Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (first time album reaction)

[@KMFDM781]

Can't wait to see how you feel about The Downward Spiral, lol

[@Lukkern]

Honestly one of the best albums of all time in my opinion. Truly looking forward to a reaction of that album myself.

[@danielmolyneaux2139]

Broken first

[@timthomsonart]

...and then Further Down!

[@markmckinney4149]

C'mon now. She's already worried about the man's mental health.

[@BenC460]

The Downward Spiral is the pinicle of NIN IMO.

[@dhf030475]

The run of PHM, Broken, Downward Spiral, and Fragile is pretty epic

[@jameslevario2254]

You forgot with teeth and yeast zero

[@tommj4365]

"Yeast" Zero?....omg hahahah lol....damn I gues that was a typo? Either way I now cannot think of it any other way, thanks

[@lycanthrogenic979]

@@jameslevario2254 no, those were left out for a reason

[@Kuruerukun]

You will love them (him). if you keep listening

[@SteveFrank111]

Every day is exactly the same has been my ringtone for years.

[@bigguy1164]

Pretty Hate Machine's pop was very influenced by Prince (Ringfinger even has samples of Prince buried in it) and was virtually stripped away when Reznor took the band on their live tours. I know the inclination is to go to the next Album, The Downward Spiral, but trust me when I say you don't want to skip the Broken EP. It lays the foundation for Nine Inch Nail's 90's sound. As for Reznor's vocal performance, it gets much much better the older he gets. These days it's a very strong baritone, but back in 1989 it was very high pitch and whiny. One critic described it dismissively as "Robert Smith with a head cold" which Reznor wore as a badge of honour because he was such a huge fan of The Cure.

[@tommj4365]

I always heard people say "Pretty Hate Machine" was like a ripoff of Skinny Puppy's music from years earlier, Trent even admits to trying to copy their sound here. But yea, very popular 80s sounds, and his vocals for sure are way more poppy. I do hear the Prince influence too but never thought of that until just now. Great comment dude!

[@bigguy1164]

@@tommj4365 Yeah, Skinny Puppy was also a big influence, Depeche Mode, Public Enemy and Ministry as well. Basically it was mishmash of all the bands and artists Reznor was really big into at the time, feeling out what he wanted his music to be like. Like a demo tape for Nine Inch Nails future.

[@cjonesufc]

I remember when this came out my friends and I were blown away. It was so different. I’ve always found NIN is best experienced live, though. They become so heavy and textured. It’s an emotional roller coaster and the closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever had.

[@anthonydawson8080]

I still love PHM the most despite all this Maybe because it was my first

[@djC653]

Yeah Broken is a must and don't skip the 2 tracks on the mini cd :D

[@davidlfort]

In the 70s and 80s, and even into the early 90s, industrial was an electronic genre.Ministry added guitars starting with The Land of Rape and Honey in 88, and other artists, especially those related to Wax Trax! records in Chicago soon followed suit. Trent was tangetially related to that scene. This scene predates the rise of techno music in Detroit.

[@iDEATH]

I might be in the minority, but this is still my favourite NIN album. I think I'm nostalgic for that classic industrial/electronic sound, like this, and other bands like Skinny Puppy (one of my all time faves, across all genres), Front Line Assembly, Manufacture, Front 242, KMFDM...later NIN fits closer to the 90s industrial/metal sound, which I also love, but for different reasons. As good as The Downward Spiral is, it's still always felt more cookie cutter to the era, while PHM here felt fresh.

[@davidlfort]

Maybe PHM feels cookie cutter because everyone else was chasing it?

[@wrongbeach35]

This is Trent’s best album and I love Downward Spiral

[@robertoverkamp4567]

My favorite album as well

[@house9Tube]

💯

[@loudnoises]

Agreed.

[@Bunke09]

Anyone able to listen to Pretty Hate Machine for the first time is having a better day than most!

[@guitarwithryan8283]

It gets "Louder and rockier." You have to understand he had pretty limited resources when he made this; when it became a hit, he got access to ALL the things - and then we got BROKEN and THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

[@Kevin_Fiol]

Broken first!! Then TDS 😁

[@timthomsonart]

@@Kevin_Fiol Surely Fixed as well!

[@benlee8436]

@@timthomsonart Yes!

[@Godspeed1756]

Something I Can Never Have is one of my favorite NIN tracks. The disconnect from the vocals and the music is what helps drive the meaning. Think of the music as the beautiful calm that he wants and his vocals as what he feels. They are never quite in sync, it is something he can never have.

[@tommj4365]

I had a similar reaction to hers when I first heard it, but it has grown on me over the years. Yea, it's this sorta unsettling filmic quality, I feel like Trent has periodically tried to replicate this kinda vibe throughout the years but IMO this track one is the OG

[@mollyesanborn]

Yes, I absolutely LOVE this record! So glad you're diving into Nine Inch Nails, they do a fantastic job blending more upbeat electronic tones with that heavy intensity of the industrial side to their sound. Sin and Down In It are two of my favorites for sure, so dang catchy! And Something I Can Never Have I've always interpreted as his real self being revealed, all of the other songs on this album put a sort of gloss over his pain and torment and on that track it's way more somber and stripped back, there's a beautiful fragility to it that's always stuck with me. Such a great starting point for them, they get a lot heavier and darker on their next few projects and their third LP The Fragile is my personal favorite from them!

[@stmayhem1]

NIN completely took off on next album - Broken. It is HEAVY, fucking HEAVY. And then, The Downward Spiral is industrial masterpiece. That's where they found their true style.

[@tommj4365]

Broken is an EP, not considered their 2nd album. Still a huge milestone, kinda like Alice in Chains EPs, ya can't skip it

[@stmayhem1]

@@tommj4365 I know, it's a bit of a technicality. There's many bands releasing short albums like that and they don't call them EP's.

[@exploringwithasmr]

The ep that came after called Broken is a lot more metal/aggressive.

[@chinard]

If you think you are worried about his mental health now, wait until you hit downward spiral.

[@tommj4365]

Let's all pray for her, she must be protekct

[@marksmith2402]

exact thoughts. It only gets worse from here until with teeth, then you see some hope

[@gigachad192]

Then wait until The Fragile 💀

[@not_cicero]

The change from this album to The Downward Spiral is incredible. This album is pretty great, but TDD is one of my favorite albums of all time

[@IRGeamer]

The transition between the two was the "Broken" ep, that was recorded during/in response to a bitter dispute with the record company. If you've never heard it, it is NIN at it's most metallic/angry.

[@brandonx7215]

You Want loud...NIN Broken EP!❤🇨🇦

[@WyattsWildNature]

Those guitar tones Rip on Broken

[@ju4408]

@@WyattsWildNature Don't forget the tone of that hair dryer in "Wish". Impeccable.

[@WyattsWildNature]

@@ju4408 lol

[@stanreaper3080]

Something I Can Never Have might find you at the right time, in the right mood, and it will make sense. It gives me chills when I'm in that zone.

[@ArcaneStrain]

YES YES YES GO THROUGH THE WHOLE DISCOGRAPHY PLEEEEEASE 🙏 It’ll be such a journey!

[@tommj4365]

Every Halo?

[@adolfosilva3883]

The Fragile is definitely the magnum opus.

[@Godspeed1756]

I am one of the few who prefer the NIN version of Hurt. Trents anguish is palpable on that track.

[@stanreaper3080]

I'm with you on that.

[@tommj4365]

One of the few? I assumed most people like the original more. I guess Cash's version is more popular with newer audiences maybe? I like how it was basically Rick Rubin who convinced Johnny to cover the song, and Johnny was like "huh, what song?" and the next day history was changed forever.

[@DanWithPlan]

Agreed

[@allengator1914]

I prefer Reznor's version too.

[@Gabriel_Moline]

Seriously? It’s a damn shame if that bombastic asshole has the claims to that beautiful song!🌿🌸

[@chethardin]

Broken is the album you wanted this one to be. Check it out!

[@antitypical1807]

Keep going. Broken brings that heavy feel you're looking for, and Downward Spiral is their masterpiece

[@flotilha935]

One of my favorite bands! Such a delight to listen to 90s industrial. The Downward Spiral is one of my favorites of all time. (But the Pretty Hate Machine is perfect for me too)

[@Chud_Bud]

Trent was working as a janitor at the studio where he recorded this album. His boss let him come in after hours to record the tracks.

[@themadcow71]

When this came out, it wasn’t considered trying to be commercial at all. It was totally left field for what was mainstream.

[@TravfromTO]

This is one of my top albums from my younger years. It's tough to look at some of these classic albums with a modern eye. When this came out it was nothing like stuff my friends and I were listening to. Trent was truly a pioneer in this sound and influenced Many bands that followed. You should listen in order. Next should be the ep broken its way heaver. Great review 🤘🤘

[@WyattsWildNature]

Skinny Puppy is a must to listen too.

[@williammatthews693]

Go for it Kira! Let's get some more industrial metal on this channel!

[@snuffcore9686]

Front 24, or KMFDM maybe.

[@dmphax]

My favourite NIN album!! 🤘🤘

[@cjonesufc]

Also, Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. He writes everything and handles almost everything else in the production, performance, and recording and has since gone on to score some pretty big movies.

[@InvalidUser_]

I think you'll appreciate this album more once you've listened to the rest of their discography

[@mhagain]

A lot of the foundational 80s industrial bands have a similarly electronic sound, and NIN were really just following in the same style on this LP. For further exploration check out Skinny Puppy (essential LP: Too Dark Park) or Front 242 (essential LP: Official Version).

[@bmhernandez8798]

When this album came out I was a young teen and I was into the industrial dance music of the time. This album was definitely the pop version of all of that stuff (Front 242, Ministry, Front Line Assembly, KMFDM). All of those bands were more dance oriented synth bands in the late 80s and all of them brought in crushing metal guitar riffs and samples in the 90s. I remember that this album had a list of artists that inspired the music written inside and the diversity of that list really intrigued me. It included Prince, Public Enemy, the horror writer, Clive Barker, and 4AD band This Mortal Coil. That kind of broad spectrum listening was more representative of me and the people that i was friends with at the time, so it really appealed to me. The "band' NIN at this time was just one person, so the fact that the album meanders between all of the various sounds that it explores makes sense, I suppose. The intro sequencing on the final song on the album, the one that you say has a similar energy to Blue Monday, sounds to me very specifically like a reference to the song Situation by the 80s English synth pop group, Yazoo.

[@ClaytonMacleod]

Doesn’t even mention Skinny Puppy, who Trent was directly trying to copy. Tsk tsk.

[@bmhernandez8798]

@@ClaytonMacleod terribly sorry. yes, they listed as well and I enjoyed them. thanks.

[@macroshibby6]

We could not be two more different people with reactions to Something I Can Never Have and Kinda I Want To. But to each their own!

[@claymccoy]

"Hurt" is on The Downward Spiral album, which you should also react to. Oh! and the Broken EP too.

[@stevepower9801]

So nice to see a reactor listening to Pretty Hate Machine when doing NIN. I was lucky enough to see them live in the UK in the September of 1991 when I was 18. They were still doing mostly Pretty Hate Machine, but building up to what would become the "Broken" ep/mini lp. I still love this album so much. It will always have a special place in my heart.

[@Lukkern]

Hopefully you'll check out far more of them!!!! But PLEASE don't skip their EP from 1992 called "Broken". Alongside "the downward spiral" it's easily their best work and both are among the best pieces of industrial music i've ever heard.

[@KevinHampton-w3s]

You can hear a lot of Depeche Mode influence in Pretty Hate Machine. Trent Reznor on seeing Depeche Mode's Black Celebration tour: "I left that show grateful, humbled, energized, focused, and in awe of how powerful and transformative music can be… and I started writing what would eventually become Pretty Hate Machine."

[@sleestack13]

If you like this, you MAY also enjoy Ministry. You can probably check out "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" and / or "The Land of Rape and Honey". Although those were much more aggressive than NIN was at this particular point in their catalog.

[@punker-gamer-trucker-guy]

Every album is its own thing. Broken is more metal sounding. the downward spiral is more industrial. The Fragile gets more into Ambient and electronic Rock

[@legnaevar]

I hope you go through their discography and include the EPs because Broken EP (which is next) is incredible and quite a punch to the face after Pretty Hate Machine and a good prelude to The Downward Spiral.

[@CitizenScorn]

Oh, HELL yea. The NIN journey finally begins. Can't WAIT for 'The Downward Spiral' and 'The Fragile' reactions. ASAP please and thank you, let's gooooo!!!! 🤘

[@The_Dominic]

This is still my favorite NIN album by a long shot. I was at university when this was released and was lucky enough to see them tour this record. I was already listening to industrial music (like Front 242) at the time and this was amazing to me, and it was exciting to see a new band with this sound. It still sounds awesome today! 🖤

[@multiplemiggs5189]

NIN is a constantly changing flavour

[@leehubbard5580]

Seeing your smile brightens up my day Kira ❤

[@tommj4365]

Breaks my heart to hear folks being down :( there's so much love in the world, such a shame, but this video fickin made my day :)

[@WyattsWildNature]

I would also suggest Nitzer EBB, you will hear producer Floods connection to Pretty Hate Machine.

[@Bunke09]

Ok, all evidence points to your need to listen to The Downward Spiral. There's no question.

[@CaseyB]

The Downward Spiral (his next full-length LP) is Trent's magnum opus, in my opinion, but I think it's important to listen to Broken first, which was an EP that was released between Pretty Hate Machine and Downward Spiral. Broken is almost like Trent intentionally leaving this album as hard as he could at the time, and it wasn't until many years later that he could embrace Pretty Hate Machine again. Then The Downward Spiral came out and completely blew all his prior work out of the water as far as technicality, talent, and range of emotion.

[@TheJoelSwaney]

You got to remember that 'Something I Can Never Have' ends side A on the record.

[@bensteckler6698]

In 1989 I was a Weather Officer for the USAF in Hampton, VA. I traveled down to the Boathouse in Norfolk frequently to see some great and up-and-coming bands live. I can remember seeing NIN open for Jane's Addiction, when both were just starting to get attention on the local alternative radio station. Good Night. Like a little preview of Lollapaloozas to come.

[@brasschuckles3138]

This album is easy to get lost in. Also check out the ep Broken. That album is sooo good! If you want industrial greatness please check out Too Dark Park by Skinny Puppy. They have so many great albums that are just bonkers🤘Also check out KMFDM album Nihil, ohhhh and Atari Teenage Riot album The Future of War. This is all the noise you could possibly handle🤘🤘

[@-Heavy-]

Awesome that you take on NIN ! The following albums The Downward Spiral & The Fragile will blow your mind for sure!!!

[@sumonjamal1653]

'Pretty hate machine' was recorded after Trent Reznor had spent time on the road w/ industrial metal giants Ministry - they were a huge influence on his music... Richard Patrick (guitar) was an early member of Nine Inch Nails and was featured on this record and the 1992 EP 'Broken'... he had a falling out w/ Reznor around 1993 and split from NIN... Patrick formed his own outfit Filter... and released their first album 'Short bus' in 1995 - their single 'Hey man nice shot'... became a huge hit and the record sold platinum in the US (1 million copies) Nine Inch Nails were NOT a hit out of the gate, even though the music videos of 'Head like a hole'... and 'Down in it'... were on MTV. In 1990, this industrial rock sound was not popular... Guns N' Roses singer W.Axl Rose apparently liked NIN and reportedly had them open for Guns N' Roses around 1991 - it was a disaster... They were booed offstage. 1994 was a pivotal year for Trent Reznor... he signed Marilyn Manson to his then-label Nothing and produced their debut album 'Portrait of an American Family'... and Reznor completed his masterpiece album 'The Downward Spiral'... the NIN single 'Closer' became a huge MTV and radio hit and when NIN appeared on the Woodstock '94 festival soaked in mud, they conquered the stage... The 'industrial revolution' in music had begun as NIN ... Marilyn Manson... Filter ... Rammstein... White Zombie, then Rob Zombie ... Orgy... dominated the 90's. Trent Reznor became a very high profile producer in the 90's - he even worked w/ Rob Halford (Judas Priest singer) on his solo band 2wo, their 1 album 'Voyeurs' in 1998. NIN finally released the double CD 'The Fragile' in 1999 and it sold a million copies w/ a dark sonic array of songs that included - "We're in this together"... 'The day the world went away' ... 'Into the void'...

[@Theinfamouskira]

Something I Can Never Have is honestly industrial as fuck

[@sarccastro7879]

Definitely listen to the nine inch nails ep "broken" next on your NIN journey. It's the bridge between Pretty Hate Machine and the downward spiral. You'll really hear more of what you said you loved here and feel Trent seeing what works and what doesn't as he goes.

[@fl00d69]

DOWNWARD SPIRAL NOW PLEASE 😁 It will change your life. I'm not kidding.

[@claymccoy]

I had a feeling she would dig "Sin" when she said she was hoping for something heavier.

[@cf3887]

KMFDM

[@WyattsWildNature]

Have you listened to the new PIG album Red Room? Just saw them live, they did Juke Joint Jezebel it was epic 😊

[@robertoverkamp4567]

Yes kmfdm but I would start with Ultra, imo the best album

[@tomgrant29]

Please just go chronologically, the evolution of Trent's sound is an epic journey!

[@brandonx7215]

The DOWNWARD SPIRAL...❤🇨🇦

[@chrisaustin612]

Coming out of the punk, ska, oi music scene of the 80's this was the first band I found that scratched that itch in the 90's for me and prob my favorite (other than a brief foray into triphop with Portishead and Tricky)...hope this makes your regular playlist! (And hope you continue to feel better!)

[@carbon1479]

Another really iconic 1990 industrial album - Last Rights by Skinny Puppy.

[@xmarifulx]

Echoing others: you have to do downward spiral, but worth doing the Broken EP before that as well.

[@chrism70kc]

I would listen to NIN albums in order: Broken, Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Year Zero, etc.

[@SteveFrank111]

Around covid, he released some ambient albums called Ghosts I-VI. They're my favorite ambient releases since Aphex Twin.

[@deadlyredly1]

If this is your intro to NIN - I look forward to what the future holds

[@electricwizard3000]

As I recall, they had been touring this stuff for a few years before the record [and gaining quite a rep for their live show], and famously took influence from new wave and goth acts like Gary Numan and JoyDivision/New Order, et al, which explains the core of their sound that they still have to this day. I'd seen them at a smallish theater in L.A. like the Roxy or somewhere, and they had a crazy light show of mostly white strobes, and were much harder sounding than this debut. Later saw them at the first Lollapalooza when they were just blowing up huge, and were still way harder than on album. The lead guitarist went on to form the band, Filter [Nice Shot] - but in between that he was the conductor for Cirque du Soleil on the Quiddam tour, which my brother and I worked at on the concessions. He was cool - the band would eat with us in the buffet tent. The industrial scene and the grunge scene in the 90s was a weird point/counterpoint with a lot of crossover, weirdly enough. Interesting times.

[@karlbecker8775]

This album got me through high school. Thanks for the reaction!

[@benlee8436]

Great review! I really recommend listing in release order. Broken is next and will answer one of your questions. Then Fixed! I think a lot of people skip it because it's a 'remix album', but it's more like industrial legends (including Aussie JG Thirlwell) creating industrial tracks out of the bits of Broken. Then The Downward Spiral. Across these releases spanning their first five years there's a wild progression and I think you'll appreciate them all to varying degrees.

[@1_9_7_5_]

I love watching someone so much younger react to this stuff and try to "figure it out" based on whats come since and considered "standard". This album is perfect and to see someone pick it apart like this is really interesting.

[@1_9_7_5_]

In 10 years they gonna fell very differently, watch.

[@tommj4365]

My face hurts from smiling, you bring such a ray of sunshine with your reaction. At one point I was thinking "Damn, I wanna, like, cook soup for you all day or something" then right after I thought that you suddenly said "I'd eat that up" awwww thanks, you're so sweet ^_^ I'd recommend listening to NIN's "Broken" EP next, which is where they get a lot more metal/rock, then their 2nd album "Downward Spiral" ...I reeeeeally hope you like Hurt, it is kinda like "Something I can Never Have" though, but such a beautiful track IMO, the whole album is such a trip

[@loudnoises]

This album has some good sad, melancholy songs but still one of my favourite albums of all time. It came out right before I started high school and my older brother gave me the cassette and said “ here, you’ll like these guys. ‘ Also, a hidden gem not on any of their albums is their cover of Joy Division’s Dead Souls off of The Crow soundtrack.

[@SonicProfessor_a.k.a._T._Andra]

The Broken [E.P.] (particularly with the 2 bonus cuts: the Adam & the Ants cover and the Pigface cover!) definitely amounts to: "a crunchier, 'slashier,' heavier, more "punch-you-in-the-face" sound and recording ...but: without utterly defenestrating melodic sensibility (unnecessarily!). "Wish" and "Last" are the 2 biggest KILLERS on it (and often have shown up in their/his live sets, even in his most recent shows!)! 🤘🤘🔥

[@butterfliesandmoths]

I've never gave this band an honest chance, until now. So I'm with you in this journey, it was not what I was expecting, I also thought it would lean heavier towards metal. But it makes sense if it's their first album as you mentioned.... And you also got some serious air-drumming skills 🫡

[@rj.zilleruelo]

"With Teeth" is my fav NIN album

[@Kevin_Fiol]

Random thoughts... Kira: "Ive been sad... I'm going to listen to PHM" Me: Oh gods... I hope she's not sad from a break up 😅 Kira: "i like tracks that aren't as popular..." Me... Literally every song on the album was a radio single 😂😂

[@benmason9755]

Nine Inch Nails' second release, Trent's first EP Broken, is their VERY BEST work. The second album The Downward Spiral, is widely regarded as Trent's masterpiece, but I always prefered Broken, it's very concise, and has some of my very favourite NIN tracks EVER on it, particularly Wish and Gave Up. It is also INDEED a bit more metal-edged, but they've never shed the electronic-strong sound that NIN started with, simply evolving over the years in new and interesting ways. Recently Trent enlisted his good friend and regular collaborator Atticus Ross to become the second full-time member of the band, so NIN is now a two-piece band (at least in the studio), but Trent is still THE MAIN GUY on everything ...

[@tommj4365]

Didn't they do a straight up no-synth album, like in the 2000s?

[@jasonsutcliffe1973]

Something I can never have is an absolute tune, I'm a huge Trent Reznor fan and it's still one of my favourites of his.

[@Theinfamouskira]

From one Kira to another, hype video.

[@somerotter]

The Downward Spiral is their 90’s album, and the one that (improbably) broke them into the mainstream. It’s also the one with “Hurt” on it. I highly recommend giving it a spin - it’s very experimental and incredibly well put together, while being somewhat more “rock”. And lyrically, it’s quite a trip into despair.

[@mctrashpedal]

The next EP "Broken" is gonna be right up yer alley. Hope you get to listen to it

[@riffcityrecords5418]

Also the documentary "The Defiant Ones" if you havn't seen it is about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and it touches on Nine inch Nails and tons of other artist that Dre and Jimmy worked with

[@DanMilliganMusic]

Stumbling across this made my day.

[@karlbecker8775]

Once you really dig into NIN, and Trent in particular, you will be amazed by how much of his work you have heard before in movies, etc. Trent has his hands in everything.

[@allengator1914]

If you like the Industrial sound, check out the band Stabbing Westward.

[@MatthewPazzol]

They toured this with two live drummers. One on each side of the stage.

[@DarkAngel1985Mike]

Love this song, I first heard it from the awesome movies Class of 1999 and Prayer of the Rollerboys close when it first came out but actually before because the singer sold the rights to movie makers back in 1989 so the song reached greater audiences from the movies

[@highdesert420]

Supposedly Trent was a janitor at a recording studio and the boss said he was the best janitor ever and nobody made the floor shine like he did. He was/is a perfectionist. The quality of this first album is proof, he did it pretty much all by himself.

[@robcoz98]

To give a bit of context, TVT initially signed Trent due to the strength of his demo tape Purest Feeling which is more synth pop heavy wanting to market Trent as a one man Depeche Mode. However when Trent turned in this to the head of the label, he flat out hated the record going as far to call it an "abortion". This started a feud with Trent and TVT interally with Trent desperately trying anything to get out of the label and channeling a lot of his anger of the situation into the live shows making them more heavy and chaotic than the studio versions with band members and Trent usually injuring themselves onstage. Some of that anger would also be channeled in the next NIN release which was the Broken EP which was recorded in secret under false names in several studios to avoid TVT sniffing around. In 1992, Interscope eventually brokers a deal with TVT to get Trent on their label however TVT would still have publishing on some of Trent's work for a while afterwards. Trent was initially hesitant at first but eventually did come around to the Interscope deal as they gave him a lot of artistic freedom with little to no pushback and he stays for a few years until 2008. After the deal is finalised, Trent reveals the Broken EP to Interscope and is released later that same year.

[@ralphdougherty1844]

Coming out of Cleveland Ohio in 1989 the industrial sound that NIN used was very much the down and dirty mechanical sound of a city built on manufacturing like Cleveland. His touring guitarist eventually left and formed Filter in 1993-94. Richard having been from Cleveland as well used a lot of that industrial sound with Filter too.

[@johncarpenter3751]

Gotta check out NIN’s version of hurt

[@justinfontenot8001]

Closer, the Nine Inch Nails video is a must

[@Brandonmtlhd]

The difference between PHM and their next EP/album is almost night and day. This album was all Trent Reznor. He recorded all the synthesizes instruments, as well as live ones. He actually hired musicians to record going forward, so they sound more rock. The Broken EP should for sure be the next one you react to.

[@peroskarstorholm4196]

They/ he had yet to perform live when this album was made, so it’s naturally less ‘rock’ than all the later NIN albums. But.. this one has something special they never could repeat and I really like it. The 1980’s electronic synth-stuff that’s all over this record still sounds really fresh. You can clearly hear the Depeche Mode/ Prince influence that more or less dissapeared with the drugs and rockn’roll that came after they started touring, so enjoy it while you can ;)

[@wingoshack]

Downward Spiral is where they really hit. Maybe one of the greatest all-time records.

[@Adtheimpaler]

This album was meant to be played live as it sounds completely different and more intense with the live band

[@thepooz7205]

You definitely weren’t in the right mood to hear “Something I Can Never Have” for the first time. Yes, it doesn’t quite fit the style of the rest of the album, but that makes it stand out MORE to me. The delivery is just so powerful. Chills every time. Plus it was used very effectively in the movie “Natural Born Killers” which was one of my favorite movies at the time.

[@riffcityrecords5418]

Crazy I didn't know this came out the year I was born... Rad!!

[@riffcityrecords5418]

Your reactions are so great!

[@Gabriel_Moline]

Just because it’s the first doesn’t mean it should be introductory. The Downward Spiral should be the introduction!🌿🌸

[@williammatthews693]

Just some industrial metal suggestions for the future to consider Kira: Keep going down the NIN rabbit hole, Filter, Prick, Ministry, The Hunger, Gravity Kills and Stabbing Westward.

[@barbarino2000]

Watch them live and you’ll see just how dark the band is. Intense.

[@davidcampbell4479]

“Something I Can Never Have” is my favorite song. It’s supposed to sound off putting and make you want more as Trent makes you feel the concept of the lyrics. When I first heard this album I bounced off of it hard, only to come back to it after The Fragile was released. I’m here for anything more NiN you do, but make sure you’re in a good place mentally before Downward Spiral.