PRETTY HATE MACHINE

This album has not aged well. Trent Reznor does almost everything here on the debut from NIN. The music here sounds like a mix of synth-pop and industrial. Very electronic sounding compared to later stuff which has more bass, guitar and piano. "Head Like A Hole" is a classic but even it sounds tame and dated now. This song has an awesome bass synth riff. Some kind of tribal singing here and there. The part that goes "bow down before the one you serve" is good. I like the "huh" vocals at the end.

"Sanctified" is a highlight. Great bass line. Nice atmospheric synths. Good guitar and effects in the chorus. At 3:18 you hear some Gregorian chant style vocal sounds. Things pick up when the electronic snare drum comes in near the end. I've always loved how this song seques into the next via a spacey, atmospheric part. Then there is some beautiful piano that starts "Something I Can Never Have", a ballad. Great atmospheric synth in the background. During the chorus where you hear "you make this all go away", there is a synthetic banging sound in one channel and a synthetic handclap sound in the other.

"Kinda I Want To" has an interesting percussion part in the middle. "That's What I Get" has a great bridge/middle eight. Pretty Hate Machine is soon to be re-released in a remastered version. You can currently stream the new reissue on the NME website. It includes a cover of the Queen song "Get Down, Make Love" which was originally a B-side to the single for "Sin". I streamed the album so I could here this cover(I have PHM on cassette but nothing to play it on). While listening to the stream, I figured I might as well do a review of the album.

"Get Down, Make Love" is nowhere as good as the original. There is somebody talking at the beginning. Then you hear Al Jourgenson say "Yes!" from the Ministry song "Stigmata", along with a woman moaning from a porn flick. At the end you hear samples of different Queen songs, including "Get Down, Make Love" itself as well as "We Will Rock You". I have to comment on the new remastering: it's awful! For example, there is a whispered voice in "Sanctified" that is now just as loud as the rest of the vocals. Overall, not a bad album from 1989. Possibly the worst NIN album although With Teeth is not too far behind. 2 stars.

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