Well, the beginning month of Industrial Metal Insanity has certainly been interesting. The first review showed potential, but ultimately fell flat due to quality & ego. The second review was a big improvement, and has aged far better, yet it didn’t quite have that metallic punch that Industrial Metal would eventually be known for. Today’s review fixes that for the most part. I think many of us are familiar with Trent Reznor & his Industrial project, Nine Inch Nails. Since 1989, the man has produced some of the world’s most recognizable Industrial music, and of it is still being spoken about to this day. Today’s review goes back to the very beginning of his career when he was just a small fry, but little did he know that it would spark off a path to stardom. So doll your face up, and take a look at my review for the first ever Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine. Let’s begin.
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“During working nights as a handyman and janitor at the Right Track Studio in Cleveland, Ohio, Reznor used studio "down-time" to record and develop his own music. Playing most of the keyboards, drum machines, guitars, and samplers himself, he recorded a demo. The sequencing was done on a Macintosh Plus.
With the help of manager John Malm, Jr., he sent the demo to various record labels. Reznor received contract offers from many of the labels, but eventually signed with TVT Records, who were known mainly for releasing novelty and television jingle records. Pretty Hate Machine was recorded in various studios with Reznor collaborating with some of his most idolized producers: Flood, Keith LeBlanc, Adrian Sherwood, and John Fryer. Much like his recorded demo, Reznor refused to record the album with a conventional band, recording Pretty Hate Machine mostly by himself.
"A lot of it sounds immature to me now," he stated in 1991 of the recordings that were then two years old. "At first it totally sucked. I became completely withdrawn. I couldn't function in society very well. And the LP became a product of that. It's quite small scale, introverted, claustrophobic – that's the feel I went for."
After the album was released, a recording known as Purest Feeling surfaced. The bootleg album contains the original demo recordings of most of the tracks featured on Pretty Hate Machine, as well as a couple that were not used ("Purest Feeling", "Maybe Just Once" and an instrumental introduction to "Sanctified" called "Slate").”
Basic Description
Industrial Metal at last!
Okay, that’s not completely accurate. While Pretty Hate Machine is easily the most metallic offering of the 3 albums I’ve looked at in June (Massively more so that The First Annual Report, and mildly more than Opus Dei), it’s technically not an Industrial Metal album. The album, at least on Wikipedia, is classified as Synth-Pop, Industrial Dance, Electronic Rock, and Industrial Rock. Even with all of that said, PHM is one of the heaviest Industrial releases of the 80s period. Trent gave the typical techno/electronic stylings of the 1980s a dirtier & heavier feel that many current (At the time) and future Industrial artists just ran with.
Best Track
Even if you’re not a Nine Inch Nails fan, or a casual metal fan in general, you’re probably familiar with the single Head Like A Hole. The first of 3 singles, this track has become a staple of NiN’s live shows, and it’s pretty easy to see why. A steady but thunderous beat, a metallic vibe that electronic & grimy, and Reznor’s voice is putting in a damn good amount of work. You can play this song, and you can a guarantee number of people to get up & move around to this. A classing song!
Head Like A Hole
The other good thing about Pretty Hate Machine is that it’s aged incredibly well. The First Annual Report sounds like an absolute mess, and Opus Dei, while a strong album in 2018, still has some datedness to it. With this album? We finally get an Industrial album from the 80s that sounds remarkably crisp & fresh. A little bit here and there has dated sounds (More on that in a moment), but it’s a testament to Trent Reznor & his crew as musicians & producers that they can make an Industrial album that’s stood the test of time for nearly 30 years, and I can always respect that.
Worst Track
Like I stated above, Pretty Hate Machine has aged incredibly well for an 80s Industrial. While many others sound like they come from an earlier time, Nine Inch Nails’s inaugural release comes across as a mostly modern album. That being said, when it shows it’s age, it shows it’s age. Unfortunately, it’s a little too obvious when it shows what decade it comes from. There are moments in some of the songs where they almost come across as mid 80s rather than early 80s, but they’re not as common as you think.
Other
If you’re interested in listening to this album, then check out the link below:
Pretty Hate Machine
Overall Impression & Rating
Pretty Hate Machine definitely deserves a hell of a lot of the good things said about it. As with the previous 2 review it shows it’s age, but compared to those two it’s the album that has aged the best. You can put this album in a sound system, and from the first few beats many people will recognize what you’re playing. Definitely an album to pick & listen to....especially if you like the history of Industrial music.
Pretty Hate Machine gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.
And that was Pretty Hate Machine. . So with that, we close out part 1 of Industrial Metal Insanity. I’m taking a week off to get ready for part 2, when we’ll be taking a look at American icons Ministry & some of their contributions to Industrial Metal. Also, I got Connecticon coming up in the middle of July, so I’m beginning to get ready for that. See you soon!
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If you want a more detailed look at Pretty Hate Machine & it’s history, check out the link below:
Pretty Hate Machine (Wikipedia)
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