Broken | The Downward Spiral | The Fragile | Ghosts series | EP Trilogy
Original EP:
- The intro track "Pinion" is very foreboding and intense especially as the distorted guitar section starts off really quiet but then gradually gets louder, and louder, and louder until it segues into the next song "Wish".
- Arguably, the scariest part of "Wish" doesn't occur throughout the frantic main duration of the song, but instead at the very end, composed of a strange, just-audible hissing noise. It gets creepier to listen to once one sees it coupled with the music video's visuals of an angry mob breaking into the cage NIN is playing in with thorough intents to commit unseen acts of gruesome violence. And then "Last" explodes in your ear.
- When the ending of "Help Me I Am in Hell" finally segues into "Happiness In Slavery", the first thing heard is Trent screaming at the top of his lungs "SLAVE SCREAMS!", which can definitely give any unprepared listeners a good fright.
- The whole of "Happiness In Slavery" could be considered nightmare fuel. Besides from the music video detailed below, the song is a metaphor for Trent's problem with TVT Records which details the abuse this "Slave" (Trent) has to go through from his "owner" (TVT) to the point he doesn't feel like a human anymore to the point and more of a machine (probably giving us a future hint towards The Downward Spiral) and he can only feel pleasure when he suffers under the hand of his "owner".
- Related to this is one of the lines in the EP's packaging after the credits: "The slave thinks he is released from bondage only to find a stronger set of chains."
- "Gave Up" is a track full of nightmare fuel. From Trent's manic screams and yells to the distorted synths and vocals and to the final cathartic minute of the track, it's not a very comforting listen but it has become a massive fan favorite for being so energetic but really intense at the same time, being performed live at all tours since 1994.
- "Suck" has a case of Last Note Nightmare during the outro. Trent's vocals are panned from ear to ear, giving the illusion of him getting closer and closer to you, whilst eerily mumbling and whispering the final stanza of the song, until it gets to the final line "I want to do terrible things to you".
Music videos:
- The music video for "Pinion
", the short instrumental intro to the EP, is downright unsettling. Grainy and colorless, the video starts with a creepy shot of a dirty toilet flushing, with the music lightly tapping away. As the track builds, the video pans down the pipes, getting more intense until you see a leatherbound human being with his mouth against the pipe, twitching silently as he's getting drowned. An agonizing buildup to a final image of claustrophobic horror. - "Help Me I Am in Hell" has a video of a man having a meal of steak and wine in a room full of flies (as pictured above). One has to wonder how many flies he must've ingested while keeping such a straight face. Also, the man's Death Glare in the beginning of the video deserves a special mention.
- The nigh-universally banned video for "Happiness in Slavery." (NSFW) In case you might think of checking this one out for yourself, here's a summary: a man (played by performance artist and super-masochist Bob Flanagan) gets naked, lies down, and allows a machine to rip off his penis and gradually chop up the rest of his body, then grind him into meat. This is all depicted quite graphically, though about as artistically as possible...and in black and white. And it's realistic enough to look like an honest-to-God Snuff Film. You've been warned.
- The Broken Movie is easily the most depraved NIN-associated work in existence. It's a 20-minute short film designed to look very much like a snuff film. Reznor once claimed that it made the aforementioned "Happiness in Slavery" video look like a Disney movie, and he's not wrong. (WARNING: NSFL)
