Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

 Where it all began
Trent Reznor's first album as Nine Inch Nails and still to this date one of his best pieces of work. I haven't listened to this in such a long time, that I had forgotten just how raw, yet powerful, it was. I highly recommend this album to anyone curious about NIN. I think it speaks volume of Reznor's head space at this time in his life. He has really grown as a person, his music reflects that growth, but the depth of his older work still rings true today. This album really helped put industrial music on the map and change the shape and form of our music today. Pick it up, and get blown away. April 26, 2008

 Pounding Rhythms and Angst Ridden Lyrics
Singer Trent Reznor (who pretty much is Nine Inch Nails writing the majority of music and lyrics on the album) made a great album with Pretty Hate Machine. He brought this particular form of harsh industrial dance music into the mainstream. Singles "Head Like A Hole" and "Terrible Lie" became immediate underground classics, still played on the dance floors of clubs year after year. I still see strippers dancing to it in the local strip clubs or should I say "gentlemen's clubs".

Pretty Hate Machine is filled with unforgettable synthesizer hooks, pounding rhythms and angst ridden lyrics song after song. Most lyrics are about relationships or love gone wrong, but he writes in the abstract aloof way which does make it more interesting. Trent Reznor is an extremely talented artist. April 16, 2008

 Fantastic Album
A must for any NIN fan. Not quite as dark as many of Trent Reznor's other albums, it's staccato beats, frenzied synthesizers, and deep lyrics are still blissfully depressing. March 15, 2008

 God Money, Let's go dancing on the backs of the bruised
Young Trent Reznor, full and engorged on a diet on Ministry, Devo, Depeche Mode and (according to the CD liner notes) Prince and Public Enemy, decided to make the music that really spoke the his angst and general teen-aged misery. On his first try, he created a masterpiece. Thick with synths and sampled beats, he snarled and shouted, bashing his way through his conflicts.

From the opening zap of "Head Like A Hole" to the surprisingly funky "Down In It," Reznor threw down his blueprint for world domination. It strikes a nerve even today, almost 20 years later. His soft/loud dynamic would soon be the formula every grunge band would adopt, while his self-flagellating anger captured the souls of a fresh generation of teens dead certain that they were the downtrodden new caste of misunderstoods. As Reznor put it in the brilliant "Sin"

"You gave me the reason, you gave me control.
I gave you my Purity, my Purity you stole."

At the same time Reznor was venting his frustrations, his music was packing dance floors with the disenfranchised. The singles from "Pretty Hate Machine" were notoriously remixed for clubs where the candy-coated RnB of the Jacskon clan (in 1989, think of Control or Bad) was not as welcome, but the forboding Ministry or Skinny Puppy might not have fit in. Nine Inch Nails bridged that gap with the debut...and then launch into Reznor's singularly twisted visions. When you consider that the follow-up, The Downward Spiral, was about one man's descent into suicidal madness, "Pretty Hate Machine" is light-hearted by comparison. As the 80's drew to their close, Trent Reznor delivered the first indispensable CD of the 90's. March 6, 2008

 Thank you god!
Great, great album. The first album from NIN I owned, The Downward Spiral, was a great listen, but I thought it kind of lacked a bit. Pretty Hate Machine lacks nothing. It's got lyrics that you can relate to, great singing, and most of all, EXCELLENT music. Put it all together, and it easily makes Pretty Hate Machine ahead of The Downward Spiral.

Easy arguments for this album is how dated it is, the strong Depeche Mode influence, and the lyrics (although NIN get criticm for lyrics anyway). No to all of those. I like Depeche Mode, and you know, it's okay to have a taste for pop music. No matter how much I will crave Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten and Gorgut's Obscura, you will need melodies. It's the facts, and not everything on this album is relentlessy poppy. Indeed, some of the choruses and melodies take some time to sink in. Once they do, you don't want to get them out. Also, this album sounds fresh, but having the advantage of never living in the 80's, I really can't say otherwise. Throw some spitballs at me? Okay, good for you, but it's not going to change my persective on how "dated" this album is.

Lyrically, they really outdo the lyrics on The Downward Spiral. The messages are more important to me, which is what you should care, not some artsy story telling _______. Rejection is common. For those who think the people who listen to this are depressed, _____ you. I'm not depressed when I hear this, I just get reminded of the time that happened to me, and relate to it. I can easily switch to different albums any time I _________ want. It's that easy. The lyrics may reflect teen agnst, but since I'm not an adult, I am not worrying about it.

Basically, this is why Pretty Hate Machine is excellent. There isn't a dull moment, you will want to listen to every song. If you buy only one NIN, don't buy The Downward Spiral. Buy Pretty Hate Machine instead!

10/10 January 10, 2008

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