I never imagined Nine Inch Nails as a live band - probably because they've never played anywhere near Edmonton.

I'd envisioned Trent Reznor as the rock 'n' roll Igor Stravinsky, holed up in his dank studio (supposedly located in the house where Sharon Tate was murdered), shunning both sunlight and human companionship, pouring his darkest dreams into a computer surgically implanted into his brain, the music out of which magically sounds like his last name - rrrezzzzznorrrr ... He admits NIN is two different animals - the studio version and the live version. And All That Could Have Been proves that both are equally potent.

Recorded live on the 2000 world tour, the album spans a career of some of the best God-hating, self-loathing, apocalyptic, suitable-for-horror-film-soundtrack industrial gothic rock songs you'll ever hear. Hopefully that narrows it down for you.

Aside from tunes like Starf---ers Incorporated (a bash at celebrity-worshipping sycophants) and Head Like a Hole (expressing a general disdain of organized religion), the bulk of this material seems to consist of heartbreak songs cast in wires and chains and assailed by digital cockroaches skittering on the periphery. Love songs become hate songs. It's all very spooky. That's the idea.

A bonus disc (deluxe edition only) that consists mainly of piano noodling shows Reznor's sensitive, melodic side. Dinner music for vampires. And All That Could've Been could've been more, but there are moments that make you want to turn it up too loud and bang your head hard. That's always a good sign, whatever flaws it has. (More on: Nine Inch Nails).

Track Listing