Music | Pop Culture | 00s | 90s

Alt-Rockers Of The 90s, What's Your Favorite Nine Inch Nails Album? (Poll)

By Matt |

<div><p>Nine Inch Nails have been bringing their own personal brand of sonic chaos to the music scene for nearly three decades now, and it's been hard not to take notice. Between millions of album sales, several massive singles, and even a side career as an Academy Award-winning composer, Trent Reznor remains one of the world's leading frontmen in the field of aggressive, industrial alt-rock.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/Trent-Reznor-of-Nine-Inch-Nails-2014-billboard-1548.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Billboard</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_incontent _1"> </div><p></p><p>Like with any prolific band, everyone has their favorite albums. We want to know what your pick is, so let's start this off.</p><h3><em>Pretty Hate Machine </em>(1989)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/grande.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>CD Market</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>The band's fiery debut and Reznor's dedication to a relationship gone wrong, <em>Pretty Hate Machine</em> was an instant hit thanks to singles like "Head Like a Hole" and "Down In It."</p><h3><em>Broken EP </em>(1992)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/R-609298-1188966251-jpeg.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Discogs</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>Despite being only six songs in length (eight if you count the two bonus tracks), <em>Broken</em> has remained a fan-favorite for years. "Wish" has been covered by numerous artists in the years since.</p><h3><em>The Downward Spiral </em>(1994)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/R-4404-1169671952-jpeg.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Discogs</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>Considered by many to be the band's magnum opus, Reznor channeled years of drug-fueled fury into this bleak monster of an album. Recorded along with <em>Broken</em> in the house where Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family, the album released two massive singles with "March of the Pigs" and "Closer."</p><h3><em>The Fragile</em> (1999)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/41hihzDYtIL.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Amazon</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>An ambitious double-album that dealt heavily with Reznor's own personal issues, <em>The Fragile</em> is heavy on atmosphere and mood. Overlooked due to alt-rock's decline in popularity, it remains a live favorite.</p><h3><em>With Teeth</em> (2005)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/92cddeb842b1997e5879d69f17ffb71b.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Pinterest</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>After taking a few years to get clean and sort out personal demons, the band came back with a hit of an album. More streamlined than some of their previous albums, it went on to have several hits with "The Hand That Feeds," "Only," and "Every Day Is Exactly The Same."</p><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_video"> </div><p></p><h3><em>Year Zero </em>(2007)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/334424ce.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Pitchfork</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>A synth-heavy concept album about a dystopian, fictionalized version of the United States in the year 2022, <em>Year Zero </em>marked the last album NIN released on a major record label. </p><h3><em>Ghosts I - IV </em>(2009)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/7000302251_b0e1326320_b.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Flickr</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>The first collaboration between Reznor and future co-composer Atticus Ross (<em>The Social Network, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</em>), <em>Ghosts</em> started as a single EP but ballooned out into an almost entirely instrumental four-disc album.</p><h3><em>The Slip </em>(2009)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/R-1327658-1209973759-jpeg.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Discogs</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>Recorded and released within a span of three weeks, the band released <em>The Slip</em> for free through their website a few months after the release of <em>Ghosts</em>. </p><h3><em>Hesitation Marks </em>(2013)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/nine-inch-nails-hesitation-marks-620x556.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>rocksucker</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>After a lengthy hiatus during which he composed for films and started the band <em>How to Destroy Angels</em> with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, Reznor returned with a full new album of material for the first time in four years. It went on to receive positive reviews and a Grammy nomination.</p><h3><em>Not the Actual Events EP </em>(2016)</h3><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/06/nineinchnailsnottheactual.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Blabbermouth</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p>The first in a planned trilogy of EPs, <em>Not the Actual Events</em> saw Atticus Ross join the band proper, as well as their return to more of their chaotic 90s sound. Time will tell what the other two EPs will sound like</p><p><strong>What gets your vote?</strong></p><p></p><amp-apester-media height="390" data-apester-media-id="593a973dbe3db6a6300b155a"></amp-apester-media><p></p><h3>Want some more lovably bleak memories of the 90s? Check out these <a href="https://www.throwbacks.com/the-biggest-struggles-90s-kids-survived-that-kids-today-would-not-understand/?utm_source=throwbacks&amp;utm_medium=TBinterlink" target="_blank">struggles we faced then that people don't understand.</a></h3></div>

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