Halo I - IV

It's been 28 years since industrial titans Nine Inch Nails released their landmark debut album; Halo I-IV is a limited edition vinyl box set collecting the complete 1989 version of Pretty Hate Machine on 180 gram vinyl, as well as the domestic versions of all three 12" singles released from the album on 120 gram vinyl. The singles include some B-sides and alternate mixes, making this the perfect way to revisit Pretty Hate Machine in all its dark, catchy splendour. Although vinyl copies of the album aren't too hard to come by, this will be a must-have for Nine Inch Nails' followers, and it's got just the right balance of flashiness and functionality.

Virtually ignored upon its 1989 release, Pretty Hate Machine gradually became a word-of-mouth cult favourite; despite frequent critical bashings, its stature and historical importance only grew in hindsight. In addition to its stealthy rise to prominence, part of the album's legend was that budding auteur Trent Reznor took advantage of his low-level job at a Cleveland studio to begin recording it. Reznor had a background in synth-pop, and the vast majority of Pretty Hate Machine was electronic. Synths voiced all the main riffs, driven by pounding drum machines; distorted guitars were an important textural element, but not the primary focus. Pretty Hate Machine was something unique in industrial music -- certainly no one else was attempting the balladry of "Something I Can Never Have," but the crucial difference was even simpler. Instead of numbing the listener with mechanical repetition, Pretty Hate Machine's bleak electronics were subordinate to catchy riffs and verse-chorus song structures, which was why it built such a rabid following with so little publicity. That innovation was the most important step in bringing industrial music to a wide audience, as proven by the frequency with which late-'90s alternative metal bands copied NIN's interwoven guitar/synth textures. It was a new soundtrack for adolescent angst -- noisily aggressive and coldly detached, tied together by a dominant personality. Reznor's tortured confusion and self-obsession gave industrial music a human voice, a point of connection. His lyrics were filled with betrayal, whether by lovers, society, or God; it was essentially the sound of childhood illusions shattering, and Reznor was not taking it lying down. Plus, the absolute dichotomies in his world (there was either purity and perfection, or depravity and worthlessness) made for smashing melodrama. Perhaps the greatest achievement of Pretty Hate Machine was that it brought emotional extravagance to a genre whose main theme had nearly always been dehumanization.

None of the music in this set is remastered. MP3 download @320kbps

Halo I-IV Tracklist:

Halo I
Side A:
01. Down In It (Skin)
02. Down In It (Shred)
Side B:
03. Down In It (Singe)

Halo II
Side A:
01. Head Like a Hole
02. Terrible Lie
03. Down In It
04. Sanctified
05. Something I Can Never Have
Side B:
06. Kinda I Want To
07. Sin
08. That's What I Get
09. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger

Halo III
Side A:
01. Head Like a Hole (Slate)
02. Terrible Lie (Sympathetic Mix)
03. Head Like a Hole (Clay)
Side B:
04. Head Like a Hole (Copper)
05. You Know Who You Are
06. Head Like a Hole (Soil)

Halo IV
Side A:
01. Sin (Long)
02. Sin (Dub)
Side B:
03. Get Down, Make Love
04. Sin (Short)