The first guitar-focused NIN Project#
Nine Inch Nails’ 1992 Broken EP is a landmark release by the group, marking a clear transition from the synth-based Pretty Hate Machine into the guitar-focused sounds we’d hear two years later on their 1994 magnum opus, The Downward Spiral. The vinyl record reissue of this album is pretty neat as it has the 2 bonus tracks originally released on a mini CD as a 7" 45 RPM record, as well as a full booklet and printed sleeve. The cover is also adorned with a glossy lowercase ’n'.
The opening track, Pinion, is about a minute of build-up that leads into the release’s standout track, Wish. Wish is probably one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs, being one of their most fast-paced songs. It’s incredibly angry, as a good Nine Inch Nails song often is, as well as featuring some of the best drums in industrial history. Happiness in Slavery is a song that sort of dips back into the more traditional Pretty Hate Machine style of industrial track, featuring more synths with some truly sickening screams overlaid with Trent’s singing. It very much reminds me of Skinny Puppy, which if you know me, is a very good thing.
Another standout for me is the cover of Adam Ant’s Physical (You’re So), one of the two hidden tracks. It’s pretty similar to the original, surprisingly, as Adam Ant doesn’t usually do super heavy stuff. It’s got some heavier guitars on this release, and I definitely prefer Trent as a vocalist, so it has a slight edge over the original if you ask me.
All in all, this is a really cool release and is certainly one of my favorite in NIN/Reznor’s expansive catalog. It’s definitely one of the top EPs of the ’90s, and it’s definitely a landmark in Reznor’s career, giving us a taste of what would come in the following decade.
Favorite Track: I Let Love In