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.
EPs are well less than a half hour and have 6 or less songs . Broken has 8 songs and is 33 minutes . idgaf what wiki told you . Back then we called it the second album .
@@JohnSmith-fm3pn yea, that's why I brought it up though, so someone doesn't skip over it because it's labeled as an EP, many will say "TDS" is their 2nd album due to this, but I agree it should not be skipped
That boss is a legend, among bosses! You could say he's a NIN-stigator. I mean, you probably wouldn't want to, because that would be a terrible dad joke. Still, though. 😅
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.
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!
@@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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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
YES!! I just left a comment saying "Something I Can Never Have" is probably my favorite song on that album. Rips my heart out every time. I find I can't listen to it very often. Just the piano itself makes me very emotional.
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.
NIN is a really hard band to put a genre label on. PHM is angsty synthpop, Broken is industrial metal but still with pop song structure, The Downward spiral is an experimental album more than anything, etc.
It is very good, but to me the original hasn’t aged super well. The version on Still is superior and much more emotionally-powerful in my opinion. Check it out if you haven’t heard it.
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.
Wow. I almost forgot Ministry. I loved A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste. The samples in all of it reminds me of being a teen. Movies, TV, and politicians of the era.
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.
A coworker loaned me his CD when the album was first released. "Check this out, I think you'll like it." Have every NIN album and most remix releases. Only one live show though.
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!
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.
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).
I listened to both of those albums recently... Front 242 did not age well. I was so stoked to listen again, but I couldn't stand it now... HOWEVER Too Dark Park doesn't even sound dated somehow. Still a masterpiece!
While a few songs on this album were also put out as singles - Down in It, Head Like a Hole, Sin - the Sin single had a b-side that was a cover of the Queen song, "Get Down, Make Love". A cool interpretation of the song in the style of this album.
There is a CD single for Sin that has a remix called Sin Short that some like better than the album version. There also is a cover of Get Down Make Love by Queen that is fire! Both songs usually can be found on music apps. Thanks for giving this groundbreaking album a listen and sharing your experience with us! ~Be Blessed
You're basically reacting to all the music I was made fun of for listening when I was in high school (NIN, Sepultura, Meshuggah, Megadeth, ...) and you're fucking LOVING it, and I just want to cry and give you a hug and thank you for retroactively validating me 🥹 And trust me, this journey of music will bring you more joy and excitement than you'd ever expect - there's so much more to discover. ☺
Just wait... But not too long, can't wait to see The Downward Spiral. And I consider The Fragile to be his magnum opus, and one of the best albums ever recorded. True art.
I saw NIN on their Pretty Hate Machine tour around '91, and I was blown away. I also had a few "normies" with me, and they had no idea what to make of NIN. They kept saying, "What did we just see?" It was something else!
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.
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)
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
VERY happy that you dove into Nine Inch Nails with this album! It's their first and it's nearly my favorite among their releases. :) Just as everyone else is saying, I'm looking forward to The Downward Spiral! Also, I'm looking forward to The Fragile. that one ranks top for me.
Loving the comments for BROKEN. I'm still blown-away by that body of work, start-to-finish, inc 'bonus tracks'. *A must-listen after your first PHM reaction. Especially after the review comments, end of this vid =perfectly Tee-it-up.🤞 [Just subscribed] Love to see the experience of someone who gets to hear BROKEN for the first time, after PHM. (I heard BROKEN first, made PHM sound almost like a collection of demo's, for me, in comparison, afterwards.) Keep up the interesting content.👍 *I came here from your Proto-Death-Metal vid!❤
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.
I was introduced to NIN in the early 90's in first year of University. Changed my life. Opened so many doors for me socially and emotionally. I LOVE NIN!
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 🤘🤘
I've always found it interesting the way Pretty Hate Machine sounds so very much like an 80's album. Music changed so abruptly and dramatically between 1989 and 1991 that when The Downward Spiral came out just five years later Pretty Hate Machine already sounded like it was from an older era.
I haven't dug up this record in so long I forgot how legitimately 80's a big chunk of the production really is. The funny thing is that like the drums and some of the synths are very much mid late 80's to a tee, but his vocals and the guitar work is really more 90's. It's kind of the ultimate blend of 80's and 90's.
Ohhhhh, man. Everything that you think is going to happen is going to happen. It gets heavier, it gets more "industrial". The idea of the 'studio as an instrument' becomes completely central to the sound of Trent Reznor's music, as you work through the discography, very often evoking a rock sensibility, but never settling into "straight ahead" rock or metal. "The Fragile" might be seen as the culmination of this, as the entire two-disc album is laden with tracks that sound like some of the heaviest or most haunting tracks you've heard, but are composed of sounds you're not even sure are actual instruments. (A box of rocks being shaken rhythmically, for example.) It's going to be an absolute treat, for you, and us viewers, to behold the discovery of the NIN arc. Let's gooooo! 😎🤘
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.
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.
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! 🖤
@@joemiller7082The Fragile is the better album just by the mixing alone. The people who didn't like The Fragile are the one's who where riding TDS's hype train and didn't really appreciate NIN fully.
@ I was a fan of NIN when PHM was their newest record. I loved it. When Broken came out, I bought it that week. I loved it. When TDS came out, I bought it the day it came out. Not only did I like it, TDS blew my mind. When the Fragile came out, I listened to it and not only did I not like it, I essentially stopped listening to the band forward because I disliked it so much. I don’t. Care about the mixing at all. If the actual songs aren’t as good, I’d rather listen to a dubbed tape of Minor Threat played into a tape recorder second hand.
@Mr.Milkins My brother in christ - Reznor doesn't like The Fragile. Sooooo.... It's too long. It's bloated. It's scattershot. There are some good moments, sure but it doesn't come close to TDS. Or Broken/Fixed. Or PHM. It might be *your* favourite. But's that's all. TDS was earth shattering. The Fragile was...disappointing. Bought it in vinyl and CD on day 1. And it's barely been played. It's just not a cohesive, heavy or impactful. And, please - the mix and production on TDS are actually perfection. It even sounds better than The Fragile.
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.
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.
This was his first attempt at writing music, and NIN definitely evolves (Downward Spiral might be the album for you)... He now composes music for movies (has gotten over 30 awards for them)... He did Gone Girl, Bones & All, The Watchmen series, The Challengers, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo & so much more
Fantastic album. I think if you want to go deeper in the roots of this kind of music, the next step would be Coil and Skinny Puppy. But it isn't really "easy listening" by any means, but hugely influential. Interesting that you connect rock with industrial, industrial to me is something that is even more electronic, like Skinny Puppy that i mentioned.
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.
Trent Reznor is a living legend! NIN’s watershed album, The Downward Spiral detonated like an atom bomb in the 90s. It’s crazy to me that its influence has become largely overlooked, despite still being felt everywhere. Nine Inch Nails changed music forever. Nobody knew what to call it back then. Took a while before the term Industrial Metal caught on. It was scandalous, dangerous, music you didn’t dare let your parents catch you listening to! Most importantly, Nine Inch Nails legitimized the concept of creating music mostly from sampled sounds within the rock/metal world. The idea that Reznor had made this whole thing essentially by himself was revolutionary, opening the doors for the vast majority of today’s independent music. Downward Spiral is a must-listen for the history alone! Thanks for this reaction… love that you went into it so blind! Very cool experience to share!
Can't wait to watch this! If you decide to react to more NIN I'd politely recommend listening in order of their discography. Primary phase of their career moves from PHM through The Fragile
PLEASE do more NIN there really isn’t any album of theirs you can go wrong with and they all have their own distinct sound. Trent Reznor truly is one of the greatest creative minds we have around
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!)
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.
PHM came out after Trent had been a keyboardist in various synth pop bands in the early 80's, like Slam Bamboo, The Innocent and Exotic Birds. This entire album was recorded while Trent was working as a night janitor and assistant engineer in a studio, by him alone. He played all instruments, engineered every track.
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.
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.
"yOU ShoUlD HeRe OnLY And WErE In ThuS TogTheIR" - NO. Finally someone starts with the right stuff from NIN. Now, broken next and then TDS. Good reaction
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.
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.
Very smart of you to start at the beginning when it comes to NIN. Everyone usually starts with "The Downward Spiral" which is a bad choice, IMO. I loved that album, but I had already been playing "Pretty Hate Machine" and the "Broken" EP on repeat for years. Either way, congratz!
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.
Have you ever head of J.G. Thirlwell or his music solo project Foetus? (the name changed every album until 1995 but the word "Foetus" is incorporated in each of them) He's an Australian post-punk/industrial musician that I would definitely call an underdog, he gained commercial success with his instrumental work later on though. I would recommend the album Nail, it's so incredibly strange, complex and fun in a demented way.
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.
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
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
Can't wait to see how you feel about The Downward Spiral, lol
Honestly one of the best albums of all time in my opinion. Truly looking forward to a reaction of that album myself.
Broken first
...and then Further Down!
C'mon now. She's already worried about the man's mental health.
The Downward Spiral is the pinicle of NIN IMO.
The run of PHM, Broken, Downward Spiral, and Fragile is pretty epic
You forgot with teeth and yeast zero
"Yeast" Zero?....omg hahahah lol....damn I gues that was a typo? Either way I now cannot think of it any other way, thanks
@@jameslevario2254 no, those were left out for a reason
You will love them (him). if you keep listening
Every day is exactly the same has been my ringtone for years.
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.
Broken is an EP, not considered their 2nd album. Still a huge milestone, kinda like Alice in Chains EPs, ya can't skip it
@@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.
Yes. No one should overlook Broken.
EPs are well less than a half hour and have 6 or less songs . Broken has 8 songs and is 33 minutes . idgaf what wiki told you . Back then we called it the second album .
@@JohnSmith-fm3pn yea, that's why I brought it up though, so someone doesn't skip over it because it's labeled as an EP, many will say "TDS" is their 2nd album due to this, but I agree it should not be skipped
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.
That boss is a legend, among bosses! You could say he's a NIN-stigator. I mean, you probably wouldn't want to, because that would be a terrible dad joke. Still, though. 😅
the demo*
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.
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!
@@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.
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.
I still love PHM the most despite all this Maybe because it was my first
Yeah Broken is a must and don't skip the 2 tracks on the mini cd :D
Anyone able to listen to Pretty Hate Machine for the first time is having a better day than most!
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."
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.
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.
Maybe PHM feels cookie cutter because everyone else was chasing it?
This is Trent’s best album and I love Downward Spiral
My favorite album as well
💯
Agreed.
I am one of the few who prefer the NIN version of Hurt. Trents anguish is palpable on that track.
I'm with you on that.
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.
Agreed
I prefer Reznor's version too.
Seriously? It’s a damn shame if that bombastic asshole has the claims to that beautiful song!🌿🌸
If you think you are worried about his mental health now, wait until you hit downward spiral.
Let's all pray for her, she must be protekct
exact thoughts. It only gets worse from here until with teeth, then you see some hope
Then wait until The Fragile 💀
Indeed.
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.
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
YES!! I just left a comment saying "Something I Can Never Have" is probably my favorite song on that album. Rips my heart out every time. I find I can't listen to it very often. Just the piano itself makes me very emotional.
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.
Broken first!!
Then TDS 😁
@@Kevin_Fiol Surely Fixed as well!
@@timthomsonart Yes!
Something I Can Never Have is honestly industrial as fuck
100% agree.
NIN is a really hard band to put a genre label on. PHM is angsty synthpop, Broken is industrial metal but still with pop song structure, The Downward spiral is an experimental album more than anything, etc.
YES YES YES
GO THROUGH THE WHOLE DISCOGRAPHY PLEEEEEASE 🙏
It’ll be such a journey!
Every Halo?
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.
It is very good, but to me the original hasn’t aged super well. The version on Still is superior and much more emotionally-powerful in my opinion. Check it out if you haven’t heard it.
You Want loud...NIN Broken EP!❤🇨🇦
Those guitar tones Rip on Broken
@@WyattsWildNature Don't forget the tone of that hair dryer in "Wish". Impeccable.
@@ju4408 lol
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.
Wow. I almost forgot Ministry. I loved A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste. The samples in all of it reminds me of being a teen. Movies, TV, and politicians of the era.
When this came out, it wasn’t considered trying to be commercial at all. It was totally left field for what was mainstream.
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
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.
A coworker loaned me his CD when the album was first released. "Check this out, I think you'll like it." Have every NIN album and most remix releases. Only one live show though.
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!
The ep that came after called Broken is a lot more metal/aggressive.
Skinny Puppy is a must to listen too.
Skinny Puppy will break you down into something beautiful, but getting a foothold into what they are about is a Process (pun intended).
she is not ready yet
Something I Can Never Have is an early preview of Trent's soundtrack work, would fit right at home in any Fincher movie.
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.
Doesn’t even mention Skinny Puppy, who Trent was directly trying to copy. Tsk tsk.
@@ClaytonMacleod terribly sorry. yes, they listed as well and I enjoyed them. thanks.
God bless whomever broke Trent's heart and inspired this masterpiece!
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).
I listened to both of those albums recently... Front 242 did not age well. I was so stoked to listen again, but I couldn't stand it now... HOWEVER Too Dark Park doesn't even sound dated somehow. Still a masterpiece!
While a few songs on this album were also put out as singles - Down in It, Head Like a Hole, Sin - the Sin single had a b-side that was a cover of the Queen song, "Get Down, Make Love". A cool interpretation of the song in the style of this album.
There is a CD single for Sin that has a remix called Sin Short that some like better than the album version. There also is a cover of Get Down Make Love by Queen that is fire! Both songs usually can be found on music apps. Thanks for giving this groundbreaking album a listen and sharing your experience with us! ~Be Blessed
You're basically reacting to all the music I was made fun of for listening when I was in high school (NIN, Sepultura, Meshuggah, Megadeth, ...) and you're fucking LOVING it, and I just want to cry and give you a hug and thank you for retroactively validating me 🥹 And trust me, this journey of music will bring you more joy and excitement than you'd ever expect - there's so much more to discover. ☺
Just wait...
But not too long, can't wait to see The Downward Spiral.
And I consider The Fragile to be his magnum opus, and one of the best albums ever recorded. True art.
Around covid, he released some ambient albums called Ghosts I-VI. They're my favorite ambient releases since Aphex Twin.
I saw NIN on their Pretty Hate Machine tour around '91, and I was blown away. I also had a few "normies" with me, and they had no idea what to make of NIN. They kept saying, "What did we just see?" It was something else!
Why can't I leave comments?
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.
I remember being introduced to Ministry tripping acid and watching In Case You DIdnt Feel Like Showing Up. It changed me forever.
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)
Keep going. Broken brings that heavy feel you're looking for, and Downward Spiral is their masterpiece
Yes. And The Fragile is the magnum opus.
The Fragile. That is an experience.
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
VERY happy that you dove into Nine Inch Nails with this album! It's their first and it's nearly my favorite among their releases. :)
Just as everyone else is saying, I'm looking forward to The Downward Spiral! Also, I'm looking forward to The Fragile. that one ranks top for me.
there is a movie called 'day of the jackal' from 1997 , i believe the intro credits theme is from Nine Inch Nails, it was amazing,
NIN is a constantly changing flavour
Loving the comments for BROKEN.
I'm still blown-away by that body of work, start-to-finish, inc 'bonus tracks'.
*A must-listen after your first PHM reaction.
Especially after the review comments, end of this vid
=perfectly Tee-it-up.🤞
[Just subscribed]
Love to see the experience of someone who gets to hear BROKEN for the first time, after PHM.
(I heard BROKEN first, made PHM sound almost like a collection of demo's, for me, in comparison, afterwards.)
Keep up the interesting content.👍
*I came here from your Proto-Death-Metal vid!❤
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.
I was introduced to NIN in the early 90's in first year of University. Changed my life. Opened so many doors for me socially and emotionally. I LOVE NIN!
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 🤘🤘
Industrial is a lot about layers of sound, too. Trent usually starts a Song slowly then adds more layers as the track goes on.
I've always found it interesting the way Pretty Hate Machine sounds so very much like an 80's album. Music changed so abruptly and dramatically between 1989 and 1991 that when The Downward Spiral came out just five years later Pretty Hate Machine already sounded like it was from an older era.
Go for it Kira! Let's get some more industrial metal on this channel!
Front 24, or KMFDM maybe.
I haven't dug up this record in so long I forgot how legitimately 80's a big chunk of the production really is. The funny thing is that like the drums and some of the synths are very much mid late 80's to a tee, but his vocals and the guitar work is really more 90's. It's kind of the ultimate blend of 80's and 90's.
Ohhhhh, man. Everything that you think is going to happen is going to happen. It gets heavier, it gets more "industrial". The idea of the 'studio as an instrument' becomes completely central to the sound of Trent Reznor's music, as you work through the discography, very often evoking a rock sensibility, but never settling into "straight ahead" rock or metal.
"The Fragile" might be seen as the culmination of this, as the entire two-disc album is laden with tracks that sound like some of the heaviest or most haunting tracks you've heard, but are composed of sounds you're not even sure are actual instruments. (A box of rocks being shaken rhythmically, for example.)
It's going to be an absolute treat, for you, and us viewers, to behold the discovery of the NIN arc. Let's gooooo! 😎🤘
Yeah, I can’t wait to see her react to The Fragile.
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.
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.
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! 🖤
The Fragile is definitely the magnum opus.
That'd be the Downard Spiral.
Downward Spiral is and it’s not even close. The Fragile was a lot of people’s jumping off point.
@@joemiller7082The Fragile is the better album just by the mixing alone. The people who didn't like The Fragile are the one's who where riding TDS's hype train and didn't really appreciate NIN fully.
@ I was a fan of NIN when PHM was their newest record. I loved it. When Broken came out, I bought it that week. I loved it. When TDS came out, I bought it the day it came out. Not only did I like it, TDS blew my mind.
When the Fragile came out, I listened to it and not only did I not like it, I essentially stopped listening to the band forward because I disliked it so much.
I don’t. Care about the mixing at all. If the actual songs aren’t as good, I’d rather listen to a dubbed tape of Minor Threat played into a tape recorder second hand.
@Mr.Milkins My brother in christ - Reznor doesn't like The Fragile. Sooooo....
It's too long. It's bloated. It's scattershot. There are some good moments, sure but it doesn't come close to TDS. Or Broken/Fixed. Or PHM. It might be *your* favourite. But's that's all. TDS was earth shattering. The Fragile was...disappointing. Bought it in vinyl and CD on day 1. And it's barely been played. It's just not a cohesive, heavy or impactful.
And, please - the mix and production on TDS are actually perfection. It even sounds better than The Fragile.
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.
No, stupid. The Fragile is THE magnum opus. Just think about it. Not to say that the Downward Spiral isn't a masterpiece too. Because it is.
You got to remember that 'Something I Can Never Have' ends side A on the record.
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.
This was his first attempt at writing music, and NIN definitely evolves (Downward Spiral might be the album for you)... He now composes music for movies (has gotten over 30 awards for them)... He did Gone Girl, Bones & All, The Watchmen series, The Challengers, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo & so much more
Fantastic album. I think if you want to go deeper in the roots of this kind of music, the next step would be Coil and Skinny Puppy. But it isn't really "easy listening" by any means, but hugely influential.
Interesting that you connect rock with industrial, industrial to me is something that is even more electronic, like Skinny Puppy that i mentioned.
Please just go chronologically, the evolution of Trent's sound is an epic journey!
I would also suggest Nitzer EBB, you will hear producer Floods connection to Pretty Hate Machine.
Broken is the album you wanted this one to be. Check it out!
This album got me through high school. Thanks for the reaction!
My favourite NIN album!! 🤘🤘
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.
"Hurt" is on The Downward Spiral album, which you should also react to. Oh! and the Broken EP too.
Trent Reznor is a living legend! NIN’s watershed album, The Downward Spiral detonated like an atom bomb in the 90s. It’s crazy to me that its influence has become largely overlooked, despite still being felt everywhere. Nine Inch Nails changed music forever. Nobody knew what to call it back then. Took a while before the term Industrial Metal caught on. It was scandalous, dangerous, music you didn’t dare let your parents catch you listening to! Most importantly, Nine Inch Nails legitimized the concept of creating music mostly from sampled sounds within the rock/metal world. The idea that Reznor had made this whole thing essentially by himself was revolutionary, opening the doors for the vast majority of today’s independent music. Downward Spiral is a must-listen for the history alone! Thanks for this reaction… love that you went into it so blind! Very cool experience to share!
"Ringfinger" has a "relax, don't do it" sound that's super 80s... right on the cusp of the 90s
Refused - The shape of punk to come! Its a superclassic full with bangers.
Can't wait to watch this! If you decide to react to more NIN I'd politely recommend listening in order of their discography. Primary phase of their career moves from PHM through The Fragile
PLEASE do more NIN there really isn’t any album of theirs you can go wrong with and they all have their own distinct sound. Trent Reznor truly is one of the greatest creative minds we have around
The Downward Spiral and The Fragile are top notch perfection in the music world.
Something I Can Never Have is one of the best songs ever
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!)
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.
In 10 years they gonna fell very differently, watch.
The next EP "Broken" is gonna be right up yer alley. Hope you get to listen to it
PHM came out after Trent had been a keyboardist in various synth pop bands in the early 80's, like Slam Bamboo, The Innocent and Exotic Birds. This entire album was recorded while Trent was working as a night janitor and assistant engineer in a studio, by him alone. He played all instruments, engineered every track.
I’m so glad I stumbled upon your channel. Also, your bookshelf just reminded me I still need to get myself a copy of House of Leaves
20:37 Lmao
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.
Welcome to industrial revolution 🤖
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!
I would listen to NIN albums in order: Broken, Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Year Zero, etc.
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.
"yOU ShoUlD HeRe OnLY And WErE In ThuS TogTheIR" - NO.
Finally someone starts with the right stuff from NIN. Now, broken next and then TDS. Good reaction
Ok, all evidence points to your need to listen to The Downward Spiral. There's no question.
From one Kira to another, hype video.
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.
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.
Listen to the broken ep by nin. My favorite thing they have done.
Very smart of you to start at the beginning when it comes to NIN. Everyone usually starts with "The Downward Spiral" which is a bad choice, IMO. I loved that album, but I had already been playing "Pretty Hate Machine" and the "Broken" EP on repeat for years. Either way, congratz!
Another really iconic 1990 industrial album - Last Rights by Skinny Puppy.
Stumbling across this made my day.
Awesome that you take on NIN ! The following albums The Downward Spiral & The Fragile will blow your mind for sure!!!
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.
This is the first time I heard "Sanctified" since 1990. I forgot how awsome it is! Was my fav on the album! and "Sin"!
Have you ever head of J.G. Thirlwell or his music solo project Foetus? (the name changed every album until 1995 but the word "Foetus" is incorporated in each of them) He's an Australian post-punk/industrial musician that I would definitely call an underdog, he gained commercial success with his instrumental work later on though. I would recommend the album Nail, it's so incredibly strange, complex and fun in a demented way.
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.
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
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