Pretty Hate Machine

Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by Nine Inch Nails, released in October 1989 on TVT Records and produced by Trent Reznor alongside contributions from Keith LeBlanc, Flood, and Adrian Sherwood, the album that established NIN as the defining act of industrial rock and one of the most original voices in alternative music, built on synthesizers, drum machines, and Reznor's vocal performance of unmediated psychological distress. Reznor wrote and performed almost all material himself; the album's production synthesizes the industrial electronic traditions of Throbbing Gristle and Ministry with the pop songcraft of Prince (whose influence Reznor has explicitly acknowledged) to create something simultaneously abrasive and melodically accessible. 'Head Like a Hole,' 'Sin,' 'Something I Can Never Have,' and 'Terrible Lie' were the principal tracks; 'Head Like a Hole' became an MTV alternative staple and helped the album reach the Billboard 200 despite no mainstream radio support. Pretty Hate Machine reached number 75 on the Billboard 200, a significant commercial performance for an independent label debut in the industrial genre, and was eventually certified three-times platinum in the United States. The album's slow commercial climb, driven by touring, MTV airplay, and word-of-mouth, set the template for Reznor's approach to the music industry: self-directed, anti-commercial in posture while commercially aware in execution.