One day in November 1991, as I stood in the queue for the till at HMV, the guy in front of me said to his friend, "I really like that song at number 35 called "Sin'". It's really electronic". Upon hearing this I decided to leave the queue to investigate further. I'd never heard of Nine Inch Nails, but the sleek black digipak and gloss printed artwork of the single intrigued me. So, "Sin" came home with me and I've been a fan of Trent Reznor ever since.
Here I am going to be playing the 2010 remastered double vinyl of Trent's debut album which includes the b-side "Get Down Make Love". I also own the Halo I-IV box set from 2015 which includes a single disc version of the original master of the album.
Having only heard one track when I bought the CD back in 1991, I wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the album. However, opening track "Head Like a Hole" soon allayed any fears that "Sin" might have just been a flash in the pan. There's something about the lyrics on this song that have always fascinated me and the couplet "Bow down before the one you serve, You're going to get what you deserve" always appealed to my teenage angst. I can still remember finding the 10" and 12" singles of this in Our Price and being captivated by the artwork and different remixes they contained.
After the guitars and aggressive noise of the first track, we segue into the sparse metallic rhythms of "Terrible Lie". As the song progresses we hear various synth patches and samples that are cleverly woven around Trent's suitably angry vocal by producer Flood. The next song is actually a remix called "Down In It (Skin)" that builds on Trent's much sparser demo that was originally scheduled to be included on the album. Whilst "Sanctified" is probably the most dated track on this record it is such an atmospheric composition that it is able to transcend its slightly anachronistic execution.
Things slow down for "Something I Can Never Have" which is a brooding piece driven by piano and Trent's amazing lyrics. My only slight gripe with this song is that there isn't quite enough going on to justify a six minute run time, but it is still an amazing piece of work. There's a slightly mischievous air to "Kinda I Want To" but it remains unclear what the protagonist wants to do or to whom. I read recently that Trent remains unsatisfied with this song and it is one of his least favourite creations. Next up is the excellent "Sin" but the version on the album is a better mix than the Adrian Sherwood version on the CD single.
The transitions of "That's What I Get" don't work for me and the song sounds a bit of a mess until we hit the raucous, and repetitive coda. "The Only Time" is probably my least favourite track on the album but it does feature the immortal line: "the devil wants to f**k me in the back of his car" that used to cause so much amusement to my teenage friends. One of my favourite tracks is the closing song "Ringfinger". Things initially sound almost like a synth-pop anthem (all be it a rather sinister one) before the twisted chorus turns things on their head. After about four minutes there's an injection of pace that ensures the main album goes out on a high of rattling synths, distorted guitars and samples. The 2010 version then plays Trent's cover version of "Get Down Make Love" that was originally the b-side to "Sin". Personally I'm not totally enamoured with this track and regard it as superfluous to the main album. 4/5
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