nine inch nails / albums

19,324,791 plays
3,347 SHARES
58,207 FAVS
1,770 fans

- Pretty Hate Machine
- - 1,357,583 plays
  - 1,771 favs
  - 167 shares
Nine Inch Nails
Released 1989

Ringfinger
05:42
99,073 plays

That's What I Get
04:30
95,079 plays

Kinda I Want To
04:33
93,080 plays

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songs

- 1
- Head Like a Hole
- 05:00
- 298,034 plays

- 2
- Terrible Lie
- 04:38
- 171,428 plays

- 3
- Down in It
- 03:46
- 152,090 plays

- 4
- Sanctified
- 05:48
- 105,178 plays

- 5
- Something I Can Never Have
- 05:54
- 146,650 plays

- 6
- Kinda I Want To
- 04:33
- 93,080 plays

- 7
- Sin
- 04:06
- 108,161 plays

- 8
- That's What I Get
- 04:30
- 95,079 plays

- 9
- The Only Time
- 04:48
- 88,852 plays

- 10
- Ringfinger
- 05:42
- 99,073 plays

album review

Virtually ignored upon its 1989 release, Pretty Hate Machine gradually became a word-of-mouth cult favorite; despite frequent critical bashings, its stature and historical importance only grew in hindsight. In addition to its stealthy rise to prominence, part of the album's legend was that budding auteur Trent Reznor took advantage of his low-level job at a Cleveland studio to begin recording it. Reznor had a background in synth-pop, and the vast majority of Pretty Hate Machine was electronic. Synths voiced all the main riffs, driven by pounding drum machines; distorted guitars were an important textural element, but not the primary focus. Pretty Hate Machine was something unique in industrial music -- certainly no one else was attempting the balladry of "Something I Can Never Have," but the crucial difference was even simpler. Instead of numbing the listener with mechanical repetition, Pretty Hate Machine's bleak electronics were subordinate to catchy riffs and verse-chorus song structures, which was why it built such a rabid following with so little publicity. That innovation was the most important step in bringing industrial music to a wide audience, as proven by the frequency with which late-'90s alternative metal bands copied NIN's interwoven guitar/synth textures. It was a new soundtrack for adolescent angst -- noisily aggressive and coldly detached, tied together by a dominant personality. Reznor's tortured confusion and self-obsession gave industrial music a human voice, a point of connection. His lyrics were filled with betrayal, whether by lovers, society, or God; it was essentially the sound of childhood illusions shattering, and Reznor was not taking it lying down. Plus, the absolute dichotomies in his world -- there was either purity and perfection, or depravity and worthlessness -- made for smashing melodrama. Perhaps the greatest achievement of Pretty Hate Machine was that it brought emotional extravagance to a genre whose main theme had nearly always been dehumanization. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

more albums by this artist

See all

- - With Teeth (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2005

- - Year Zero
  - Released 2007

- - The Downward Spiral (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 1994

- - The Fragile
  - Released 1999

listener reviews

- - What Needs to be Said?
  - - By s1369s
    - 8/25/2008 17:13:48
  - The ultimate performer when it comes to Industrial/Alternative music. Trent Reznor is one of my all time favorite performers. Pretty Hate Machine, one of my all time favorite albums. What else can you say about an artist that does ALL the instruments for one full album and then mixes them so eloquently throughout the entire album? Hands down one of the best Industrial albums of all time!
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