from the LP Pretty Hate Machine, TVT Records, 1989Yet another case of the critics being dead-ass wrong, this debut album was lambasted from all directions upon its release, yet it proved to be a divining rod for the second wave of gothic boys & girls, a clarion call to be firm in their dastardly image, and a celebration of all Reznor’s influences: Throbbing Gristle, Ministry, Front 242, Chrome, DAF. This tape was a big deal man---you needed to have it by 1990/1991 if you were “cool”; the weird thing about that being, I remember some rather preppy individuals rocking this album back then, I suppose initialing just exactly how much crossover appeal Trent was really slinging. His severity, in both tone & message, increased with each successive album from here on out, so it’s always kind of refreshing to spin these older songs and recall back when these tracks were actually sort of scary and imposing, loosely masochistic and submissive, but barely intimating what was to come later.
