When I first heard PHM, I was 15 and into Sepultura, Napalm Death and all that other heavy shit. So initially I thought NIN was not my thing. But as I listened to the album more, I began to realize what a gem it was... The melodic and rhythmic work started inspiring me immensely in my own approach to electronic music comp, and on a personal level his lyrics just resonated with me so deeply (I was 15 and suffering greatly ;) ). Sure, it's dated now and some find it too far removed from the NIN sound that came after to enjoy it as much. I have no such issue with it, it's the beginning of something great, and you can hear that in it from start to finish.