Indeed, and that has been integral to Nine Inch Nails' success. The NIN fans on ETS actually are a bunch that I would call "sophisticated", for lack of a better word; I don't know any other artist whose fans could band together and form something like This One Is On Us.
Initial thoughts at the tail-end of my second playthrough... Hesitation Marks is the best NIN album to come out since The Fragile. And this is coming from someone who loved the everloving shit out of Year Zero. HM blows YZ out of the water.
This album does many things. Not only does it show that NIN can still bring out quality music, it also shows that they are capable of releasing an incredible piece of work without falling back to old habits, which is an incredbile feat for a band with a carreer of 25 years. This album feels incredibly fresh, while still sounding familiar, and is easily one of their best releases ever, up there with The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and Year Zero.
I'm on my 5th playthrough. So much sex in this album. You're going to go through it all like, "This is my favorite track so far." Then the next track starts and you're like, "This is my favorite track so far." Then the next track starts and you're like...
Finished listening to the album just now. I really like it, but I need to listen to it some more before I say it's better than Year Zero or The Downward Spiral. I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a NIN album immediately, so we'll see. Really liking what I hear though. A lot.