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Digitally remastered and expanded edition of this 1989 debut album from Trent Reznor and Co. featuring one bonus track: 'Get Down Make Love'. Rob Sheridan, NIN's longtime art director, has also re-imagined the packaging of Pretty Hate Machine under Reznor's supervision. The Bicycle Music Company acquired the rights to Pretty Hate Machine from a division of Prudential Securities in the spring of 2010. It was Bicycle's intention from the onset to enable Reznor to regain some control of the lost piece of NIN's legacy, resulting in this artist approved 2010 reissue of one of music's most groundbreaking and influential albums. This 2LP vinyl edition comes in a double gatefold sleeve.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By M. Littman
Format:Audio CD
I love the original album. And I still have the original CD in good condition. I bought this album to see if the remaster sounded better. In my opinion it does not sound any better. Yes you can hear a few synths that you couldn't hear before, however we have lost all the dynamic range. The audio is squished to make it as loud as possible. I prefer the original issue Cd. If you don't have this album on CD definitely buy this.
Format:Audio CD
Woe. Pain. Anger. Rejection. And some very catchy industrial beats.
Trent Reznor has become legendary for the sound he perfected in "Pretty Hate Machine," his exceptional debut album. Wrapped in catchy industrial beats and sizzling basslines, he exposes all the rage and pain from being betrayed. Like a bad breakup, it's raw and rough and painful, but there's a strange catharsis once it's over.
It opens on a high note with the ear-blowing "Head Like A Hole," which alternates between dark techno and explosive hard-rock. "Bow down before the one you serve/you're gonna get what you deserve... Head like a hole, black as your soul/I'd rather DIE than give you control!" Reznor snarls. And he sounds like he means it, too.
That mix of rage and bitterness permeate the songs that follow. Not every song is a rockin' ragefest: "Something I Can Never Have" is a sweeping, haunted ballad with Reznor lamenting that "I'm starting to scare myself." It's one of the most powerful songs on a hard-hitting record, and shows Reznor's anguished vocals at their best.
But the majority are harder, angrier songs with Reznor's rough industrial-pop, raw singing and sparse electronic beats. The second half does drag a bit, but is pulled back up by the explosive "Sin" ("You give me the reason/you give me control/I gave you my purity/and my purity you stole!") and hauntingly out-there "Ringfinger."
"Pretty Hate Machine" could, in a sense, be seen as a concept album -- a mapping of the painful emotions in a breakup. Okay, painful breakups are not a big deal in the musical world -- every cheesy popstar does them. The difference is, Trent Reznor does them with passion, genuine anger, and explosive music that mirrors the betrayed feelings.
Reznor gets much flack for his angsty songwriting and accompanying vocal style. But it has to be admitted that even when the songwriting is sub-par -- the rather whiny, it's-God's-fault "Terrible Lie" -- Reznor's rough vocals bring them to life in all their painful glory.
This is also Nine Inch Nails' most minimalist album -- no soundscapes, just the guitars and electronics. The instrumentation matches the theme of inverted love -- Reznor throws in some poppy industrial beats, which manage to be darkly catchy and gritty at the same time. Underlying all of this is some smoldering, twisted guitar and drum machines.
So what does the remastered album sound like? Clear, crisp and quite a bit louder than the original (it gets a little TOO loud at times), and it brings all the subtle textures and quirks out so you can really HEAR them like never before. It's like a painting that has been cleaned and put in a bright new frame -- it's the same piece of work, but you can appreciate it better.
Explosive rage, betrayal, confusion and pain lie at the heart of "Pretty Hate Machine," an unforgettable debut that Reznor has yet to equal in pure emotion.
Trent Reznor has become legendary for the sound he perfected in "Pretty Hate Machine," his exceptional debut album. Wrapped in catchy industrial beats and sizzling basslines, he exposes all the rage and pain from being betrayed. Like a bad breakup, it's raw and rough and painful, but there's a strange catharsis once it's over.
It opens on a high note with the ear-blowing "Head Like A Hole," which alternates between dark techno and explosive hard-rock. "Bow down before the one you serve/you're gonna get what you deserve... Head like a hole, black as your soul/I'd rather DIE than give you control!" Reznor snarls. And he sounds like he means it, too.
That mix of rage and bitterness permeate the songs that follow. Not every song is a rockin' ragefest: "Something I Can Never Have" is a sweeping, haunted ballad with Reznor lamenting that "I'm starting to scare myself." It's one of the most powerful songs on a hard-hitting record, and shows Reznor's anguished vocals at their best.
But the majority are harder, angrier songs with Reznor's rough industrial-pop, raw singing and sparse electronic beats. The second half does drag a bit, but is pulled back up by the explosive "Sin" ("You give me the reason/you give me control/I gave you my purity/and my purity you stole!") and hauntingly out-there "Ringfinger."
"Pretty Hate Machine" could, in a sense, be seen as a concept album -- a mapping of the painful emotions in a breakup. Okay, painful breakups are not a big deal in the musical world -- every cheesy popstar does them. The difference is, Trent Reznor does them with passion, genuine anger, and explosive music that mirrors the betrayed feelings.
Reznor gets much flack for his angsty songwriting and accompanying vocal style. But it has to be admitted that even when the songwriting is sub-par -- the rather whiny, it's-God's-fault "Terrible Lie" -- Reznor's rough vocals bring them to life in all their painful glory.
This is also Nine Inch Nails' most minimalist album -- no soundscapes, just the guitars and electronics. The instrumentation matches the theme of inverted love -- Reznor throws in some poppy industrial beats, which manage to be darkly catchy and gritty at the same time. Underlying all of this is some smoldering, twisted guitar and drum machines.
So what does the remastered album sound like? Clear, crisp and quite a bit louder than the original (it gets a little TOO loud at times), and it brings all the subtle textures and quirks out so you can really HEAR them like never before. It's like a painting that has been cleaned and put in a bright new frame -- it's the same piece of work, but you can appreciate it better.
Explosive rage, betrayal, confusion and pain lie at the heart of "Pretty Hate Machine," an unforgettable debut that Reznor has yet to equal in pure emotion.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
99 reviews
151 of 160 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trent's first endeavor, built with 21 years of new tech
Nov 22 2010
By Deven
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
Has it really been 21 years? Hard to believe that Trent was changing the world at the same time that songs like Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" were bouncing around people's heads. Let's get down to it (or rather down in it).
I first have to commend Trent for the packaging. Clear lettering slip cover, insert with lyrics, sharp album art and a nice info section round out a fantastic physical product. There's a nice touch just below the "Thank You" section, but I won't spoil it for you.
Onto the music. If you've ever seen or heard NIN live, you've probably thought: "Man, why can't [insert PHM song title] sound this good at home?" Fortunately, we have Halo 02R to change all of that. The album sounds like 1989 Trent hopped in a wormhole to the year 2010, re-recorded the album, heard a Justin Bieber song on the radio and ran straight back.
The first thing you notice is that it's louder. Anyone who's listened to PHM knows that it had a "quiet" sound. Then you hear Trent sing, and you realize that his vocals are finally as loud as the instruments/synths. Finally you start picking up the fun stuff, like the remastered thump of bass guitar in Sanctified's intro, or the background quips and sounds in Terrible Lie. The real winner on the album is Kinda I Want To. Listen to it with earbuds or good surround sound and you'll hear what I mean. I could go on and on about how "this part" from "that song" sounds, but you really have to hear it for yourself. All I can do is promise you that the re-master wasn't overdone. This is still 1989 Nine Inch Nails, but with higher quality for your listening pleasure.
Long story short, drive to your local cd retailer, throw down your $8 and buy this. Of course, if you're a NIN fan you already have. I drove through a semi-blizzard in Fargo, ND at 9am to get it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my hot chocolate and my music.
I first have to commend Trent for the packaging. Clear lettering slip cover, insert with lyrics, sharp album art and a nice info section round out a fantastic physical product. There's a nice touch just below the "Thank You" section, but I won't spoil it for you.
Onto the music. If you've ever seen or heard NIN live, you've probably thought: "Man, why can't [insert PHM song title] sound this good at home?" Fortunately, we have Halo 02R to change all of that. The album sounds like 1989 Trent hopped in a wormhole to the year 2010, re-recorded the album, heard a Justin Bieber song on the radio and ran straight back.
The first thing you notice is that it's louder. Anyone who's listened to PHM knows that it had a "quiet" sound. Then you hear Trent sing, and you realize that his vocals are finally as loud as the instruments/synths. Finally you start picking up the fun stuff, like the remastered thump of bass guitar in Sanctified's intro, or the background quips and sounds in Terrible Lie. The real winner on the album is Kinda I Want To. Listen to it with earbuds or good surround sound and you'll hear what I mean. I could go on and on about how "this part" from "that song" sounds, but you really have to hear it for yourself. All I can do is promise you that the re-master wasn't overdone. This is still 1989 Nine Inch Nails, but with higher quality for your listening pleasure.
Long story short, drive to your local cd retailer, throw down your $8 and buy this. Of course, if you're a NIN fan you already have. I drove through a semi-blizzard in Fargo, ND at 9am to get it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to my hot chocolate and my music.
75 of 84 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as everyone would like you to believe.
Dec 12 2010
By borgy
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
My title and rating in no way refer to the music, but the new 2010 remaster.
I've always thought the 1989 CD master i have sounded a bit thin and could've benefited from having a fuller sound and a bit more power. So this remaster for me, was a must buy. I even imported it from the US through Amazon.com because it's mot available here in Australia. The 1989 master has never gone out of print here so that's maybe why (Pretty Hate Machine is on Interscope here - they must've bought the rights for this country of TVT when NIN made it big in the early 90's).
Anyway, This new master despite being done by Trent himself suffers from loudness war mastering and i just don't get it. Trent surely has to know about this stuff since he's not some beginner audio newbie and unlike most bands he produces his music as well instead of just performing it. He's even been around since the 'golden age' of CD mastering (late 80's - early 90's).
It's really disappointing that this remaster was done brilliantly and then for some reason it was decided that the dynamics should just be sucked out through peak limiting added as a finishing touch. 'Kinda I Want To' used to have schizophrenic drums that seemed to leap out of the speaker at you and now they just sound held back and restrained, changing the song drastically. Just listen to 'Head Like A Hole' remastered and then play the 1989 original back to back... notice the punchy drums in the original?
This remaster gets even more confusing taking into account 'The Downward Spiral' remaster from 2004 that didn't suffer from this loudness war problem! It was a bit louder but the waveforms weren't clipped like on this 'Pretty Hate Machine' remaster.
I thought maybe this remaster caters for the iPod generation... but then i also thought they wouldn't have gone through the effort of redesigning the cover art and designing nice new packaging if that was the case.
I'm confused. Why are people calling this remaster fantastic, do they not own a decent quality home stereo? Do they not know louder does not equal better?
I've always thought the 1989 CD master i have sounded a bit thin and could've benefited from having a fuller sound and a bit more power. So this remaster for me, was a must buy. I even imported it from the US through Amazon.com because it's mot available here in Australia. The 1989 master has never gone out of print here so that's maybe why (Pretty Hate Machine is on Interscope here - they must've bought the rights for this country of TVT when NIN made it big in the early 90's).
Anyway, This new master despite being done by Trent himself suffers from loudness war mastering and i just don't get it. Trent surely has to know about this stuff since he's not some beginner audio newbie and unlike most bands he produces his music as well instead of just performing it. He's even been around since the 'golden age' of CD mastering (late 80's - early 90's).
It's really disappointing that this remaster was done brilliantly and then for some reason it was decided that the dynamics should just be sucked out through peak limiting added as a finishing touch. 'Kinda I Want To' used to have schizophrenic drums that seemed to leap out of the speaker at you and now they just sound held back and restrained, changing the song drastically. Just listen to 'Head Like A Hole' remastered and then play the 1989 original back to back... notice the punchy drums in the original?
This remaster gets even more confusing taking into account 'The Downward Spiral' remaster from 2004 that didn't suffer from this loudness war problem! It was a bit louder but the waveforms weren't clipped like on this 'Pretty Hate Machine' remaster.
I thought maybe this remaster caters for the iPod generation... but then i also thought they wouldn't have gone through the effort of redesigning the cover art and designing nice new packaging if that was the case.
I'm confused. Why are people calling this remaster fantastic, do they not own a decent quality home stereo? Do they not know louder does not equal better?
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
BIG improvement over original!
Nov 23 2010
By G. Ellisberg
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
The clarity and updated sound of this remaster is outrageously good. The lows are richer and the highs are crisper. The instrument and sound separation in the mix is far superior to the original. I am intimately familiar with every note and sound on this album and I hear things I never noticed before. I am glad that the original tracks found their way back home for a little polishing. Well done Trent.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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