Welcome Oblivion
by How to Destroy Angels
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Mar 5, 2013
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 42
  3. Negative: 2 out of 42
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  1. A7sus4
    Mar 5, 2013
    4
    It's cool to say this is good... but it's not. Here's hoping Trent, with reuniting and reinventing NIN, will release something interesting this year... It's been a long time since 1994.
  2. Methusalah
    Mar 6, 2013
    5
    While there are a few interesting tracks to be found here, few of them are really worth revisiting in the future. As many have pointed out, Maandig's vocals are consistently out of place throughout this album. The only track that seems to compliment her voice is Ice Age, where the ambient industrial noises of a majority of the album take a backseat to a haunting string riff. This alsoWhile there are a few interesting tracks to be found here, few of them are really worth revisiting in the future. As many have pointed out, Maandig's vocals are consistently out of place throughout this album. The only track that seems to compliment her voice is Ice Age, where the ambient industrial noises of a majority of the album take a backseat to a haunting string riff. This also seems to be one of the only tracks where she seems to be putting effort and maybe even a bit of emotion into her vocals. The other two tracks that stand out are How Long? and The Loop Closes. How Long is interesting because it finally provides a resolution to those heated middle school debates over what it would sound like if Nine Inch Nails remixed a 90's era Phil Collins song. Clearly those of us who thought the end result would be mostly forgettable were right. The Loop Closes is a decent listen just because I found myself admitting that I probably wouldn't skip it had it been a transitional track on the fragile or the downward spiral, but even then it wouldn't have been an outstanding example of those either.… Collapse
  3. servo_mervo
    Mar 5, 2013
    4
    Basically Trent's soundtrack work. Terrible head shaking lyrics with a disney cruise vocalist. Won't excite 99% of NIN fans, won't gain any new fans. We get it, it's "not" NIN, but sounds exactly like what you've been doing for the past 6 years with vapid NIN-lite lyrics from a very cold and boring vocalist. If if weren't for the vocals and lyrics it would could be a decent instrumental album.

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Most Discussed Album of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Kerrang!
    Apr 5, 2013
    100
    Welcome Oblivion confirms that the music world needs a band like How To Destroy Angels, too. [2 Mar 2013, p.50]
  2. No Ripcord
    Apr 3, 2013
    80
    Even though it falls apart towards the end and could stand to cut a few songs, Welcome oblivion is a powerful record, both musically and thematically.
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  3. musicOMH.com
    Apr 2, 2013
    60
    Welcome Oblivion might have worked with some edits, but ultimately fails as an LP.
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