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 '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 it all started.
 
Tracklist:
	
		
			
			
Head Like A Hole
			
		
		
			
			
Terrible Lie
			
		
		
			
			
Down In It
			
		
		
			
			
Sanctified
			
		
		
			
			
Something I Can Never Have
			
		
		
			
			
Kinda I Want To
			
		
		
			
			
Sin
			
		
		
			
			
That's What I Get
			
		
		
			
			
The Only Time
			
		
		
			
			
Ringfinger
			
			
 
		
	
 
Label: Craft Recordings ‎
Catalogue Number: 0602527749921