An entire instrumental release from NIN? Well, Trent definitely has my attention. His work on Still was amazing.

Anyone else checking this out? Seems like he's embracing be free of a major label. 5 options, ranging from a free download of I to a $300 signed deluxe set of I-IV, including vinyl.

I tried to order it from nin.com but it was too slow... I couldn't get through. I'll be ordering the CDs tomorrow, which is scheduled to ship April 8th. But I decided I'd go ahead and order the 256kbps .mp3 version from Amazon for $5 to hold me over. I've set up the download so it should be all set for me in the morning. I'll be sure to post impressions once I've had a chance to give it a listen.

And while I know that this will be floating around for free soon, I like what he's doing and am happy to spend the money to show my support for it.

awesome Ian, I can't wait to hear your impressions

Man, the server is getting hammered, I can't even order it right now.

Yup, totally bogged. Should be worth the wait though.

Ognire question in other thread.

What are the options? Never mind, I'll go look (unless the site is still getting hammered, in which case, I'll skip it and go to bed).

Ognire question in other thread.

What are the options? Never mind, I'll go look (unless the site is still getting hammered, in which case, I'll skip it and go to bed).

It's getting much less hammered. I was able to pay and start downloading in about 5 minutes. But the download itself is slow: 600 megs will take 3 hours.

wtf is up with the secure code? i type in the right one and it keeps asking me to re-enter it.

This was a great idea but poorly executed: I've had to restart my download for FLAC the third time right now, because the server petered out. And it's non-resumable since it's a secure download.

Jebus, how do I not hear about these things sooner?

Of course I am buying

Jebus this came out of no where.

Here is a rundown:

Free mp3 download of the first 9 tracks

$5 for your download choice of DRM free FLAC or ALAC (or mp3)

$10 for a 2 CD digipack shipped April 8, with a link to download said lossless formats above

then some more esoteric options, including a $75 package with high rez files on a Blu Ray disc

I personally opted for the CD, just because.

I didnt have enough time to download and put on my iphone before leaving for work though

Here is what the DL page looks like

As much as I want the Deluxe super limited (and it will probably only appreciate as time goes on) I think I'm going to opt for the 2 CD digipack.

I cant even imagine how much awesomeness will be packed in this release.

Instrumental NIN. I mean, does it get any better?

Well, 3 tracks in and I'm definitely not disappointed...

This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something.

The team: Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and myself with some help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.

We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.

The end result is a wildly varied body of music that we're able to present to the world in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed - from a 100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package we've ever created.

More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future.

- Trent Reznor, March 2, 2008

Oh yeah, update...

Update: The response to this album has been overwhelming, causing our website to slow to a crawl. We THOUGHT we were ready, but...

We've been adding more servers to accommodate the unexpected demand and we expect to be running smoothly in the next few hours. In the meantime, if you've had any problems with downloads from the Ghosts site, don't worry - you'll be able to use your download link again when the site is more stable. Thanks everyone for making this such an

immediate success.

posted by Trent Reznor at 5:47 PM pst, from hong kong.

there is a listen pop-up box with at least some of the music for your browser

I hope Trent sells all his future albums through his own online store. And more artists follow.

It sounds like thats the case. Just as long as there is a lossless version, I am happy. Optimally, I'd also like the option for physical media to remain, but the lossless is whats most important.

I would have opted for the high-res digital version, except that I HATE DUALDISC.

The high rez is blu ray. I dont know of any 'audiophile' blu ray players, so I dont know how easy it will be to hear properly.

I guess if you can drag the files on a computer with a BR drive, then some how burn your own DVD A it would work, but that is assuming the tracks are drag and drop capable, as opposed to ripping.

I don't think it's DualDisc...

You get the 2-CD version & a BluRay disc.

Ghosts I-IV in a hardcover fabric slipcase containing: 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD with all 36 tracks in multi-track format, and a Blu-ray disc with Ghosts I-IV in high-definition 96/24 stereo and accompanying slideshow.

Oops.

Well, then I guess I'm getting the high-res version. And a player.

Well, I'm going to hold off on writing impressions until I have a chance to sit down with this again. All I can say is that in 2+ hours I was never bored and there were definitely more than a few stand-out tracks that really caught my attention. Finding them again may take a few more listens, though. Nothing grabbed me immediately like "Leaving Hope" from Still, but it's a lot to take in, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.

I'm grabbing the flac version of this now well worth the $5. Since it's released under the creative common license I'll post it to the download section here .