25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Released 25 years ago today, this album pushed many boundaries both for the band's career and for popular music. While most newer bands take the direction of the labels or pop culture, this was going in a much different direction. Fueled by a bitter hatred for their record label (especially previous owner Steve Gottlieb) this EP was recorded with producer Flood in various studios under fake names to ensure that TVT could not interfere creatively. It introduced a much more violent tone than the heavily synthesized first release, Pretty Hate Machine.
So what makes this EP so special?
This wasn't just a part two to his previous album, the video wasn't just a lip syncing situation, and lyrics weren't written over night. The mixes themselves were so loud and sounded abrasive so that regardless of the volume, this EP gnaws at your brain. The video would never be shown on any video distributions which TVT found infuriating. Here's this brand new band that they want to make a huge profit off but they're writing heavier music and making videos no one would play. This release took them even further in the opposite direction they were advising, and tensions made this ugly sounding, pissed off record.
This was the perfect middle ground of 1994's Downward Spiral and Pretty Hate Machine. This was very much a guitar based record, while Downward Spiral was more of a hybrid of the two. Tracks like "Happiness in Slavery" in my opinion is the best tone for pure aggression of this band. It wasn't as polished as Downward Spiral, so it seemed to have a more disgusting feel to it.
Surfacing 1 year later was an accompaning short film that went with the EP. Watch the whole thing here.
The Broken short film was never officially released, but several copies were made and secretly distributed. In the film, the EP itself played in order with several snuff film-like videos in between. Videos of people being burned with torches, cut open, and sexually ashamed. This was a collaboration with Peter Christopherson and Trent Reznor. A "leaked" version became available in 2005. It was uploaded to the official NIN vimeo several times, but was always removed within minutes. It's easily found in 2017, but the hunt of the official and full version of this was a tedious task.
With video footage for Gave up, it shows the band playing live in the Tate house where the Manson family murders took place. On the computer screen in the beginning, you can read "Fuck you Steve" in reference to TVT owner. Something also not really ever spoken of is the synth tracks were also renamed to "Fuck you Steve" as well. This was also Marilyn Manson's first ever video premier. He's shown playing guitar, but it wasn't actually being played.
Now I realize there were much more dissonant sounding albums, actual snuff film footage for more underground bands, and obviously heavier bands far before 1992 when this was released. For me personally, this album, video, and story behind it all kicked my ass. I wish bands nowadays were half as dangerous as bands like these guys were in the 90's.
-Novak