The debut release of any band is crucial, as it represents years of hard work and sets the tone for the band's ethos. For Nine Inch Nails, "Head Like a Hole" was their breakthrough song. I interviewed Trent not long after the release of the debut NIN album "Pretty Hate Machine" and Trent seemed far more proud of "Down In It" and "Terrible Lie"- two other singles off that debut album. Despite feeling that the song was a throwaway, Trent Reznor was surprised by its success and struggled with the pressure of following it up. "Head Like a Hole" propelled NIN into the mainstream but left Reznor feeling disenchanted with the music industry.
In fact my first encounter with Trent came when an old radio boss I had who didn't believe in the band and didn't want to put them on the radio live at the radio station I was working back then told me to interview them off air in a side studio for my late night radio interview show at that time called "Backstage Pass". I knew on first listen that "Pretty Hate Machine" was both ground breaking and PERFECT for what alternative music needed at the time (1989), so I jumped at the chance.
...and the rest is NIN history....