#453 Nine Inch Nails, 'Pretty Hate Machine' (1989)

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I don’t think I’ve ever actually listened to this album in full. Nine Inch Nails’ debut record was released on 20th October 1989. Coincidentally, I listened to it on 20th October 2020, 31 years to the day since it was released. The album opens with ‘Head Like A Hole,’ a track I’m very familiar with. It was also recently the centrepiece of a ‘Black Mirror’ episode starring Miley Cyrus. From start to finish, this album is an industrial rock masterpiece. Trent Reznor, the only constant member of Nine Inch nails was, and continues to this this day to be totally innovative. This is the record that started it all for him and this is much more than an industrial record. Unlike other industrial records of the time, the songs contain verse-chorus structures and riff-based melodies. 

One thing I was totally unaware of, Reznor sampled Prince’s ‘Alphabet St.’ in ‘Ringfinger.’ He also sampled Jane’s Addition and Public Enemy. This record is different to their/his subsequent records, but definitely lays the framework for what’s to come.

#rs500albums