Changes

The initial concept of the album was an exploration of "loss and possible discovery of self, along with alternate layers of reality and perception set inside a nightmare you can't seem to wake up from; with lots of feedback." Around this time mysterious quotes and binary codes appeared on the NIN websitenin.com, including a passage from the book ''[[wp:The Lathe of Heaven|The Lathe of Heaven]]'' by Ursula K. Le Guin, containing the phrase "bleed-through". The working title for ''With Teeth'' was ''Bleedthrough'', referencing the phenomenon of audio bleed-through. Pre-production and initial recording began in 2003.

Pre-production and initial recording began in 2003, and the original album title was announced by ''Alternative Press'' in November[https://www.theninhotline.com/news/permalink/1069729309]. The concept lasted far enough into the recording process that Rob Sheridan had mocked up an album cover with the original title. In an [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937146/nine_inch_nails_let_it_bleed/ interview] in February 2004, Reznor stated that the new material was "more song-oriented (than ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]''). It's much more lean. It's going to be twelve good punches in the face -- no fillers, no instrumentals, just straight to the point…It's a complicated concept record, but reduced to just simple songs. It's not epic in its scope. It's minimal and a bit brutal."  In response to a [[Access#2004_10_18|question posted]] in on October 18, 2004 to the Access section of nin.com, Reznor announced that the working title ''Bleedthrough'' had been dropped. Reznor stated that the name was changed because "it was supposed to be about different layers of reality seeping into the next, but I think some people were thinking about blood or a tampon commercial." "'Bleedthrough' is no more," Reznor wrote in a message posted on nin.com, "as the songs and concepts matured, the focus and theme of the album shifted somewhat--leaving me feeling that title was inappropriate. Or you could just say I changed my mind. Yes, the new album has a title and track list, and no I'm not telling you what it is yet."

The album's new title was [[:Image:10-28.gif|announced]] on nin.com on October 28, 2004. The title may be a reference to a song of the same name by [[Related bands and artists#The Melvins|The Melvins]], as Reznor is a fan. Reznor commented on the change of direction for the album, stating that "About five or six songs into writing it, the songs started to sound good on their own and they didn't need this framework to work together," and that ''With Teeth'' consists of "a collection of songs that are friends with each other, but don't have to rely on each other to make sense", however, the album's narrative arc describes "a difficult journey that begins with a nightmare and ends with acceptance of a new reality."[http://theninhotline.net/archives/articles/manager/display_article.php?id=21]

In Reznor elaborated on this in an interview[httphttps://www.rollingstonetheninhotline.comnet/newsarchives/storyarticles/5937146display/nine_inch_nails_let_it_bleed/ interview175] with ''Guitar World'':<blockquote>There was a point about five or six songs in February 2004 Reznor stated that I came up with the new material was "more song-oriented (than idea of having a theme. I had an elaborate plotline, similar to ''[[The Fragile Downward Spiral (halo)|The FragileDownward Spiral]]''). It's much more lean. It's going to be twelve good punches in the face -- no fillers—a script, no instrumentalskind of, just straight to the point…It's with a complicated concept recordstarting point, but reduced to just simple songs. It's not epic in its scope. It's minimal an end point and a bit brutalprogression with song titles that could be peppered in." The album's final title may be I drew a reference to graph in a song notebook showing the sequence of events, with time as the same name by [[Related bands and artists#The Melvins|The Melvins]]horizontal axis. I started writing the songs to fit that, as Reznor is but after a fanwhile it felt forced, unnecessary.I was coming up with good songs that could stand on their own, that didn't need to graft onto this heavy-handed storyline. I had the courage to say that's okay.</blockquote>