User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 161 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 3 out of 161
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  1. Sep 3, 2013
    6
    Is this a bad album? No.
    Is this a good album? Sure.
    Is it a great album? No. Is it a Nine Inch Nails album? No! Gone are the type of songs from albums such as Pretty Hate Machine or Downward Spiral or The Fragile or With Teeth that had hard hitting personality riding passenger to those awesome Trent Reznor yells! So what, he's "no longer angry"! If you're not a band in the traditional
    Is this a bad album? No.
    Is this a good album? Sure.
    Is it a great album? No.
    Is it a Nine Inch Nails album? No!
    Gone are the type of songs from albums such as Pretty Hate Machine or Downward Spiral or The Fragile or With Teeth that had hard hitting personality riding passenger to those awesome Trent Reznor yells! So what, he's "no longer angry"! If you're not a band in the traditional sense, and NIN never was, then you don't have to call this a new "Nine Inch Nails" album. Nothing wrong with calling this the new "Trent Reznor" album. That's what it is to me. Not the Nine Inch Nails that changed the medium.
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  2. Sep 7, 2013
    6
    No one who likes electronic music can take this album seriously: it sounds incredibly outdated and, at times, amateurish, when it comes to the electronic patterns in the background. That being said, Hesitation Marks has a beautiful timing it manages to consistently do the right thing at the proper time, shifting pace and saturation whenever it is necessary. For this reason it is best toNo one who likes electronic music can take this album seriously: it sounds incredibly outdated and, at times, amateurish, when it comes to the electronic patterns in the background. That being said, Hesitation Marks has a beautiful timing it manages to consistently do the right thing at the proper time, shifting pace and saturation whenever it is necessary. For this reason it is best to listen to it from beginning to end, without skipping between tracks (despite some of them, like I Would For You, being enjoyable even out of context). Expand
  3. Jul 21, 2014
    6
    If this was a debut, I would say the album was good but he has far more potential.
    A couple of good tracks, but nothing moving or very memorable.. just rather bland, with some cringeworthy lyrics at times. Come back Haunted was the first track I had heard, which was a rather Trent-by-numbers generic first attempt at a new single.
    Did I really care if this album sounded less like the
    If this was a debut, I would say the album was good but he has far more potential.
    A couple of good tracks, but nothing moving or very memorable.. just rather bland, with some cringeworthy lyrics at times. Come back Haunted was the first track I had heard, which was a rather Trent-by-numbers generic first attempt at a new single.

    Did I really care if this album sounded less like the NIN of old? Not at all. I just cared if I lost interest, which I did at times. I believe a shorter album would have given more of an impact. Something felt missing, and no, I don't mean guitars, but it felt like a compilation of b-sides more than anything.
    Unlike some bands however Trent still shows more experimenting with a wider range of instruments and is honest by questioning himself where he is going in his music and as to whether he truly has become a copy of a copy of a copy... ;)
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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Q Magazine
    Jan 27, 2014
    80
    Five years away hasn't damaged their ability to wow and Hesitation Marks puts Trent Reznor's soundtrack albums into context; here, he sounds at his very best and right where he belongs. [Oct 2013, p.108]
  2. Classic Rock Magazine
    Oct 23, 2013
    70
    The techno-noir sonic palette here is as eclectic as ever. [Oct 2013, p.90]
  3. Kerrang!
    Oct 18, 2013
    100
    It was a given that Hesitation Marks would provide Nine Inch Nails with a future. But what's so impressive here is that it's given then a future every bit as promising as their illustrious past. [31 Aug 2013, p.52]