PRETTY HATE MACHINE

Trent Reznor and his Industrial Metal project Nine Inch Nails gained mass popularity during the '90s but it all started with the 1989 release Pretty Hate Machine. Unlike most of his later releases, this one is not as widely available which most probably has to do with it being released by an independent record label called TVT Records. Fortunately I managed to spot it in one of the down town's used record stores somewhere around 2001-02. Not knowing anything about Nine Inch Nails at the time I basically picked this album off the shelf with a hope of getting my money's worth.

I'm happy to say that I did in fact get more than the cheap album price initially made me assume. This debut album contains 10 pretty decent Industrial Metal tracks ranging from the heavy hitting album opener Head Like A Hole and down to subtile atmospheric music of Something I Can Never Have. These two extremes also happen to be my two personal picks from the album, showing me that Trent Reznor's music has never been about taking the middle ground. This by no means that the rest of material is average, in fact it's all quite excellent and does a perfect job of creating a smooth album flow all throughout the material.

I can't say that Pretty Hate Machine was an eye-opening album for me since I've so far not heard another full length Nine Inch Nails release, but I blame that mainly on me wanting to preserve the perfection of this self-sufficient experience without comparing it to some of Trent Reznor 's later albums. I guess that some of the later singles I've heard did play a part in this decision as well. Even if it's not an album I play all too often, Pretty Hate Machine has definitely withstood the test of time and will continue to uphold a respectable place in my music collection. This music is hardly progressive or original, but for me that's not really an issue when the songwriting bar is set so high.

***** star songs: Head Like A Hole (4:59) Something I Can Never Have (5:54)

**** star songs: Terrible Lie (4:38) Down In It (3:46) Sanctified (5:48) Kinda I Want To (4:33) Sin (4:06) That's What I Get (4:30) Ringfinger (5:40)

*** star songs: The Only Time (4:47)