Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster |
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 | Tracklist:
1. Head Like A Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down In It
4. Sanctified
5. Something I Can Never Have
6. Kinda I Want To
7. Sin
8. That's What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger
11. Get Down, Make Love
| Ranking: #1 for 2010 | |
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On 14 Lists
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| Summary: Truly you aren’t hearing another Nine Inch Nails LP; this is the debut, but with a substantial change within production this allows us to hear exactly what Pretty Hate Machine’s atmosphere and overall viciousness was meant to be heard. |
8 of 8 thought this review was well written
Pretty Hate Machine’s relevance for Reznor cannot be overstated. As exceptional as his work was in the 90’s, it was his debut under the Nine Inch Nails moniker that got his fan base through constant touring, an underground buzz and gave the industrial genre an accessible face to its music to boot. Granted the reception and fanfare wasn’t instant as most people would believe, but Pretty Hate Machine remains to be one of his best and one of the few independent releases to reach platinum – claiming 113 weeks or a bit over 2 years on the Billboard 200. What made Pretty Hate Machine (at the time of its release) so different was the fact nobody at the time pulled a mainstream audience with a heavy handed electronic approach and disparaging, sometimes vile lyrical content that especially in the 80’s rarely was discussed or even aired. We all know where Reznor would eventually put those themes with his next release, but what was at the time a spacey almost beautifully saturated synth loaded situation within Pretty Hate Machine is now heard in a meticulous manner where those onced universally loved synths are now grimaced upon and an almost non-existent bass is scrutinized.
Reznor doesn’t *** around when he produces music. Pretty Hate Machine was as thin as you could get in terms of loudness when attempting to listen. The album almost felt like a minimalist crawl within a poor attempt at industrial nowadays and that is by far not a virtuous statement. His subsequent releases were both masterfully produced by mainly himself and with co-production by Mark “Flood” Ellis (worked on the original Pretty Hate Machine) and Adrian Sherwood, both would later work on the notable Downward Spiral. His live albums have always been extremely well received in terms of atmosphere and that isn’t a coincidence; it comes as no surprise that the release of Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster is superbly remastered. The dire need for this album to be remastered can only be truly heard in comparison to the original material and the work that Reznor himself would later produce with Nine Inch Nails. The ferocity and pure aggression that his music seems to just erupt with is what makes his music so insatiable in many ways. Most of that seems lost when looking back at the original release of Pretty Hate Machine, whereas The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and so on are extremely energetic and musically drubbing in the most effective way, Pretty Hate Machine is essentially losing all of what makes Reznor since his later work just lays waste his first effort. Although you could point towards the outdated and overused synths, but the key elements of Nine Inch Nailsstill remain; the melodies and themes within his music truly haven’t changed substantially even during Pretty Hate Machine.
The fact remains that if the last sentence wasn’t true then the direction of Reznor’s music after The Downward Spiral would change at least somewhat, but behind the lowly production in terms of modern work of Pretty Hate Machine it should stand that with this remaster it would stand up to his best works. Before this release Pretty Hate Machine is fondly looked upon as a stepping stone to something bigger, but the heart, soul and sweat still lies within this album and this release just allows us to see the true vision and more importantly sound of the original album. Take for instance “That’s What I Get”. The small electronic crunches that follow the intro synth was at best a small and forgettable rupture within the music, but the version within this album is well defined.
The biggest issue you take in account when critiquing something like a remaster is to say is it truly necessary? In all honestly it is with Reznor’s debut because what everyone thought was an outdated synth-laden show in the 1980’s was in fact just poor production with past tools. The bass is heavier and more distinct within every note, but more importantly the synth is given a second life within this release. It is fundamentally what makes the album move and the overall loudness of sound does wonders. The framework for Pretty Hate Machine are the synths themselves, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when “Ringfinger” and the album itself boasts a more atmospheric and ample exterior once the chorus’ and synths kicks in; the truth is it’s completely puzzling and surprising how much of a transformation this entire decision makes, it really shouldn’t, but it does. It’s like falling in love with Nine Inch Nails all over again.
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Album Rating: 3.5
Review is brilliant, as always.
Digging: Suis La Lune - Riala | | | Album Rating: 4.5
I very much appreciate that comment Xeno thanks.
Digging: CLARK - Iradelphic Digging: CLARK - Iradelphic | | |
Amazing review. Best I've read today. Pos.
As a side note:
Take for instance the “That’s What I Get”.
You probably should drop the article. But again, very well-written review - was a huge pleasure to read.
Digging: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless Digging: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Great review. Really want to hear this.
| | | Album Rating: 4
stoked
Digging: Sidi Tour - Koima | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Listening to this now. It's kind of like a breath of fresh air. The original felt really dated (because it is to be fair.) and this sounds much better.
| | | Album Rating: 5
nice review. i'm so glad this got remastered. i grew up listening to this album and it's still one of my favorites today.
Digging: Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music | | |
Usually seminal albums get flack for remastering. This one just gets better.
Digging: Self-Evident - Endings Digging: Self-Evident - Endings
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks for that Irving didn't notice.
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Doesn't remastering an electronic album seem pointless ?
Digging: Chris Clark - Iradelphic Digging: Chris Clark - Iradelphic
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Not with this one. The original really lacked any type of volume. The bass was almost unheard of and tough to hear and the synths seemed dim. The problem you have with remastering is everyone talks about "loudness wars". Where if you bring up the volume it really doesn't do anything, but deter the quality of the music; if you notice between the original and this version you can hear the synths, bass, and general samples far more crisper than ever before, which is why this is most definitely justified.
By the way I didn't mention in my review, but there is an added track. A cover song by Queen called "Get Down, Make Love" and it fits perfectly with the rest of the album.
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Yeah this needed a re-release.
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Pretty Hate Machine’s relevance for Reznor cannot be understated
I think you mean it "cannot be overstated".
Also, when you say "his next release" you seem to be talking about The Downward Spiral and not Broken. I've found that Broken doesn't get nearly enough credit in reviews of NIN. It's not as if he jumped straight from the relatively sparse sound of PHM to TDS, and it holds up strongly on its own.
Some of the phrasing could be better IMO, but otherwise a good review.
The remaster definitely sounds more vicious and has a more anguished or tortured vibe. I'd put it somewhere between a 4 or 4.5, with a bit of a tilt for the historical significance.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Sorta, I mean Broken EP + The Downward Spiral because if not for the legal problems Broken EP probably wouldn't of been as destructive as it sounds. After all he was really fucking pissed off and most of the EP is about him being raped (metaphorically). I mention The Downward Spiral because it is the next album, but both work in any case and yes I did mean overstated..sigh stupid mistake.
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The sound of Broken was informed by the live incarnations of the songs from PHM, he actually stated such in an interview from '92. If you've listened to the versions on the live albums then you can hear how similar they are to the songs from Broken.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
That's interesting I never knew that. I know that he got most of his inspiration for that EP from his record company hounding him to release another PHM mainstream appeal bullshit. He couldn't stand it and worked under other names to avoid legalities and such, but that is pretty cool.
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I think there is much more depth to Broken than you are giving credit for. It is, after all, the only release to have an accompanying movie to go with the whole thing.
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"The original felt really dated (because it is to be fair.)"
To be honest I've never really enjoyed the downward spiral because it really does sound dated nowardays.
Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss
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^ have you heard the 2004 remaster?
| | | Album Rating: 5
I love it. That's the confirmation that I was looking for before buying this. PHM is easily my favorite NIN album.
Digging: Art By Numbers - Reticence: The Musical | | | |
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