FREELOADER: FROM EXILE’S NINE INCH NAILS COVER EP, JUST LIKE YOU IMAGINED

Ridiculously cool cover art by Jorden Haley

Welcome to the latest edition of “Freeloader” in which we review albums that you don’t have to feel like a douche for downloading for free. Today Axl Rosenberg checks out From Exile’s latest release…

Any band considering making a covers album, let alone a tribute album to one particular band, should be made to listen to From Exile’s new, 100% free Nine Inch Nails cover EP, Just Like You Imagined. These aren’t just rote retreads that make you think “Oh yeah, I love this song!” before shutting it off and digging out the originals. Nor are they ill-conceived drek which utilizes the originals’ lyrics and little else. They’re bona fide reimaginings of the original material, wholly recognizable as the Nine Inch Nails classics we love, but From Exile have never failed to put their own stamp on the tunes.

Generally, From Exile have achieved this feat by easing the listener into the adjustments; all four tracks here (“The Great Below,” “Ruiner,” “Sin,” and “A Warm Place”) start out being relatively loyal to the originals before veering way off-course. “Ruiner” now features a bouncy hard-rock section, harmonized vocals, and a guitar solo that maintains the raw simplicity of the one that appeared on The Downward Spiral while putting its own bluesy spin on the proceedings; the melody for “A Warm Place” is now presented as a tear-jerkingly gorgeous slide guitar piece, expertly played (natch) by Emil Werstler of Daath/ Levi/Werstler / Chimaira fame; “Sin” rocks way harder than it did on Pretty Hate Machine, and some new, ambient synths during the chorus give it an epic dimension it really never had before. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where the guitars end and the keyboards begin, which is one of the elements I like best about From Exile.

And, oh yeah, Kevin Talley plays drums on the whole EP. Obviously Kevin Talley doesn’t just come and do nothing with a song. So all the drums here are basically 1,000% more interesting than one might expect.

These versions of the song can’t possibly replace the originals — nor do I think the band ever intended them to — but they can make us rethink them in a really fascinating way. It’s hard for me to imagine any Nine Inch Nails fan or From Exile fan not enjoying the experience of letting Just Like You Imagined wash over them.

Stream, or, better still, just download the EP in mp3 or FLAC format here. If you want an actual physical copy, the only way to get that is to go to the record release show this Saturday, May 14 at The Earl in Atlanta, where CDs will be handed out free with admission. You can also get more details on that gig here.

(four outta five horns)

-AR