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Nine Inch Nails - Broken


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"Broken" is the second Nine Inch Nails' album, although it's often considered an EP only. After releasing the debut "Pretty Hate Machine", Reznor and his record company TVT Records have come into a clash of interests. TVT wanted a polished, radio-friendly material, Reznor – just the opposite. In spite of Nothing Records coming to the aid and Reznor succeeded with recording completely uncommercial material, he paid for the whole situation with nervous breakdown and depression (nothing new to him). "Broken" is the result of his anger then. To be fair, "Broken" is one of the toughest Nine Inch Nails' records and it could be hard to stand for first listenings. We won't find here any ballads or other breathing spaces. There are only wild tempos, fury and anger as well as hopeless and sad lyrics, so typical for Trent. The album starts with electronically shred intro "Pinion". Next we have one of NIN's most famous songs: "Wish". It begins with a sound of tape rewinding, then Reznor's quiet vocal parts are mixed with heavy riffs. Such ability to combine quiet moments with the most aggressive ones will become band's hallmark in the future. We can hear a similar situation in "Last" - heavy guitar riffs with electronic background and another wild, shout out chorus. A moment of calming - "Help Me I Am In Hell". Just a couple of guitar clanks, but they play a large role in creating the atmosphere. "Happiness In Slavery" is one of NIN's greatest tracks. From the very beginning it has wild screams and terrorizes the listener with the slaughter of samples. Finding some melody is possible just in chorus. It's also important to mention the lyrics: "Don't open your eyes / You won't like what you see / The devils of truth steal the souls of the free". One of "Broken's" biggest highlights. Theoretically, the album ends with "Gave Up" - another great hit, even today not a single gig can be played without it. To all intents and purposes, there are two more tracks on "Broken": "Physical" and "Suck". The first is a cover of Adam Ant's song. It's furious and heavy just like the others, it stand out from them though. Actually, it's hard to guess that it's a cover - Reznor gave his interpretation typical NIN, sick atmosphere. "Suck" is a song Trent wrote earlier for Pigface. It's quite calm. "Broken" is definitely one of NIN's greatest achievements - even if it lasts only about half an hour. It's full of emotions, only looking for a vent. It's a great record, when you're pissed off and you want to kill everyone around. I dissuade you from killing, but listening to "Broken" - quite the contrary!

Tracklist:
01. Pinion
02. Wish
03. Last
04. Help Me I Am In Hell
05. Happiness In Slavery
06. Gave Up
..
98.Physical
99.Suck
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Translator: alucard
Add date: 2008-11-04 / Music reviews


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