NINE INCH NAILS — Pretty Hate Machine (review)

NINE INCH NAILS — Pretty Hate Machine album cover Album · 1989 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Bmiler
I'm not sure if I'd enjoy as much these days as back when I was 18 in 1991 when I bought the cassette, as my tastes in music has changed quite a lot since that time. I remembered when I bought the cassette tripping out over the packaging, the cassette itself was black, which was very uncommon. Most major cassette releases in 1989 used clear cassettes (as been a common practice since about 1985).

For those who fancy the idea of more accessible industrial music, it's little wonder why Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails had became so popular. For mainstream listeners, there's plenty to bring discomfort with. Most people are familiar with "Head Like a Hole", and you can tell right away this isn't exactly Skinny Puppy here. There were actual hooks, but this still won't exactly appeal to the mainstream audience. I always got a kick off the chorus that went "Bow down before the one you serve/You're going to get what you deserve". Obviously Reznor was critical of greed. There's plenty of other great stuff here, including "Terrible Lie", "Down in It", "Sanctified" and "Ringfinger". "Something I Can Never Have" is basically a ballad, given this is Nine Inch Nail, it's one rather disturbing ballad. I really like those synth rhythms to "Ringfinger".

As mentioned, I'm not sure if I'd get the same enjoyment now as when I was in my late teens, neither have I heard this for literally years, so this review goes by memory. While The Downward Spiral was more popular, if you're a fan, you don't want to forget this 1989 debut.
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