thevoid99's Full Review: Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
(Note: Originally done on 7/28/00 but now re-edited and extended.)
In the history of rock n’ roll, there have been many great debut albums from bands like the Velvet Underground, the Doors, the Clash, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, N.W.A. and several more artists. To some fans, debut albums are widely considered the artist or band’s best work ever or the first step to greatness. Sometimes, a debut album can come out of nowhere and end up as an influential piece of work for years to come. In 1989, one of the greatest debut efforts was release to critical acclaim and through some obscurity until it went platinum in 1991. The album was Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails.
Pretty Hate Machine by NIN is an album of full-on industrial rock blasts that blend elements of pop and electronic music that help stand out against many industrial records of the past. While industrial albums tend to go more experimental and abrasive approaches that were against the traditional standards of pop songwriting structures. NIN leader Trent Reznor used the traditional pop elements into his own debut album not to make it commercially viable to the public but to show that an industrial can have those same elements in a rock or pop album which is why Trent Reznor set himself apart from most of his peers from the genre. With the help of producers Flood (Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, and U2), John Fryer (Love & Rockets, Cocteau Twins, and This Mortal Coil), Keith LeBlanc, and Adrian Sherwood along with friend and assistant Chris Vrenna, Trent Reznor made one of the greatest rock masterpieces of the 1980s.
The first song off of the album is the classic Head Like A Hole. Started off with pulsating keyboard track until blasting electronic drum tracks come in to give the song a hard-hitting and powerful industrial-driven track that is followed by droning and brooding synthesizer tracks. Reznor starts to the sing that angst-ridden classic “God money I’ll do anything for you/God money just tell what you want me to/God money nail me up against the wall/God money don’t want everything he wants it all” as Reznor sings his anger and angst that is followed by its famous and powerful chorus of “Head like a hole/Black as your soul/I’d rather die than give you control/(repeat chorus)/Bow down before the one you deserve/You’re going to get what you deserve” that is spurred by metal-driven guitar tracks and loud drum solos in the middle of the song that is one of the greatest alternative rock songs of all-time.
The next song is the anti-religious Terrible Lie that is spurred by it staccato and brooding synthesizer tracks along with its loud drum and guitar tracks while being led by Reznor’s angry lyrics over the issues of religion saying “Hey God, why are you doing this to me? Am I not living up to what I’m supposed to be? Why am I seething with this animosity? Hey God, I think you owe me a great big apology” that seems to be rooted in Reznor’s disillusionment over organized religion and he nails it very hard.
The next song is another classic single for the song Down In It that is spurred by its pulsating drum machine tracks and quirky synthesizer tracks along with guitar breaks and Reznor’s dark lyrics of death where he sings the powerful chorus of “I was up above it/Now I’m down in it” and he goes further into his darkness with lyrics of “I used to be so big and strong/I used to know my right from wrong/I used to never be afraid/I used to be somebody” that makes this song a heavy favorite among NIN fans.
Sanctified is one of Reznor’s best-written tracks that show his brilliance as a pop songwriter. Spurred by its brooding bass tracks along atmospheric-metal guitar riffs from then-NIN touring guitarist and future leader of Filter Richard Patrick along with clashing synthesizer breaks and Reznor’s lyrics that are interpreted about a sexual obsession where he sings “Heaven’s just a rumor she’ll dispel/As she walks me through the nicest parts of hell/I still dream of lips I should have never kissed/Well she knows exactly what I can’t resist” that reveals the sexiness in his lyrics that makes words very sexy in this classic as he sings further with “If she says come inside/I’ll come inside for her/If she says give it all/I’ll give everything to her/I am justified/I am purified/I am sanctified/Inside you”.
The next song is another NIN favorite, which is the haunting ballad of Something I Can Never Have that is driven by its melancholy piano accompaniment performed by Reznor, who is a classically-trained pianist, that is backed by an ambient-like and brooding synthesizer track to give the song its haunting feel. The high point of the song is Reznor’s powerful vocals of pain and despair as he sings “I still recall the taste of my tears/Echoing your voice just like the ringing of my ears/My favorite dreams of you still wash ashore/Scraping through my head ‘till I don’t want to sleep anymore” that shows Reznor vulnerability as lyricist and vocalist as he goes further into the chorus of “You make this all go away/You make this all go away/I’m down to just one thing and I’m starting to scare myself/You make this all go away/You make this all go away/I just want something/I just want something I can never have” as a powerful and echoing drum tracks accompany the chorus to give the song its dark and brutal feel.
The second half of the album starts off with the powerful and noise-driven Kinda I Want To that starts off with metal-driven guitars, distorted synthesizers, pulsating drum machine beats and Reznor’s angry vocals of disillusionment and his desire to sin that shows his dark and sort of evil side that isn’t heard very much in rock today where a singer can play evil for a bit in a certain song.
The next track is a classic NIN single that is the dance-throbbing Sin that features high-pulsating drum and synthesizer tracks with a rhythmic dance tone while Reznor sings his sinful lyrics that makes any bad person cool with lyrics like “You give me the reason/You give me control/I gave you my Purity/My Purity you stole/Did you think I wouldn’t recognize this compromise/Am I just too stupid to realize/Stale incense old sweat and lies lies lies” where it then follows the pulsating chorus of “It comes to down to this/Your kiss/Your fist/And your strain/It gets under my skin/Within, take in/The extent of my sin” that shows the brilliance and angst in Reznor’s lyrics.
That’s What I Get is another NIN classic that is a brilliant and brooding ballad led by dissonant-heavy synthesizer layers that are pulsating and brooding that help accompany Reznor’s heart wrenching lyrics of love lost that are powerful where he says “How could you turn me into this? After you just how you taught me how to kiss you/I told you I’d never say goodbye/Now I’m slipping on the tears you made me cry” which is then followed by the chorus of “That’s what I get” where it’s accompanied by powerful synthesizer tracks as he sings more lyrics of despair of “Why does it come as a surprise/To think that I was so naive/Maybe didn’t mean so much/But it meant everything to me”. I have to say, with lyrics like that, that’s real pain coming from Trent Reznor who is sometimes known as the “King of Doom”.
The Only Time is a brilliant industrial-rocking tune spurred by its funky bass hooks and quirky synthesizer tracks along with its powerful drum and guitar assaults as Reznor sings brooding lyrics of anger and sexual obsession like “Lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars/While the devil wants to f*ck me in the back his car/Nothing quite like the feel of something new” that shows Reznor’s obsession with the dark world and his weird taste for sexual punishment. The album’s closer Ringfinger is an excellent synthesizer-driven track that explore Reznor’s obsession with the dark world with lyrics of dark imagery followed by brooding synthesizers along with crashing drum tracks and metal-guitar assaults as Reznor sings he bring references to Jesus Christ, scabs, wounds, and brutal punishments with lyrics like “You just leave me nailed here/hanging like Jesus Christ on this cross/I’ll be dying for your sins/And offer it to me”.
In comparison to later albums like The Fragile, The Downward Spiral and the Broken EP, Pretty Hate Machine is pretty much the most accessible of all the NIN releases since it contained more pop elements than the later NIN albums. While it isn’t as harsh as Broken or well-known as The Downward Spiral or musically-challenged as The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine does stand on its own two feet with its catchy pop hooks and Reznor lyrical delivery that makes him a standout among many of his alternative rock contemporaries.
When the album was presented to TVT in 1989, the label didn’t have much faith in the album feeling it was too inferior among many of the industrial albums of the time and it was too brutal for the music-loving masses. One of the most famous quotes an executive from TVT told the young Reznor about his new debut saying “Oh Trent, by the way, your record is a piece of sh*t. It would be a miracle if it sold 20,000 copies”. While TVT didn’t put much faith or promotion into the album Reznor along with his live band in NIN did two years of touring to support the album until catching a break in mid-1991 when they nabbed a spot on the inaugural Lollapalooza tour with Jane’s Addiction and Henry Rollins. That tour helped pushed sales of the album where it became the very first album of the industrial genre to sell a million records. Today, the album sold two million albums in the U.S. so far. While that album was a success, it would be more trouble for Reznor in the future as TVT limited Reznor’s freedom as an artist and Reznor would fight the label in the years to come.
Pretty Hate Machine is a brilliant debut effort from Trent Reznor and company. It’s blend of industrial rock tactics along with pop music structure helped make this record one of the best albums in history. While it’s an essential collection for industrial and alternative rock fans, pop music fans might enjoy this record for its singles and other classic album tracks. Today, many of these songs are staples on alternative rock radio and it’s widely considered to some, as the best album by NIN and it’s currently the number one rated album here at Epinions.com. For a brilliant rock album with blasting guitars and synthesizers, this is the album for you.
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) - (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater)
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out
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