The first song on Pretty Hate Machine and second single from it, “Head Like A Hole” is one of the more popular songs on the album. The single release is also known as Halo 3, and contains 11 tracks, including four versions of the single, plus remixes of “Terrible Lie” and “Down In It”

Reznor claims he “wrote it at the last minute as a throwaway”. Whereas the other songs on the album were born of a “meticulous and agonizing process”, he shared that “Head Like A Hole” only “took me 15 minutes [to write] in my bedroom”.

Trent Reznor has been quoted as saying:

I don’t remember what I was thinking about at the time, but it was pretty much about yelling at a beast without putting a face to it

However, the song title is attributed to an Al Jourgensen quote (from a 1987 Ministry concert), as is the band’s name:

Listening to Ministry is like having a nine inch nail hammered into your head like a hole.

“Head Like A Hole” was NIN’s second appearance on the US Alternative Songs Chart, reaching #28 in March 1990. Despite its lackluster appearance on paper, this song is credited with gaining the band a massive underground following that would lay the groundwork for their next major release Broken to debut at #7 on the US Albums Chart in 1992. After the mainstream success of “Closer” in late 1994, “Head Like A Hole” found renewed attention, appearing on the US Bubbling Under Chart (an extension of the Hot 100) in early 1995.

In the UK, “Head Like A Hole” was NIN’s first song to appear on the Official Top 75 Chart in late 1990, reaching #45. Its success in the UK led Guns N' Roses to have NIN as their opening act on their European tour late summer 1991.