Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Production of the record was handled by NIN frontman Trent Reznor and English producer Flood, among other contributors.
The album features a heavily synth-driven electronic sound blended with industrial and rock elements. Much like the band’s later work, the album’s lyrics contain themes of angst, betrayal, and lovesickness. The record was promoted with the singles Down in It, Head Like a Hole, and Sin, as well as the accompanying tour. A remastered edition was released in 2010.
Although the record was successful, reaching No. 75 in the US and receiving highly favorable reviews from critics, Reznor (the band’s only official member until 2016) feuded with TVT over promotion of the album, which led him to eventually sign with Interscope Records. Pretty Hate Machine was later certified triple platinum by RIAA, becoming one of the first independently released albums to do so, and was included on several lists of the best releases of the 1980s. The cover art was designed by Gary Talpas, which is a photo of the blades of a turbine stretched vertically to create the illusion of a rib cage. For the 2010 reissue, visual artist Rob Sheridan was assigned to update the cover art by Reznor to tone down the heavy late Eighties neon aesthetic. Unfortunately, Sheridan was unable to locate the original artwork as it was deemed lost forever. To remedy this, he had to reverse engineer the cover art by scanning the existing cover art and digitally painted the image in very high resolution.
Tracklist:
- Head Like a Hole
- Terrible Lie
- Down in It
- Sanctified
- Something I Can Never Have
- Kinda I Want To
- Sin
- That’s What I Get
- The Only Time
- Ringfinger
- Get Down Make Love (2010 remastered edition bonus track)
Credits
Trent Reznor: vocals, arrangement, continuity, digital editing, programming (all tracks); production (tracks 1–7, 9, 10); mixing (tracks 2, 6, 7, 10); engineering (tracks 3, 11)
Tom Bake: mastering (2010 reissue)
Sean Beavan: engineering (tracks 4, 11)
Blumpy: remastering preparation
Tony Dawsey: mastering
Doug DeAngelis: engineering (tracks 1, 2)
Flood: engineering, production (tracks 1, 2); additional synth programming (tracks 2, 6)
John Fryer: engineering (tracks 2, 4,10); mixing (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10); production (tracks 4,10)
Hypo Luxa: engineering, production (track 11)
Kennan Keating: engineering (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 9)
Keith LeBlanc: additional remix production (track 1); engineering (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 9); mixing (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9); production (tracks 3, 9); remix (track 7)
Jeff “Critter” Newell: (track 11)
Tim Niemi: additional synth programming (tracks 2, 6)
Richard Patrick: drone guitar at end (track 4)
Ken Quartarone: engineering (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9)
Rob Sheridan: art direction (2010 reissue)
Adrian Sherwood: engineering, mixing, production (track 3)
Jeffrey Silverthorne: portrait photography
Gary Talpas: original sleeve
Chris Vrenna: continuity, digital editing
