Neil Docking

INDUSTRIAL metal heavyweights Nine Inch Nails return from hibernation with the first release from their forthcoming album, Halo 19: With Teeth, released on May 2.

The obscenely talented NIN frontman Trent Reznor has a knack for producing dark, majestic and deeply complex albums which retain his hardcore appeal, yet somehow he manages to balance these releases with examples of pop perfection such as previous hits Closer and Perfect Drug.

After only a couple of listens the sheer class of this single becomes apparent.

The Hand That Feeds opens with a rumbling of subdued bass and rehearsal room clatter before suddenly bursting into a pulsating riff that carries the listener along at a relentless pace.

Reznor's howls accompany a stomping beat that keeps shifting gear until it finally reaches its pounding climax -leaving you slightly dazed and wondering where the hell it just came from.