The Fragile (Halo 14) is the third studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on September 21, 1999, by Interscope Records. A double album, it was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and long-time collaborator Alan Moulder. While it received critical acclaim from many, it did not receive the commercial success that its predecessor, The Downward Spiral, did (attributed variously to the difference in musical climate, and insufficient promotion by Interscope Records). The Fragile peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart in its debut week, before dropping to number 16 the following week. The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 4, 2000, denoting shipments of two million copies in the United States. Despite some criticism for its length and lyrical substance, the album received positive reviews from most music critics. The Fragile was promoted with four singles: “The Day the World Went Away”, “We’re in This Together”, “Into the Void”, and a promotional single that received a fair amount of airtime, “Starfuckers, Inc.” A companion remix album, Things Falling Apart, was released in 2000. Trent has spoken about the period of time recording The Fragile as being a time where he was plagued by fear: fear of trying to grow and learn new things, fear of trying to top himself and his previous successes, fear of the mental and emotional place he was putting himself into through abuse of cocaine and alcohol, amongst other attitudes and activities. Fear, thus, drove a lot of the album, and that emotion speaks loudly in many places – where at first the aggression or violence might appear to be malice, upon a closer listen it reveals a protagonist (a Trent) who is wounded and lashing out in self-defense, who is naked and lonely and afraid, and who is struggling with understanding himself and his place in the world as pertains to his art and fame, as well as his complicated relationship with substances, and thus his own consciousness. In a 1999 Interview, Reznor described the album: There’s a general theme to the album of systems failing and things sort of falling apart. In keeping with the idea of making everything sound a little broken, I chose stringed instruments because they’re imperfect by nature. Although it may not sound like it, most of the album is actually guitar – and that includes the orchestral sounds and weird melodic lines. When it came to instruments that I didn’t really know how to play – like the ukulele or the slide guitar – we were able to get some really interesting sounds by making the studio the main instrument. On top of stringed instruments, the album also makes notable use of drums, loops, synths, industrial noises such as saws and chains, and a variety of other instruments which were accessible at the time. Reznor also spoke about the album’s themes in relation to The Downward Spiral, describing it as a continuation: I wanted this album to sound like there was something inherently flawed in the situation, like someone struggling to put the pieces together. Downward Spiral was about peeling off layers and arriving at a naked, ugly end. This album starts at the end, then attempts to create order from chaos, but never reaches the goal. It’s probably a bleaker album because it arrives back where it starts—[with] the same emotion. The album begins “Somewhat Damaged” and ends “Ripe (with Decay)”.