Although Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor became the poster boy for industrial rock in the early 1990s, his '89 debut,
Pretty Hate Machine, actually has a stronger foothold in '80s synth-pop. The guitar-heavy opener, 'Head Like a Hole,' is the most aggressive track on the album and proved to be the signature song for Reznor's initial breakthrough, but much of the disc sounds like Depeche Mode in a particularly bad mood. All of the tracks on
Pretty Hate Machine are based on synthesizer lines and programmed beats, with other elements - such as the distinctive bass on 'Sanctified' and sampled explosions on 'That's What I Get' - filling out the sound. Despite Reznor's morose lyrics, a number of
Pretty Hate Machine's finest moments are energetic dance tunes, particularly 'Down in It' and the surging 'Sin'. Oddly enough, Reznor's fiercer - and seemingly less accessible - subsequent work (the
Broken EP and
The Downward Spiral) led directly to his mainstream success, but
Pretty Hate Machine reveals where the Nine Inch Nails aesthetic started out.
Released: 2011 (Reissue)
Cat: 602527749921
Label: UMC
