''Fixed'' is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

band

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

. It was released on December 7, 1992, by

Nothing Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...

, TVT, and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. It serves as a companion release to '' Broken'' (1992), and includes remixes by Coil,

Danny Hyde Danny Hyde is an experimental musician and remix artist. Hyde has contributed to production and mixing on many Coil albums, including ''Horse Rotorvator'', ''Love's Secret Domain'', ''The Remote Viewer'', ''Black Antlers'',''The Ape of Naples'', ...

JG Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other names, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for juxtaposing a variety of different musical styles. ...

, and

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

, as well as then-live band member

Chris Vrenna Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails ...

. ''Fixed'' charted in New Zealand and Canada in 1993 and was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) on March 1, 1995.

Background and content

According to

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

, Nine Inch Nails frontman and, at the time, sole member, ''Fixed'' was not intended to be a remix album, but instead a reinterpretation and deconstruction of the music found on the 1992 EP '' Broken'', where the songs were in their "proper form". After Reznor hired

Peter Christopherson Peter Martin Christopherson (also known as Sleazy, 27 February 1955 – 25 November 2010) was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis. He also found ...

of Coil to direct the accompanying film to ''Broken'', they developed a friendship. Shortly after, Reznor asked Christopherson to contribute to ''Fixed''.

and

were also recruited for the remixing effort. Thirwell's second "Wish" remix, "Fist Fuck", features samples of

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

while the final track, "Screaming Slave", contains various samples of Bob Flanagan being tortured that were recorded during the filming of the "

Happiness in Slavery "Happiness in Slavery" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their extended play, '' Broken'' (1992). It was released in November 1992 as a promotional single from the EP. The song takes its title and refrain from Jean ...

" music video. Ultimately, Vig's contributions were minimal, relegated to the ending passage of "Throw This Away". About the experience, Vig said, "I started recording a lot of new parts, and took it in a much different direction. When it was finished, Trent thought the front part of the mix didn't fit the EP, so he just used the ending." Reznor and

completed many of the remixes in-house. Musically, ''Fixed'' is a dark,

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

, and noisy EP. Much of ''Brokens heavy metal aspects are eschewed and replaced with more beat- and drum-focused sounds. Tape manipulation, unusual noises, and a focus on grinding repetition define ''Fixed'' as a distinctly

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

release.

''Uncoiled'' and ''Recoiled''

After Christopherson and

John Balance Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton (16 February 1962 – 13 November 2004), better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English musician, occultist, artist and poet. He was best known as a co-founde ...

, the two members of Coil who worked on ''Fixed'', died,

released a number of outtakes from the remix EP, the "

Closer to God "Closer" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as the second single on their second studio album, ''The Downward Spiral'' (1994). Released on May 30, 1994, it is considered Nine Inch Nails' signature song and re ...

" (1994) single, and the ''

Further Down the Spiral ''Further Down the Spiral'' is a remix album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It is the companion remix disc to the band’s second studio album, ''The Downward Spiral'', and was released on June 1, 1995 in two editions, one den ...

'' (1995) remix album onto

torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of s ...

websites. This initial leak was titled ''Uncoiled'', and a later semi-official release through Cold Spring was called ''Recoiled''. Both of these releases feature alternate mixes of "Gave Up" from ''Fixed''.

Critical reception

In his review of ''Fixed'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writer Peter J. D'Angelo said, "Even though Nine Inch Nails was thrust into the mainstream spotlight, this record shows the group returning to its roots and creating a daring new translation of songs that were pummeling from the start." D'Angelo concluded his review by writing that ''Fixed'' is "an impressive feat and a necessary counterpoint to an important record."

Track listing

Personnel

Nine Inch Nails *

– writing, performing, production, remixing (3, 4, 6) Remixing personnel *

– remixing (1) *

– remixing (2, 5) * Paul Kendall – additional electronics (3) *

– remixing (3, 4, 6) *

– ending sequence (4) * Bill Kennedy – remixing (6) * Martin Brumbach – remixing (6) *

Sean Beavan Sean Beavan is a musician, record producer, and audio engineer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, God Lives Underwater, and Slayer. His production style is typically heavy, with heavily saturated guita ...

– remixing (6) * Bob Flanagan – remixing (6) Additional personnel *

Gary Talpas Gary Talpas is an American art director and photographer. Talpas worked as designer and art director for Nine Inch Nails on ''Pretty Hate Machine'', "Head Like A Hole", ''The Downward Spiral'' and ''Further Down the Spiral''. He also played keyboa ...

– sleeve design, photography * Tom Baker – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, +Certifications for ''Fixed'' by Nine Inch Nails

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 EPs 1992 remix albums Albums produced by Trent Reznor Atlantic Records EPs Atlantic Records remix albums Interscope Records EPs Interscope Records remix albums Nine Inch Nails EPs Nine Inch Nails remix albums Nothing Records EPs Nothing Records remix albums Remix EPs TVT Records EPs TVT Records remix albums