NIN Review series part 1: Pretty Hate Machine

AngryByrd Here it finally is! I've been getting constant requests to do a review of NIN's The Downward Spiral, so I decided that I would make a series of reviews of NIN albums! I'm going to go in chronological order. That being said, here is AngryByrd's review of Nine Inch Nails' debut album!

Pretty Hate Machine was recorded by the leader of, and in fact ONLY member of Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor. Reznor wanted to create the album after he became interested in industrial dance music. Skinny Puppy and Depeche Mode were already major players in the field, but then along came Nine Inch Nails, who made the genre more popular and more interesting by adding a touch of metal influence. Pretty Hate Machine is pretty much the bible of industrial now, and for good reasons. I feel like Trent Reznor may have produced one of the greatest albums of all time!

The music on this album pretty much all follows the same formula: industrial noise, strip club beats, heavily distorted guitars, and Trent Reznor's abrasive vocals all mixed into a wonderful smoothie of sound! Only one song on the album goes against this: Something I Can Never Have, which features a smooth, but very creepy piano part. But this does not mean that there is only one unique song on the album. Terrible Lie is slower than most of the album, Down In It features spoken vocals, and Sanctified sounds like a beautiful mix of the Temple of Time theme from The Legend of Zelda and the Seinfeld theme. All of this is matched up with lyrics that'll put teenagers (like me) into complete ecstasy! 80% of the lyrics on the album are about sex, love, lust, and wanting something you can't have. While these may seem like shallow topics, Trent really sells it with how much emotion he puts behind it! It's pure teenage angst on a disc!

Because of how simply amazing the album is, I find it hard to choose a favorite song, because there is not one song on this album that isn't amazing! If I had to go with one though, it would be Head Like a Hole, which was the big single from the album. Picking a least favorite song is just as hard, but I'd have to go with That's What I get, which is still an amazing musical work! Overall, I have everything good and nothing bad to say about this album! I cannot put into words how happy this album makes me!

Pretty Hate Machine, the debut album from Nine Inch Nails, gets an 11/10! And in case you couldn't already tell, this is my favorite Nine Inch Nails album.

Stay tuned for part two!

Comments

This album is a pure classic! One of the best of all time. - visitor (5/15/2015)

Nine Inch Nails. One of the greatest bands of all time. - visitor (5/15/2015)

Will you review any Korn albums? - visitor (5/23/2015)

Now that you asked, I might. - AngryByrd (5/24/2015)

We'll have to give you some time though. You're still working on your NIN album reviews so we can't rush you or anything. Patience is the key. - visitor (5/24/2015)

Awesome post AngryByrd. You have some awesome lists and posts and this is one of them. Keep up the good work. - visitor (5/24/2015)

Thanks! - AngryByrd (5/24/2015)

One of the best albums of 1989. - visitor (5/24/2015)

The best album of the 1980's in my opinion. - AngryByrd (5/24/2015)

I like the music video to Head Like a Hole. It's one of the most creative videos they've done. - visitor (5/24/2015)

That is if you don't have epilepsy. - AngryByrd (5/25/2015)

Thank you for posting the NIN Review series AngryByrd. Nine Inch Nals is an awesome band and the list of the best Nine Inch Nails songs would be nothing without your review series. It's awesome. - visitor (5/29/2015)

Thank you! I love doing reviews, and I'm glad you like them! - AngryByrd (5/30/2015)

You're welcome dude! I just love seeing your reviews. You're really talented and nice to. - visitor (6/1/2015)

Head Like a Hole is my favorite song on the album. It's also where NIN got their band name from, during a portion where Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen compares Ministry to a man with a tall nail hammered into his head, creating a hole there:

"Listening to Ministry is like having a nine inch nail hammered into your head like a hole." - visitor (5/31/2015)

That's really interesting! Sort of like how Led Zeppelin got their name! - AngryByrd (6/1/2015)

What are your views on industrial metal band Ministry? - visitor (5/31/2015)

I love Ministry! I personally prefer NIN, but I understand that Trent Reznor took a lot of influence from Ministry. - AngryByrd (6/1/2015)

They were NIN's biggest influence along with Skinny Puppy. - visitor (6/1/2015)

Head Like a Hole is a fantastic song off of the album. It's about the control that money has over people and the pain and suffering associated with it. "God Money" is just that. Money has become a god unto itself (especially in capitalist societies, like the one in America). Trent is basically saying he'd rather die than give in to temptation. - visitor (6/1/2015)

Head Like a Hole sounds good for a school dance. - visitor (6/1/2015)

I wish that my school would just put on a bunch of NIN at dances. But apparently they can't since the lyrics are inappropriate. But all of the sexual stuff and booty songs that they play? Those are fine! The world doesn't make sense! - AngryByrd (6/2/2015)

I know right? What the hell is wrong with this world? Stuff like NIN are considered inappropriate but most of the sexual songs you hear on the radio like "Anaconda", "Blurred Lines" and "Booty (no really that's what the song's called)" are accepted by society? People are such hypocrites. - visitor (6/2/2015)

Sanctified is very soothing. - visitor (6/4/2015)

It is! I love the churchy noises and the bass! Sounds like Trent went into an abandoned cathedral and recorded this song. Something I Can Never Have also has that vibe for me. - AngryByrd (6/7/2015)

One of the albums you gotta listen to before you die. - visitor (6/6/2015)

One of the albums you need to listen to UNTIL you die. - AngryByrd (6/7/2015)

I was 13 when this album came out... Dang I'm old. - visitor (6/22/2015)

Such a classic album. Just brings me back memories. - visitor (6/22/2015)

This is such a great album. Even Slash of Guns N, Roses said that he used to listen to it all the time. - visitor (7/1/2015)

Wasn't Down in It panned by critics? - visitor (8/7/2015)

I've never really looked at (or cared about) what critics said about it, but it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't like it. Trent Reznor once said in an interview that Down In It was a ripoff of Dig It by Skinny Puppy. They are very similar sounding songs, but that's really the only reason I think it would be disliked. - AngryByrd (8/10/2015)