Nine Inch Nails Broken CD

Description

As a placeholder between the full-length Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, Broken packs a serious punch. Angrier and less poppy than Machine, this EP is full of noisy hooks, if such a thing is possible (check out that guitar riff on the full-throttle “Wish”), and much closer aesthetically to the industrial subgenre that informs Trent Reznor’s music. As song titles like “Help Me I Am in Hell” suggest, Broken is a work of undiluted rage, which is, of course, a big part of its appeal. While “Pretty Hate Machine” went for straight-forward industrial beats, “Broken” is far heavier, more aggressive, with more guitars. While the club/techno crowd may have been more receptive to the debut, “Broken” is an EP that would just as likely appeal to metal fans. Equal parts metal and industrial beats, “Broken” can be seen as a prelude, or a sneak preview of what Reznor would unveil two years later with his masterpiece “The Downward Spiral” (1994). Clocking in slightly past the half-hour mark, with eight songs (two tracks are hidden, two are instrumentals) “Broken” is pretty short. But the EP is so angry, so aggressive, with no reprieve; the shortness in length probably works for the best.