...after spending a week listening to four Slipknot albums to see what all the fuss was about their mainstream phenomena I realised that most of the time they were reliant on a heavy and repetitive formula at which they only managed to stand out when they were either technically or melodically sufficient...

...now as long as I've known most industrial music has had plenty of repetition to represent the dancey electronica side of them and combining this idea with industrial sounds and heavy and evil synthesisers...I've listened to Godflesh, Ministry, and Aphex Twin (to whom aren't industrial but I feel they take some of the traits industrial has) and have enjoyed the dark and emotionless machinery that they create...so I should love NIN's debut labelled "Pretty Hate Machine" right?

...unfortunately I was slightly let down with this album...out of all the NIN albums I heard this was definetely not my favourite from track 1...the poppy vibe that Reznor managed to capture was unfortunately not my cup of tea and even though I try and keep an open mind to mainstreamness I know when I genuinely dislike the sound of something...I shall give a track by track analysis:

Head Like a Hole 8/10: I had heard this track before I bought the album and was aware that it was meant to be an amazing track or something (this is the opinion of an anonymous NIN obsessive)...the drum track starts off building up with awkward scream shouts...the bass is pretty good but it doesn't come off as that strong in that track and seems to be smothered by Trent's vocals...after listening to Corey's rantings for a week however Trent's vocals are much more fascinating...the track is definetely more of a grower and I can see an alternative club or radio station playing this song rather frequently in the year of 1991 (then again at this point I had just been born)...overall though this is still a very good track...just out of personal preference I feel they could have done more with the texture of the higher synthed instruments...as usually industrial music is based around texturing a track within a fixed rhythm...

Terrible Lie 9/10: Much better...a slow walking paced beat with the instruments intervalling between Trent's singing...then within the chorus there is a very sinister synthesiser played which changes of key quite well...the bass and guitar have plenty of punch when they play their two simple notes...it then transcends into a second section when Trent says "Don't tear it away from me" and the bass remains as sinister as ever...it then returns to its original form...overall this track gave me more hope...it had an interesting idea and it used it very well...the synth solo at the end is also very chilling and mechanic...

Down in it 8/10: The starting drum beat has been done before at one point...I don't know where but it has...Trent starts singing about drugs or something...he's very good at camoflauging his voice with the music...which I like very much...the synths yet again manage to sound very eerie and cold...he seems to use the sample of applause and random stop it and release it...well done Trent...well done...and thank you for some intelligent lyrical meaning...

Sanctified 8/10: Starts off much more mellow with a muted drum track...the bass is then looped into the track...quiet synthed chords in the background with Trent talking about something else...the guitar chords give it an awkward poppy feel which I tried to ignore...and to success because the rest of the random guitar samples work quite well with this cog of a track...a make choir sample is then added for that eerie gothic affect that Ministry did in Psalm 69...Trent does a very unpoignant whisper and carries on with the rest of the track...at this point the bass is much more hypnotic especially with that jittered short staccato'd note...good calm eerie song...

Something I can never have 9/10: Starts with a high drone that turns into a piano piece...you can feel the desolateness in Trent's mind at this point...he then says he can still recall the taste of someone's tears...the dark classical bass and an electronical static slowly appears and then fades...there is something just so fragile and yet so pure about this song...and yet there still seems to be the dark whirrings of electronical sounds in the background...showing that we live in a time where we can't avoid society and its boundaries to how we feel about nature...as far as I'm concerned a great track that shows how isolated Trent feels...poor poor Trent...

Kinda I want to 7/10: Starts with electronically altered chatting...and then Trent enters with a full assault with his crazy drums and his snappy guitar samples...he adds a few trip hop beats and banging some pots and pans...personally I feel this track is nothing new in contrast to the other tracks and he just seems to have noodled with the drum machine and added his singing in front of it...wouldn't exactly say it's a highlight...not awful and if you were playing the whole album in a club it would be stupid to skip it...but it's not as great as the other tracks...

Sin 9/10: Starts with a drum beat with some random whistly computer sounds...we then get a synthesised riff and a bass riff added...Trent's voice enters replacing the synth as lead melodic instrument while the synth plays chords in the background...the whole atmosphere of the song is pretty intense and unrelenting...I know for a fact it would give quite a few people adrenaline rushes...and even though it wouldn't for me I shall still give it a high rating for their sake...I like the whistle noodling as well...it's an interesting use of rhythm...

That's what I get 6/10: Starts with a major keyed bass line and the bashing of some pans...the drums are then increased in texture...and Trent's voice is added...but now it feels kind of forced...maybe it's just me...but it does...besides that this is pretty much like anything else on the album so I can't really say it's the best song...at all...

The Only Time 9/10: Reminiscent of the second song...but I liked Terrible lie...a nice catchy bass over a quiet drum track...Trent sings rather soulfully about how evil his desires are...the chorus is messy and really adds to this evil feel as instruments are all over the place while the bass reamins constant in the verses...I also like the awkward Synthesiser breaks with their chirpy little melody...overall a very memorable track...even with a synthesiser solo...not to Dream Theater standards but still...

Ringfinger 9/10: Starts with a trance like beat and synths...then Trent enters this dry atmosphere...not contributing much (I prefer his whispery vocals) but still...he plays all instruments...then this whole atmosphere enters quite eruptly with an icy cold feel to it...that then leaves and this faint mechanical sound is added to Section A to construct a much more polyphonic texture...it then switches between these two sections with very good effect...a good ending I'd say...it leaves the person wanting more...

...throughout this review I have actually changed my mind...I find the atmospheres within this album are very eerie cold and mechanical and yet still seem to keep it's poppy influences...unlike Godflesh and Ministry it keeps it's feet grounded within mainstream beats with nothing particularly complex...maybe that is why people like it...it has a dark industrial feel and is yet simple enough for most people into electronica or even dance to like it...as far as NIN goes this would be a good starting point if you are just simply looking for a good beat...

...I now move on to the NIN album I have been looking forward to the most...the critically acclaimed Downward Spiral...

Admittedly I am more a fan of the sound's NIN cultivated post-Broken, but it is near impossible to deny PHM's influence and simple solidness. Reznor delivers the undeniable pop-industrial masterwork via ten air-tight, thoughtfully produced tracks with no filler and a simple desire to merge innovation and catchiness with ease.

The first time I heard Trent Reznor and NIN, he was still opening for other bands. All I can say is: WOW. This was LIVE industrial music, so good that it didn't need a studio to clean it up. What others have written about this being the most "pop-like" album is true, but that's only in relative terms. It's definitely not top-40 material. The subject matter is classic for this kind of music (heartbreak, bitterness, anger), but different from the old-school industrial 80's sound. I felt a lot of other (pre-NIN) bands were somewhat alientating upon first-listen: once I knew the songs, I liked them, but they had to grow on me. Not so with NIN. They're instantly likeable, I'd even say loveable, if that weren't the most inappropriate word for this kind of music! Fact is: there is a depth to the lyrics that makes NIN better than just their sound, and it's this depth that sets the band apart from others. The use of piano and gentler tones coupled with harsh/sad lyrics make the songs painfully good. That said, Trent's dark charisma also makes his music very believeable. NIN is not selling itself for "God Money", but giving you a piece of Trent Reznor.

Trent Reznor's first album as Nine Inch Nails and still to this date one of his best pieces of work. I haven't listened to this in such a long time, that I had forgotten just how raw, yet powerful, it was. I highly recommend this album to anyone curious about NIN. I think it speaks volume of Reznor's head space at this time in his life. He has really grown as a person, his music reflects that growth, but the depth of his older work still rings true today. This album really helped put industrial music on the map and change the shape and form of our music today. Pick it up, and get blown away.

Singer Trent Reznor (who pretty much is Nine Inch Nails writing the majority of music and lyrics on the album) made a great album with Pretty Hate Machine. He brought this particular form of harsh industrial dance music into the mainstream. Singles "Head Like A Hole" and "Terrible Lie" became immediate underground classics, still played on the dance floors of clubs year after year. I still see strippers dancing to it in the local strip clubs or should I say "gentlemen's clubs".

Pretty Hate Machine is filled with unforgettable synthesizer hooks, pounding rhythms and angst ridden lyrics song after song. Most lyrics are about relationships or love gone wrong, but he writes in the abstract aloof way which does make it more interesting. Trent Reznor is an extremely talented artist.