Pretty Hate Machine

by Nine Inch Nails

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	07/12/2011
Label:	The Null Corporation
UPC:	0602527749921

Tracks

1. Head Like a Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down In It
4. Sanctiified
5. Something I Can Never Have
6. Kinda I Want To
7. Sin
8. That's What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nine Inch Nails   Primary Artist
Trent Reznor   Vocals,Featured Artist
Richard Patrick   Guitar

Technical Credits

Tim Neimi   Synthesizer Programming
Trent Reznor   Mixing Engineer,Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Performer,Continuity,Programming,Group Member,Digital Editing
Keith LeBlanc   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Remixing,Remix Producer,Mixing Engineer,Associate Producer
Chris Vrenna   Assistant,Continuity,Programming,Digital Editing
Freddie Mercury   Composer
Flood   Engineer,Producer,Programming
John Fryer   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Associate Producer
Tony Dawsey   Mastering
Doug DeAngelis   Engineer
Hypo Luxa   Producer
Sean Beavan   Engineer
Adrian Sherwood   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Associate Producer
Kennan Keating   Engineer
Al Jourgensen   Engineer
Doug d'Angelis   Engineer
Gary Talpas   Liner Notes,Cover Design
Ken Quartarone   Engineer
Jeffrey Silvertone   Photography
Jeff Newell   Engineer