Head Like a Hole

Head Like A Hole (Halo 3) was the second single released for the first Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine.

About

It was the first commercial success Reznor had and recieved wide radio rotation at the time. It has appeared in almost every concert that Nine Inch Nails has performed since its appearance and has become a staple part of the live set. The With Teeth concerts usually end with this song.

Though Trent Reznor doesn't dislike the song, he was quite suprised it became as big as it did, especially due to it's relatively easy writing process compared to some of the lesser recognized tracks on the CD ("That's What I Get" and "Kinda I Want To" most notably).

The single was released in maxi-single (US) and standard single (UK) formats and do not contain the original album version but rather several remixes of the title track.

Remixes of "Terrible Lie" are the B-Sides for this single, as well as the two remixes of "Down In It" that appeared on the Down In It single and a demo that only appears on the Head Like A Hole single itself. The US Maxi version is actually longer in duration than Pretty Hate Machine while the UK Single is standard size.

On the UK version, there is an (Opal) mix which doesn't appear on the US version. Also the first track, the (Clay) mix which was used for the Head Like A Hole video is mislabeled as the (Slate) mix which is the first track on the US maxi-single but doesn't appear on the UK single version.

The Maxi-Single's disc art reveals the BPM for Head Like A Hole to be 115 BPM and Terrible Lie (song)'s to be 88 BPM

On the US version, there's an unlisted 11th track that's a clip of a female shouting "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woooo! They're GOOD!"

Releases

• TVT Records TVT 2614 - US 12" Vinyl
• TVT Records TVT 2615-2 - US CD
• Island Records 12 IS 484 878 893-1 - UK 12" Vinyl
• Island Records CID 482 878 893-2 - UK CD

Track listing

US version

1. "Head Like a Hole (Slate)" (remixed by Trent Reznor, Flood) - 4:13
2. "Head Like a Hole (Clay)" (remixed by Keith LeBlanc) - 4:30
3. "Terrible Lie (Sympathetic Mix)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 4:26
4. "Head Like a Hole (Copper)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 6:26
5. "You Know Who You Are" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 5:40
6. "Head Like a Hole (Soil)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 6:38
7. "Terrible Lie (Empathetic Mix)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 6:11
8. "Down in It (Shred)" (remixed by Adrian Sherwood, LeBlanc) - 6:51
9. "Down in It (Singe)" (remixed by Sherwood, LeBlanc) - 7:21
10. "Down in It (Demo)" (remixed by Reznor) - 3:55
11. (unlisted track) - 0:04

UK version

1. "Head Like a Hole (Clay)" (remixed by LeBlanc) - 4:30
2. "Head Like a Hole (Copper)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 6:26
3. "Head Like a Hole (Opal)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) - 5:18