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"[It] was meant to feel like walking into the ocean and extinguishing yourself, fearlessly. Now it feels different... it feels like the opposite of that... it feels redemptive, in a way." was how Trent Reznor described how his interpretation of the song "La Mer" had changed over the years since it was first conceived for this monumental album at a low point in his life.
The Fragile explores the frailty and falliability of the human experience and mind, and doesn't cut any corners. The album has a total run time of (almost) one hour and 44 minutes on the original release and one hour and 52 minutes on the 2017 Definitive Edition. Reznor also explores several different genres throughout its playtime— from the familiar industrial to more experimentative modern classical. This creates a truly unique and raw record that certainly shows his musical talent and demonstrates the evolution of his style from its predecessor, The Downward Spiral released over 5 years prior. Trent Reznor's experimentative style shines through in this album with the fusion of multiple genres creating a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
This album is also very collaborative, featuring several guest musicians, including: Adrian Belew (King Crimson), Dr Dre, Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Swans, King Crimson), Charlie Clouser (Saw OSTs), Dave "Rave" Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Front Line Assembly), and others. The record also has some stunning artwork that was created by graphic designer David Carson, who took and edited many photos for the album. He also contributed to the live and compilation/remix albums And All That Could Have Been which were released in 2002. His artwork also influenced the cover art for Things Falling Apart (2000), created by Rob Sheridan and one of the alternative covers for Not The Actual Events (2016) created by John Crawford. The artwork for The Fragile is beautiful and reflects the concept and themes of the album perfectly, with the slightly washed out colours adding to the melancholy feel of much of the album.
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| David Carson's description and explanation of the artwork for The Fragile. (source) |
This record is sonically stunning, and had so much effort put in to make it such an intricately beautiful piece of art. Reznor definitely reveals his fragility in this album and unashamedly so. Every song cuts deep and feels so personal. It's solemn and desperate but also quietly hopeful and feels as if the music itself understands any struggles you might be going through. Trent writes music from the heart and makes music that feels beautifully relatable to the listener and this album captures that perfectly. I love this album so dearly, it is just so unbelievably gorgeous.
The Fragile will take you on through an emotional thresher, exploring anger, sadness, despair, hope, emptiness, greed... it is an incredible sonic adventure of introspection and discovery, a deep dive into a dark mind. So hook up your loudest soundsystem or get a good pair of headphones and listen to this record.
