0388. Big Black
Atomizer

This debut is an album Trent Reznor has must have had under the pillow for years before forming NIN. It's violent, naked and raw in the best sense of the words, and Steve Albini's brainchild is a goddamned monster of a band.

Some tracks (like Bad Houses) are reminiscient of The Sisters Of Mercy in the instrumentation (a side-effect of using a drum machine instead of a regular drummer), while others are stuff that Throbbing Gristle would muse at.

As for Big Black themselves their "independent as fuck"-attitude was a heavy influence on the DIY-scene, and the confrontational (to say the least) lyrics and on-stage demeanor got them some followers and a lot of hate.