Head Like a Hole

Head Like a Hole (also known as Halo 3) is a single by Nine Inch Nails for the song of the same name released in 1990.

The single

Head Like a Hole is the third official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single from the album Pretty Hate Machine. It contains remixes of three different songs from Pretty Hate Machine and is longer in duration than the album itself.

A three-track version of this single was released in the UK. This version contains "Head Like a Hole (opal)", which is not included on the US release.

"Down in It (shred)" and "Down in It (singe)" were previously released on the Down in It single.

The unlisted eleventh track is a woman's voice yelling "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo! They're good!" This is a sample of one of the hosts from Dance Party USA during a NIN appearance on the show.

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

(track 1 is listed as "Head Like a Hole (slate)" on the CD, but this is a typo)

The song

"Head Like a Hole" was Nine Inch Nails' first popular song, enjoying heavy rotation on the radio at the time.

A music video was made for the "clay" remix of this song. It was directed by Eric Zimmerman and released in March, 1990. The video became popular on MTV and helped fuel NIN's early success. A slightly different edit of the video was also released for Flood's remix of the song.

"Head Like a Hole" has been covered by AFI, The Ancient Gallery, Devo, Eric Gorfain, Korn, Lullacry, Opium Jukebox, P.I.G., and Razorblade Smile.

External links

• nin.com
• Halo 3 Lyrics
• nincollector.com: halo three
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (US CD5")
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (US 12")
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (AU CD5")
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (UK CD5")
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (DE 7")
• discogs.com: Head Like a Hole (UK 10")