Product Description

Having caught the public's attention with his catchy, chart- topping PRETTY HATE MACHINE, Trent Reznor was free to experiment with music less accessible to the mainstream. While his more fickle fans were disappointed with BROKEN, the faithful heard in it Reznor's true genius. Dark and edgy, BROKEN cuts the silence like a dirty knife--no singalong anthems here. Only hard-hitting rhythms and no-holds-barred metal riffs flavour this sophomore effort.
In BROKEN one can hear the artist maturing and simplifying his craft; Reznor succeeds here without relying on the trappings of pop formulas. Theproduct of a burst of creative energy, BROKEN spawned a companion release of remixes, titled FIXED. From the tight, rapid-fire succession of chords that begins "Pinion" to the beautiful and dreamy jingling guitar of "Help Me I Am in Hell",BROKEN proved that Reznor was to remain a force in the alternative music scene.

Track Listing

1. Pinion
2. Wish
3. Last
4. Help Me I Am In Hell
5. Happiness In Slavery
6. Gave Up
7. Non-Musical Silence
8. Non-Musical Silence
9. Non-Musical Silence
10. Non-Musical Silence
11. Non-Musical Silence
12. Non-Musical Silence
13. Non-Musical Silence
14. Non-Musical Silence
15. Non-Musical Silence
16. Non-Musical Silence
17. Non-Musical Silence
18. Non-Musical Silence
19. Non-Musical Silence
20. Non-Musical Silence
21. Non-Musical Silence
22. Non-Musical Silence
23. Non-Musical Silence
24. Non-Musical Silence
25. Non-Musical Silence
26. Non-Musical Silence
27. Non-Musical Silence
28. Non-Musical Silence
29. Non-Musical Silence
30. Non-Musical Silence
31. Non-Musical Silence
32. Non-Musical Silence
33. Non-Musical Silence
34. Non-Musical Silence
35. Non-Musical Silence
36. Non-Musical Silence
37. Non-Musical Silence
38. Non-Musical Silence
39. Non-Musical Silence
40. Non-Musical Silence
41. Non-Musical Silence
42. Non-Musical Silence
43. Non-Musical Silence
44. Non-Musical Silence
45. Non-Musical Silence
46. Non-Musical Silence
47. Non-Musical Silence
48. Non-Musical Silence
49. Non-Musical Silence
50. Non-Musical Silence
51. Non-Musical Silence
52. Non-Musical Silence
53. Non-Musical Silence
54. Non-Musical Silence
55. Non-Musical Silence
56. Non-Musical Silence
57. Non-Musical Silence
58. Non-Musical Silence
59. Non-Musical Silence
60. Non-Musical Silence
61. Non-Musical Silence
62. Non-Musical Silence
63. Non-Musical Silence
64. Non-Musical Silence
65. Non-Musical Silence
66. Non-Musical Silence
67. Non-Musical Silence
68. Non-Musical Silence
69. Non-Musical Silence
70. Non-Musical Silence
71. Non-Musical Silence
72. Non-Musical Silence
73. Non-Musical Silence
74. Non-Musical Silence
75. Non-Musical Silence
76. Non-Musical Silence
77. Non-Musical Silence
78. Non-Musical Silence
79. Non-Musical Silence
80. Non-Musical Silence
81. Non-Musical Silence
82. Non-Musical Silence
83. Non-Musical Silence
84. Non-Musical Silence
85. Non-Musical Silence
86. Non-Musical Silence
87. Non-Musical Silence
88. Non-Musical Silence
89. Non-Musical Silence
90. Non-Musical Silence
91. Non-Musical Silence
92. Non-Musical Silence
93. Non-Musical Silence
94. Non-Musical Silence
95. Non-Musical Silence
96. Non-Musical Silence
97. Non-Musical Silence
98. Physical (You're So)
99. Suck

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39977 in Music
• Released on: 1992-09-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, EP
• Running time: 38 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

The beginning of Trent's unique sound...
This mini album is almost the complete opposite of Nine Inch Nails' debut "Pretty Hate Machine". The angry lyrics are still there, but this time round Trent has swapped his funky synths, laid back vocals and dancey beats and loops for thrashing guitars and a fair lot of screaming. It was on this EP that Trent discovered the electric guitar and he later combined the two sounds of "Pretty Hate Machine" and "Broken" to create his own individual sound that appeared on his masterpiece "The Downward Spiral".

"Broken" begins with "Pinion", which is less of a song and more of a grinding, angry, instrumental introduction to "Wish". "Wish" itself has become one of NIN's most famous songs and a staple at concerts, with it's rhythmic drum beats and industrial repetitive guitar riffs, building to a headbanging chorus - one of the best songs on the EP for me. Then moving on to "Last", similar sounds to "Wish" - pounding guitars and a surprisingly catchy chorus. "Help Me I Am In Hell" is similar to "Pinion", a softer guitar instrumental leading into "Happiness In Slavery", which I find to be one of NIN's heaviest songs ever, although Trent's shouting and shredding often break down into catchy beats reminiscent of "Pretty Hate Machine". The album ends on "Gave Up", another one of my favourites, which has a punky edge and some electronic beats thrown in for good measure. There are also two hidden songs on the EP - "Physical (You're So)" - a catchy, guitar-driven cover of the Adam Ant version, and "Suck", a more dancey song with a great bassline.

Overall, I have to say this EP is not for the faint hearted, and I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking to get into NIN (go for "Pretty Hate Machine", "The Downward Spiral" or "With Teeth"). However, anybody who has already purchased a bit of NIN would definately appreciate "Broken" which shows another side to Trent Reznor, and it is fascinating to see how he developed his unique sound with the blasting EP.

BRILLANT EP
Released two years before 'The Downward Spiral', 'Broken' shows how much nin had grown since debut release 'Pretty Hate Machine'.

The tracks are alot heavier than his previous work, this is noticeable from the start as 'pinion' gives way to 'Wish' which is a full on assult of guitars. This sets the trend for the rest of the album.

The only downside are that the two hidden tracks 'Physical' and 'Suck' were'nt included in the tracklisting and are hidden as track 98 and 99. But this is only a minor gripe.

the best that they have done
ok then this is the best thing bearing the NIN logo and its depressing because its soooooo short!!! i mean its like 6 proper full songs and 2 small odd little instrumental thingys!!!!
this is also the heaviest thing that NIN have released and again is frustrating because it shows that trent can do heavy but he just doesnt seem to do elsewhere!!!
half of me hates this album because its almost as if they are tainting us by making such a brilliant album thats sooo different to the rest and keeping it so short.
the songs are great...they almost sound like actual metal songs...the guitars are alot bigger and the beats are alot heavier...its like everything has been turned up...alot!!!!!!!!
the rythm of the songs are soooo off kilter to that its almost impossible to dance to!!!
nasty piece of work!!! but tooo short hence only 4 stars!