Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time

Musically it's fantastic. Now flaws. However at times Reznor's voice sounds a little weak on tracks like "Hurt" or "March of The Pigs". And I'm annoyed at the extra f-words added. But despite some weaknesses, Trent still pulls off a stunning performance. Best songs: "With Teeth", "Closer" (love how they use the keyboard from their 1989 classic "The Only Time) and "Help Me I'm in Hell". Don't forget to check out the bonus features as well! It has some great music videos, and a live in-studio version of "Everyday is Exactly the Same" Plus a picture gallery, and five more live performances. I would recommend this to not only die-hard fans, but to NIN fans in general. And people new to the group will probably enjoy this as well, despite some weak vocals.

2001's And All That Could Have been was the first concert film released by Nine Inch Nails. It was a well-done look at their live shows. However, it was cheaply filmed- Rob Sheridan used a series of Mini DV Camera- and poorly edited. Instead of filming one concert, it was many concerts spliced together to look like one. However, Beside You In Time is a much more polished film. This is only two concerts, which pretty much split the DVD. One in El Paso, and one in Oklahoma City. Instead of Mini-DV the concert is filmed in Hi-Def, making every little detail from the colors of the backdrop to the sweat on Trent Reznor's forehead stand out vibrantly. Rob Sheridan has an eye for good angles. The camera always seems to be in the perfect place at the perfect time, and all of the footage is masterfully edited together. There are no continuity errors like in And All That Could Have Been, no, Beside You In Time is fluid. Also, the sound production is absolutely Top-Notch, my surround sound system revealed every little detail in the mix. This is a snapshot of NIN at their best, and shouldn't be missed by any person with even a passing interest in Nine Inch Nails.

Gratingly satisfying, NIN: Beside You In Time brings back an amazing collaboration between industrial rock legend Trent Reznor and underground filmmaker Rob Sheridan in the bands third Video Album chronicling the 2006 With Teeth Tour, featuring songs like Terrible Lie, March Of The Pigs and Wish etc.

Though one gripe, it's Head Like A Hole they end on instead of HURT, a staple tradition in all majority of their live performances but it's still great to hear those angry darker synths, violent guitars and Trent's anti-establishment lyrics.

Such visceral performances all around, the ferocity and harmonic qualities that are represented in this film are just epic and grand combined with 'on the fly' cinematography, featuring crane arms, hidden crowd cameras, extreme close-ups, serve to cement NIN's discography and influence over generations of music to come.

Filmed during a particularly productive period in Trent Reznor's career, "Beside You In Time" is Nine Inch Nails in its leanest and meanest state. Culled from footage shot during the band's 2006 winter tour in support of the "With Teeth" album, the hour and a half set is as heavy on the hits as it is on intoxicating imagery and unmatched intensity. Truly, the intention is to capture lightning in a bottle -- a band firing on all cylinders with an amazing stage show to boot -- and to that end, it is a smashing success.

More than anything, though, "Beside You In Time" is a rarity amongst concert videos in that it is just about flawless in its presentation. Somehow, the chaos of a Nine Inch Nails show translates well onto the home video format, placing you front and center with the band. Not only does it look good, but it also sounds phenomenal as well. You could close your eyes and enjoy the performances just as well. Each and every band member is heard loud and clear, unveiling new parts to well-worn songs and bringing much of "With Teeth" to life with appropriate bite and intensity.

Of course, it would be cutting the production short without mentioning the professionalism and unbridled enthusiasm from a clean and sober Reznor. Plowing through the set with vigor and intensity, the frontman is in the best shape of his career here. Perhaps inspired by the energy of his all-star bandmates in Josh Freese, Aaron North, Jeordie White (aka Twiggy Ramirez) and Alessandro Cortini, there is never a moment where you feel he is going through the motions, even as he makes his way through the admittedly over-played "Closer" and "Head Like a Hole." Likewise, performances of the likes of "Hurt" and the under-rated "Right Where It Belongs" give the impression that there is just as much passion and emotion put into these performances as ever before.

As if the concert footage isn't enough (it really is), there's a number of special features to dig through as well. First off, there's hand-held footage of five songs from the following summer tour which features a different stage set-up as well as a few lesser heard numbers such as "Somewhat Damaged" and "Non-Entity." Next, there are three performance videos pulled from a 2005 rehearsal set that recalls the spontaneous insanity of the "March of the Pigs" video, showing the band is as intense with or without a big production to back them up. Rounding out the video footage are two music videos: "The Hand That Feeds" and "Only." The latter being directed by David Fincher (who incidentally helped Trent work his way to an Oscar) is certainly worth having just for posterity's sake as it is by far and away one of the cooler videos of the '00s. Finally we have a discography section and a comprehensive photo gallery, which leaves us at just about everything but the kitchen sink.

While it's true that seeing the band in the flesh would be ideal, "Beside You In Time" offers the next best thing. Since Nine Inch Nails currently remains dormant (though Reznor promises he has time penciled in for 2012 to resume work on new material), this snapshot of the band is a great way to relive the glory of one of rock's most creative and intense voices. Not only is it head and shoulders above most concert videos, but it more than lives up to the high standards set by Reznor's studio work. Your Nine Inch Nails collection simply is not complete without it.

This was a great concert DVD, but at the same time, some of it seems like it's already been done before. The fact of the matter is, the version of "Closer" performed during this concert is almost the same as the version performed on the And All That Could Have Been tour, aside from the additional expletive. However, the band manages to kick a good amount of their line-up in high gear. Beside You In Time has one of the best live versions of "Something I Can Never Have" that I've ever seen. Also, his new material seems to have a new life that you didn't hear on the With_Teeth album, most notably in "Love Is Not Enough" and "The Line Begins To Blur." In addition to this, the concert isn't as much of a blur of metal and rage you'd think it might be. There's a good variety of songs here, just what you might expect to see on a Greatest Hits album. It's not all dull-sounding, like And All That Could Have Been. As lively as the hard rock songs are, the ballads like "Something I Can Never Have," "Right Where It Belongs," and "Hurt" are just as vivid. All in all, this concert DVD is nothing new, especially in the way of concert DVDs. At the same time, with the band kicking it up in high-gear, it's a good choice to get, whether you're a NIN enthusiast or just an average fan.