildly between feeling like there may be hope at times to utter despair – often changing minute to minute. Although each of us define ourselves as antisocial-types who prefer being on our own, this situation has really made us appreciate the power and need for connection.

"Music – whether listening to it, thinking about it or creating it – has always been the thing that helped us get through anything – good or bad. With that in mind, we decided to burn the midnight oil and complete these new ghosts records as a means of staying somewhat sane.
"Ghosts v: together is for when things seem like it might all be okay, and ghosts vi: locusts… well, you’ll figure it out."

Brilliant stuff, and it almost makes us forgive Reznor for selling his soul to Apple, by signing on to the company's books as chief creative officer at Beats Music, a role he has since departed. Almost.

Download NIN: Ghosts V-VI for free now.