Cover:
Artist:
Nine Inch Nails
Album:
Broken
Bio:
Nine Inch Nails was the most popular industrial
group ever and was largely responsible for
bringing the music to a mass audience. It isn't
really accurate to call NIN a group; the only
official member is
singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Trent
Reznor, who always remained solely responsible for
NIN's musical direction (he was, however,
supported in concert by a regular backing band).
Unlike the vast majority of industrial artists,
Reznor wrote melodic, traditionally structured
songs where lyrics were a focal point. His pop
instincts not only made the harsh electronic beats
of industrial music easier to digest, but also put
a human face on a style that usually tried to
sound as mechanical as possible. While Ministry
crossed over to heavy metal audiences, NIN built
up a large alternative rock fan base right around
the time of Nirvana's mainstream breakthrough. As
a result, Reznor became a genuine star and his
notoriously dark, brooding persona and provocateur
instincts made him a Jim Morrison-esque sex symbol
for the '90s. A long period of inactivity and
writer's block followed, which gave virtually
every alternative metal band of the late '90s a
chance to rip off elements of NIN's sound. By the
time Reznor's five-year hiatus finally ended, he
was still a popular figure but his commercial
momentum had slowed somewhat.
Michael Trent Reznor was born May 17, 1965, in
the small town of Mercer, PA; he went by his
middle name to avoid confusion with his father
Michael. At age five, Reznor's parents divorced
and he wound up being raised mostly by his
maternal grandparents; even so, Reznor stated
repeatedly that his childhood was mostly happy. He
began playing the piano at age five, studying
classical music, and later learned tenor sax and
tuba in the school band; he also acted in musicals
and became an avid Kiss fan. Reznor spent a year
studying music and computers at Allegheny College,
but dropped out after a year to pursue music
full-time; he soon packed up and moved to
Cleveland with high school friend Chris Vrenna.
Around the same time, he was discovering new wave
and assorted underground music; he was most
fascinated with early industrial, since it offered
an edgy, aggressive way to use electronic
instruments. At age 19, he successfully auditioned
to join an AOR band called the Innocent, which
released one album, Livin' in the Streets
(Reznor's picture does appear on the jacket). He
quit the Innocent after just three months and
subsequently gigged with local bands; he also
worked in a keyboard store and as a janitor in the
local Right Track recording studio. Eventually, he
became a studio engineer, teaching himself various
computer applications and working on his own
material during off hours. In 1987, Reznor
appeared in the Michael J. Fox/Joan Jett film
Light of Day, where he played keyboards with a
trio dubbed the Problems during a bar scene.
As Nine Inch Nails, Reznor began recording his
own Ministry and Skinny Puppy-influenced
compositions in 1988, playing all the instruments
himself. At first, he simply hoped to release a
12" single on a small European label, but when
he sent demo tapes to around ten American labels,
nearly every one offered him a deal. He wound up
signing with TVT, which released NIN's debut
album, Pretty Hate Machine, in 1989 (after having
rejected an initial effort called Industrial
Nation). Reznor quickly assembled a backing band
and toured with Skinny Puppy for a short time, but
soon tired of playing for strictly industrial
artists. With a tighter outfit featuring Chris
Vrenna on drums and Richard Patrick on guitar
(plus several revolving-door keyboardists), he
consciously chose to open for alt-rock acts
(including, early on, the Jesus & Mary Chain
and Peter Murphy), partly for the challenge of
winning over fans who might not have liked
industrial music. The strategy helped expand Nine
Inch Nails' fan base substantially; the single
"Down in It" got some airplay in dance
clubs, reaching Billboard's dance and modern rock
charts, and MTV later picked up on the video for
the more rock-oriented "Head Like a Hole."
In 1991, after settling on keyboardist James
Woolley, Nine Inch Nails became part of the
inaugural Lollapalooza tour, which expanded their
fan base by leaps and bounds. Pretty Hate
Machine's momentum kept building slowly and
although it never climbed higher than number 75,
it spent over two years on the album charts and
eventually sold over a million copies -- one of
the first indie-label rock albums to do so.
TVT had a massive hit on their hands and to
ensure that Reznor would produce another one, they
attempted to take control of the follow-up's
creative direction. Enraged by the outside
meddling, Reznor tried to secure a release from
his contract, leading to a vicious court battle.
His only recording outlets were side projects; in
1990, he co-wrote and sang on "Suck," a
track on Pigface's debut album, Gub, and also sang
on the Al Jourgensen-led 1000 Homo DJs cover of
Black Sabbath's "Supernaut." (TVT ordered
Reznor's vocals removed from the track, but
Jourgensen actually just altered them slightly and
said he'd re-recorded it.) Eventually, he was able
to sign with Interscope, which helped him set up
his own label, the Cleveland-based Nothing
imprint. Reznor had been recording new material on
the sly and in 1992, Nothing released the EP
Broken, as well as a concurrent remix disc titled
Fixed. Broken featured more (and heavier) guitars
than Pretty Hate Machine, partly in response to
NIN's live sound and partly as a sonic evocation
of Reznor's boiling frustration in the wake of the
legal wars; it also featured two bonus cuts, a
version of "Suck" and the Adam Ant cover
"(You're So) Physical," a nod to Reznor's
new wave roots. Despite many reviews
characterizing the EP as a harrowing, difficult
listen, Broken -- supported by NIN's
now-considerable fan base -- debuted in the Top
Ten and the first single/video, "Wish,"
won a Grammy for Best Heavy Metal Performance.
Reznor enhanced his reputation as a provocateur
with a widely banned clip for "Happiness in
Slavery," which depicted S&M performance
artist Bob Flanagan being torn apart by a machine;
there was also a long-form clip for Broken that
was never released commercially due to its graphic
content (a torture victim is dismembered while
viewing NIN videos).
Reznor moved to Los Angeles to craft the second
full-length NIN album, assembling a studio in the
house where actress Sharon Tate was murdered by
Charles Manson's associates. The Downward Spiral
was a highly ambitious work, a concept album
indebted to progressive rock that featured the
most detailed, layered studiocraft of any NIN
album yet. Hugely anticipated, the album debuted
at number two and became one of the bleakest
multi-platinum albums ever. Richard Patrick had
departed the touring band to form Filter and
Reznor revamped the group with drummer Vrenna,
keyboardist Woolley, guitarist Robin Finck, and
bassist Danny Lohner. NIN caused a sensation at
that summer's 25th-anniversary Woodstock concert,
performing a ferocious set after horsing around
and covering themselves in mud just before hitting
the stage. Meanwhile, MTV had put an edited
version of the video for "Closer" in heavy
rotation and NIN scored one of the year's
unlikeliest hits: a song whose chorus began "I
want to f*ck you like an animal," which helped
make Reznor one of alternative rock's biggest sex
symbols. The subdued ballad "Hurt" gained
some further airplay, even though it lacked the
titillating shock value of "Closer." Later
in the year, Reznor assembled the soundtrack of
Oliver Stone's controversial Natural Born Killers,
editing the songs together to create an innovative
collage; he also guested on "Past the
Mission," a track on Tori Amos' second album
Under the Pink. In 1995, with new keyboardist
Charlie Clouser, Nine Inch Nails hit the road with
David Bowie, whose late-'70s albums (along with
Pink Floyd) had been a major influence on The
Downward Spiral. He also contributed a cover of
Joy Division's "Dead Souls" to the
soundtrack of The Crow and issued the remix album
Further Down the Spiral, which nearly reached the
Top 20 (a testament to his popularity).
Using money from The Downward Spiral, Reznor
built a state-of-the-art studio in New Orleans in
a building that had once been a funeral home.
While pondering his next move in the wake of his
sudden stardom, he produced Nothing signee Marilyn
Manson's second album, Antichrist Superstar, which
did indeed make him a superstar. In 1997, longtime
friend Vrenna had a falling out with Reznor and
eventually was replaced by Jerome Dillon; Reznor's
maternal grandmother also passed away that year
and his friendship with Manson soon deteriorated.
Even so, he produced another movie soundtrack for
David Lynch's Lost Highway, and contributed the
new single "The Perfect Drug," which
flitted unpredictably between several different
rhythm tracks. Though "The Perfect Drug"
kept him in the public eye for a time, Reznor was
still unsure what kind of statement would be an
appropriate follow-up to The Downward Spiral; that
uncertainty resulted in a severe case of writer's
block. In the meantime, NIN was proving vastly
influential on a new crop of bands; major labels
signed up industrial metal outfits like Filter and
Stabbing Westward, and an assortment of
alternative metal bands started grafting
industrial production flourishes onto their music;
Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose even fired the
rest of his band and holed up in a studio to
pursue a more NIN-influenced direction.
Nine Inch Nails finally returned in 1999 with the
double-CD opus The Fragile. It debuted at number
one, with massive first-week sales, but slipped
down the charts rather quickly afterwards, perhaps
because the musical climate had changed a great
deal over the past five years. The remix album
Things Falling Apart followed a year later, as did
an extensive world tour. An album of live
performances culled from the tour, And All That
Could Have Been, was released in early 2002.
Reznor was largely quiet during the next three
years, until re-emerging in 2005 with another
chart-topper, With Teeth. Touring continued into
2006, where NIN spent the spring and summer on the
road with various support acts including Saul
Williams, Bauhaus, TV on the Radio, and Peaches.
The EP, Every Day is Exactly the Same, appeared in
April 2006; it contained the title track and five
various remixes (all originally from With Teeth).
Review:
During the time that Pretty Hate Machine was
becoming an underground sensation, Trent Reznor
became embroiled in legal difficulties with his
label that prevented the release of any new Nine
Inch Nails material. But the three-year wait
actually helped -- most of NIN's fans were
relatively recent converts, and they eagerly
snapped up 1992's Broken, which afforded the
already angst-ridden Reznor the opportunity to
vent his ample frustration over the imbroglio.
Where Pretty Hate Machine had a few moments of
reflection and sardonic humor, Broken is a
concentrated blast of caustic, naked rage. Given
how draining it is, a full-length album in its
style would unquestionably have been wearisome,
even self-parodic. So, Broken is the rare EP
that's conceptually focused and complete unto
itself. Production-wise, it's also a step up from
Pretty Hate Machine, and a showcase for Reznor's
flowering studio acumen. While Pretty Hate Machine
was primarily electronic, Broken is loaded with
heavy, jagged guitars, processed through a
veritable meat grinder of effects into a massive
wall of distortion. Each song one-ups the
viciousness of its predecessor; even the two
relatively subdued instrumental interludes are
full of abrasive textures. There are two hidden
bonus cuts at the end of the CD (early pressings
had them on a separate disc); they're neither as
produced nor as intense, and thus separated
conceptually as well as physically. The cover of
Adam Ant's "(You're So) Physical" was
something of a revelation -- not just
demonstrating Reznor's fondness for new wave, but
serving as a touchstone for his self-conscious,
glammed-up sense of style. That -- and his skills
as a producer and arranger -- would reach their
fullest realization on The Downward Spiral, but
Broken's tight focus and frothing intensity make
it a major work in its own right.
Tracks:
1 Pinion
2 Wish
3 Last
4 Help Me I Am In Hell
5 Happiness In Slavery
6 Gave Up
98 Physical
99 Suck
Rating (of 10):
9
Release Date:
Sep 22, 1992
Label:
Nothing
Genre:
* Rock
Styles:
* Industrial
* Alternative Pop/ Rock
* Industrial Metal
Bitrate:
128kbps
File format:
mp3
File size:
28.9 MB
Discography
1989 Pretty Hate Machine TVT
1992 Broken [EP] Nothing/Inters
1992 Fixed [EP] Interscope
1994 The Downward Spiral Nothing/Inters
1995 Further Down the Spiral Interscope
1999 The Fragile Nothing/Inters
2000 Things Falling Apart Interscope
2002 And All That Could Have Been [live]
Nothing
2005 With Teeth I Nothing
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