HEAD LIKE A HOLE, BLACK AS YOUR SOUL!!! Nine Inch Nails debut album reissued in all its original glory. Back in 89 I was just a young goth trying to figure out why I hated the sun and loved the cold, dark night. My Docs weren't quite broken in fully yet, but they were getting there and my Skinny Puppy t-shirt was definitely well worn. Well before Mark Zuckerberg could tell the difference between a face or a book, Trent Reznor and co were creating some of the edgiest and most influential industrial rock with peers like Ministry, Leather Strip, KMFDM, & others. It was a different time in the world. Pre-internet take over, MTV was still showing music videos and actually breaking artists, jocks didn't wanna f*ck with anything you were into (ahem, EDM), and your parents were deeply concerned about your allegiance to Christianity. Pretty Hate Machine's sexual undertones were that of vampiristic dreams with references to S&M, politics, and isolation playing heavily in the lyrics. While the album is filled with industrial noise and brutal (in context) soundscapes, the album is much more delicate than what is perceived on the surface and is on par with Joy Division's two albums in emotion and approach. Super producers Flood, Adrian Sherwood, and Keith LeBlanc all help with production duties making it one of the most solid offerings bringing the 80s to an end and ushering in the 90s industrial rock uprising before Nirvana & Seattle took over the airwaves. Remastered 2011 vinyl repress with original artwork and insert. 

• music label: UMe 2011

reviewed by Health Goth 02/2015