Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails Things Falling Apart

Tuck Remington

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Nine Inch Nails Things Falling Apart

Tuck Remington

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Credits Book Designer—Mark Grow Photos—Alamy

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1. Formation 2. Band Members 3. Tour History 4. Discography

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Foreword Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ) is an American industrial rock band founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. The band released two influential albums during the 1990s—The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999)—and has record sales exceeding over 20 million copies worldwide, with 10 million sales certified in the United States alone.

Despite this, the band has had several feuds with the corporate side of the recording industry. In 2007, after the release of their fifth studio album Year Zero (2007), these entanglements resulted in Reznor announcing that the band would split from its longtime record label Interscope Records to release future material independently, before signing with Columbia Records for the release of their eighth album Hesitation Marks (2013). Reznor returned to self-releasing material with the second Nine Inch Nails EP, Not the Actual Events (2016).

As the band’s main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only constant member of the group, and remains solely responsible for its direction. This changed however in 2016 when Atticus Ross was introduced as a permanent member of Nine Inch Nails alongside the announcement of Not the Actual Events. After recording a new album, Reznor usually assembles a live band to perform onstage with him. The touring band features a revolving lineup that often rearranges songs to fit a live setting. On stage, Nine Inch Nails often employs visual elements to accompany performances, which frequently include light shows.

Nine Inch Nails has been nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards, and won twice for the songs “Wish” and “Happiness in Slavery” in 1992 and 1996, respectively.

In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine’s list of the year’s most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as “the most vital artist in music”.In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2014, Nine Inch Nails was named as nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first year of eligibility. In 2015, they were nominated a second time.

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Formation “To me, rock music was never meant to be safe. I think there needs to be an element of intrigue, mystery, subversiveness.

Your parents should hate it.”

In 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboard in a Cleveland band called the Exotic Birds, then managed by John Malm, Jr. Reznor and Malm became friends, and when Reznor left the Exotic Birds to work on music of his own, Malm informally became his manager. At the time, Reznor was employed as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios, in Cleveland; he asked studio owner Bart Koster for permission to record some demos of his own material for free during unused studio time.

Koster agreed and allowed Reznor to use it whenever it was empty, commenting that it cost him “just a little wear on [his] tape heads”. While completing the early recordings, Reznor was unable to find a band that could articulate the material as he desired. Instead, inspired by Prince, Reznor played all the instruments except drums himself. This role remains Reznor’s on most of the band’s studio recordings, though he has occasionally involved other musicians and assistants. Nine Inch Nails debut was at the Phantasy Theater in Lakewood, Ohio on October 21, 1988 as part of the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series. In 1988, after playing its first shows supporting Skinny Puppy, Reznor’s ambition for Nine Inch Nails was to release one 12-inch single on a small European label. Several labels responded favorably to the demo material and Reznor signed with TVT Records. Nine selections from the Right Track demos recorded live in November 1988, collectively known as Purest Feeling, were later released in revised form on the band’s first full-length studio release, Pretty Hate Machine (1989). The overall sound on Purest Feeling is lighter than that of Pretty Hate Machine; several songs feature more live drumming and guitar work throughout, as well as a heavier use of samples from films. Reznor coined the name “Nine Inch Nails” because it “abbreviated easily”, rather than for “any literal meaning”. Other rumored explanations have circulated, alleging that Reznor chose to reference Jesus’ crucifixion with nine-inch spikes, or Freddy Krueger’s nine-inch fingernails. The English letters NIN are also noted for their resemblance to the modern Hebrew characters of the Tetragrammaton.

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Band Members

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Trent Reznor Singer, Primary Songwriter Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) known professionally as Trent Reznor, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and film score composer. As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the founder and principal songwriter of industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails.

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Atticus Ross Songwriter, Record Producer Atticus Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, and audio engineer. Along with Trent Reznor, Ross won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network in 2010. In 2016, Ross became an official member of Reznor’s band Nine Inch Nails.

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Touring Band Members

Robin Fink Guitar, Backup Vocals Robert John “Robin” Finck is an American guitarist. He is one of only a few artists who has played in two different iconic bands: Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses. He joined Nine Inch Nails as part of their touring band in 1994–95 for their Self-Destruct and Further Down the Spiral tours following the departure of previous guitarist Richard Patrick.

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Adrien Belew

Josh Freese

Guitar, Backup Vocals

Drums, Percussion

Adrian Belew is a musician and vocalist perhaps

Josh Freese is an American multi-instrumentalist,

best known for his work as a guitarist for the pro-

songwriter, and composer. He is a permanent mem-

gressive rock group King Crimson. Belew has

ber of the Vandals and Devo, having formerly played

contributed to four Nine Inch Nails albums: The

drums for Nine Inch Nails from 2005 until 2008,

Downward Spiral, The Fragile, Ghosts I–IV and

A Perfect Circle from 1999 to 2012, and Guns N’

Hesitation Marks.

Roses from 1997 to 2000.

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Tour History

During its earliest incarnations, Nine Inch Nails as a live band acted as supporting acts on tours for bands and musicians such as Skinny Puppy and Guns N’ Roses. Subsequent tours have featured Nine Inch Nails as the headlining act, with support from bands such as Unkle, Marilyn Manson, and A Perfect Circle.

1–635 Shows

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Discography 1989–2013

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Pretty Hate Machine

TVT Records October 20, 1989

Tracklist

Written, arranged, and performed by Reznor, Nine Inch

Head Like A Hole

Nails’ first album Pretty Hate Machine debuted in 1989.

Terrible Lie

It marked his first collaboration with Adrian Sherwood

Down In It

(who produced the lead single “Down in It” in London

Sanctified

without meeting Reznor face-to-face) and Mark “Flood”

Kinda I Want To

Ellis. Reznor asked Sean Beavan to mix the demos of

That’s What I Get

Pretty Hate Machine, which had received multiple offers

The Only Time

for record deals. He mixed sound during Nine Inch

Ringfinger

Nails’ live concerts for several years, eventually becoming an unofficial member of the live band and singing live backup vocals from his place at the mixing console. Flood’s production would appear on each major Nine Inch Nails release until 1994, and Sherwood has made remixes for the band as recently as 2000. Reznor and his co-producers expanded upon the Right Track Studio demos by adding singles “Head Like a Hole” and “Sin”. Rolling Stone’s Michael Azerrad described the album as “industrial-strength noise over a pop framework” and “harrowing but catchy music”; Reznor proclaimed this combination “a sincere statement” of “what was in his head at the time”. In fact the song “Down in It” spent over two months on Billboard’s clubplay dance chart.

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Album Art Trent Reznor

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Pretty Hate Machine In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Michael Azerrad called Pretty Hate Machine “industrial-strength noise over a pop framework” and “harrowing but catchy music”; Reznor proclaimed this combination “a sincere statement” of “what was in his head at the time”. Robert Hilburn found Reznor’s “dark obsession” compelling in the Los Angeles Times, while Q said Reznor “scans the spectrum of modern dance” with a “panoramic vision” that is “both admirably adventurous and yet accessible.” Select critic Neil Perry said that record was “a flawed but listenable labour of loathing”.

Sounds gave the album four stars out of five, noting that “Reznor has guts, and they make his Machine one to be treated with respect.” and that the album was comparable to releases by Ministry and Foetus.

Pareles was less impressed in his review for The New York Times, writing that Pretty Hate Machine “stays so close to the conventions established by Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and New Order that it could be a parody album”. Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post found the music “competent but undistinctive stuff” and believed the “angry denunciations” of songs such as “Terrible Lie” are overshadowed by the “nursery-rhyme” chants of “Down in It”. Tom Popson from the Chicago Tribune wrote that “the playing and production get points for introducing some variety to the industrial style, but the moments of soap-on-a-rope singing tend to cancel them out.”

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In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Steve Huey commended Reznor for giving “industrial music a human voice, a point of connection” with his “tortured confusion and self-obsession”, and felt that “the greatest achievement of Pretty Hate Machine was that it brought emotional extravagance to a genre whose main theme had nearly always been dehumanization.”

Upon its 2010 reissue, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone called it “the first industrial singer-songwriter album” and commended the sound produced by Flood and Keith LeBlanc, who he said “taught Reznor a lot.” Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club felt that the album “remains the work of an artist just discovering his voice” and said that “20 years later, it doesn’t warrant repeat listens like its successors.” He found some of its synth and sampled sounds to still be dated after the album’s remastering and Reznor’s lyrics “mopey” and “silly”.

In his review for Blender, journalist Chuck Palahniuk said that the album “seemed like the first honest piece of music I ever heard.”

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Critical Reception Pretty Hate Machine

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In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Michael Azerrad called Pretty Hate Machine “industrial-strength noise over a pop framework” and “harrowing but catchy music”; Reznor proclaimed this combination “a sincere statement” of “what was in his head at the time”. Robert Hilburn found Reznor’s “dark obsession” compelling in the Los Angeles Times, while Q said Reznor “scans the spectrum of modern dance” with a “panoramic vision” that is “both admirably adventurous and yet accessible.” Select critic Neil Perry said that record was “a flawed but listenable labour of loathing”. Sounds gave the album four stars out of five, noting that “Reznor has guts, and they make his Machine one to be treated with respect.” and that the album was comparable to releases by Ministry and Foetus.

Pareles was less impressed in his review for The New York Times, writing that Pretty Hate Machine “stays so close to the conventions established by Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and New Order that it could be a parody album”. Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post found the music “competent but undistinctive stuff” and believed the “angry denunciations” of songs such as “Terrible Lie” are overshadowed by the “nursery-rhyme” chants of “Down in It”. Tom Popson from the Chicago Tribune wrote that “the playing and production get points for introducing some variety to the industrial style, but the moments of soap-on-a-rope singing tend to cancel them out.”

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Head Black Like A As Your Hole NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

I’d

Than Rather Give You Die NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Album Art Gary Talpas

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Broken

Nothing Records September 22, 1992

Tracklist

Broken is the debut extended play (EP) and major-

Pinion

label debut by American industrial rock band Nine

Wish

Inch Nails, released on September 22, 1992 by

Last

Nothing Records, TVT Records, Interscope Records,

Help Me

and Atlantic Records. It is the band’s second release

Happiness Slavery

following their debut studio album, Pretty Hate Machine,

Gave Up

and consists entirely of new material. Produced by

Physical

frontman Trent Reznor and Flood, it replaces the

Suck

synthpop style of Pretty Hate Machine with a considerably heavier sound that would act as a precursor for Nine Inch Nails’ acclaimed second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994).

The music videos that accompanied five of the eight tracks from the EP were widely censored from television airplay due to their disturbing content.

Nevertheless, “Wish” won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 35th Grammy Awards, and the Woodstock ‘94 performance of “Happiness in Slavery” won the same award at the 38th Grammy Awards. Contributing to the band’s growing mainstream success, Broken debuted to generally positive reactions, and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart. A companion remix EP titled Fixed was released in late 1992.

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Broken In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Michael Azerrad called Pretty Hate Machine “industrial-strength noise over a pop framework” and “harrowing but catchy music”; Reznor proclaimed this combination “a sincere statement” of “what was in his head at the time”. Robert Hilburn found Reznor’s “dark obsession” compelling in the Los Angeles Times, while Q said Reznor “scans the spectrum of modern dance” with a “panoramic vision” that is “both admirably adventurous and yet accessible.” Select critic Neil Perry said that record was “a flawed but listenable labour of loathing”. Sounds gave the album four stars out of five, noting that “Reznor has guts, and they make his Machine one to be treated with respect.” and that the album was comparable to releases by Ministry and Foetus.

Pareles was less impressed in his review for The New York Times, writing that Pretty Hate Machine “stays so close to the conventions established by Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and New Order that it could be a parody album”. Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post found the music “competent but undistinctive stuff” and believed the “angry denunciations” of songs such as “Terrible Lie” are overshadowed by the “nursery-rhyme” chants of “Down in It”. Tom Popson from the Chicago Tribune wrote that “the playing and production get points for introducing some variety to the industrial style, but the moments of soap-on-a-rope singing tend to cancel them out.”

In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Steve Huey commended Reznor for giving “industrial music a human voice, a point of connection” with his “tortured confusion and self-obsession”, and felt that “the greatest achievement of Pretty Hate Machine was that it brought emotional extravagance to a genre whose main theme had nearly always been dehumanization.” Upon its 2010 reissue, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone called it “the first industrial singer-songwriter album” and commended the sound produced by Flood and Keith LeBlanc, who he said “taught Reznor a lot.”

Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club felt that the album “remains the work of an artist just discovering his voice” and said that “20 years later, it doesn’t warrant repeat listens like its successors.” He found some of its synth and sampled sounds to still be dated after the album’s remastering and Reznor’s lyrics “mopey” and “silly”. In his review for Blender, journalist Chuck Palahniuk said that the album “seemed like the first honest piece of music I ever heard.”

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“Reznor has shaken off the shackles of influence, and found his own suitably idiosyncratic niche.”

Mike Williams NME

Critical Reception Broken

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“It’s heavy,” wrote Danny Scott in Select, “it’s loud

and killed on a device led to MTV banning it out-

and it’ll rip your stinkin’ head from your shoulders if

right. This stunted the single’s growth, but the track

you so much as breathe without permission.” “Beats

“Wish” was much more successful with an aggressive

are hammered home with the gleeful force of a den-

live performance on the music video, then later win-

tist’s drill,” said Peter Kane in Q, “while layers of rabid

ning a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Reznor

guitars and Reznor’s spiteful voice pile on the nihilistic

later quipped that he wanted his gravestone to read

agony.” “Reznor has shaken off the shackles of influ-

“Said Fist Fuck, Won a Grammy.” The companion EP

ence,” observed NME, “and found his own suitably

Fixed­—featuring six remixes of material from Broken –

idiosyncratic niche.” “Like a harrowing rape account,”

was released three months later, in December 1992.

marveled Making Music, “it’s an intensely vicious and shocking 30 minutes.”

The EP sold well upon release, and eventually went platinum despite a complete absence of touring in support of it. The first promotional single, “Happiness in Slavery”, received moderate airplay, but its video’s depiction of Bob Flanagan being pleasured, tortured,

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Somethin

This W NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

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The Downward Spiral

Nothing Records March 8, 1994

The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on March 8, 1994 by Nothing Records and Interscope Records in the United States and by Island Records in Europe. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man from the beginning of his “downward spiral” to his attempt at suicide. The Downward Spiral features elements of industrial rock, techno and heavy metal music, in contrast to the band’s synthpop-influenced debut album Pretty Hate Machine (1989), and was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and Flood.

The Downward Spiral was conceived after the Lollapalooza 1991 festival tour as a pivot for Reznor’s personal issues and the “negative vibe” felt by the band. The following year, Reznor moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, where actress Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson Family. It was used as a studio called “Le Pig” for recording Broken and The Downward Spiral with collaborations from other musicians. The album was influenced by late-1970s rock music albums such as David Bowie’s Low and Pink Floyd’s The Wall in particular, and focused on texture and space.

The Downward Spiral was promoted with the Self Destruct Tour, which debuted the band’s grungy and messy image. Many concerts were violent and chaotic, with band members often injuring themselves and destroying their instruments. The album spawned two singles, “March of the Pigs” and “Closer”, in addition to the promotional singles “Piggy” and “Hurt”. “March of the Pigs” and “Closer” were accompanied by music videos, with the former shot twice and the latter’s heavily censored.

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Album Art

Tracklist

Gary Talpas

Mr. Self Destruct Piggy Heresy March of the Pigs Closer Ruiner The Becoming I Do Not Want This Big Man With A Gun A Warm Place Eraser Reptile The Downward Spiral Hurt

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Beginnings The Downward Spiral was conceived after the Lollapalooza festival tour as Trent Reznor thought of a “negative vibe” felt by the band when they were in a European hotel. Nine Inch Nails live performances were known for its aggressive on-stage dynamic, in which band members act angry, injure themselves, and destroy instruments. Reznor had a feud with TVT Records that resulted in him co-founding Nothing Records with his former manager John Malm, Jr. and signing with Interscope. He wanted to explore a fictional character whose life is psychologically wounded and developed a concept about the album’s themes; he later used the concept as lyrics. The concept was based on Reznor’s social issues at the time: he had personal conflicts with band member Richard Patrick and was known for enjoying alcohol. When developing The Downward Spiral, Reznor struggled with drug addiction and was depressed as he wrote songs related to personal issues. His friends suggested that he could take Prozac (fluoxetine), an antidepressant, but this choice did not appeal to him. He wanted the album’s sound to diverge from Broken, emphasizing mood, texture, restraint and subtlety, although he was not sure about its musical direction. The album was made with “full range” and focused on texture and space, avoiding explicit usage of guitars or synthesizers.

Reznor searched for and moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in 1992 for recording Broken and The Downward Spiral, a decision made against his initial choice to record the album in New Orleans. 10050 Cielo Drive is referred to as the “Tate House” since Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969; Reznor named the studio “Le Pig” after the message that was scrawled on the front door with Tate’s blood by her murderers, and stayed there with Malm for 18 months. He called his first night in 10050 Cielo Drive “terrifying” because he already knew it and read books related to the incident. Reznor chose the Tate house to calibrate his engineering skills and the band bought a large console and two Studer machines as resources, a move that he believed was cheaper than renting. The studio was also used for the recording of Marilyn Manson’s debut album Portrait of an American Family, which Reznor co-produced. Marilyn Manson accepted Reznor’s offer of signing a contract with Nothing Records.

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Recording and Collaborations Reznor collaborated with former Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins, progressive rock guitarist Adrian Belew, and Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna. Belew’s first visit to the studio involved playing the guitar parts in “Mr. Self-Destruct”, and he was told to play freely, think on reacting to melodies, concentrate on rhythm, and use noise. This approach improved Reznor’s confidence in the instrument: he found it to be more expressive than the keyboard due to the interface. Belew praised Reznor for his “command of technology,” and commented that the music of Nine Inch Nails made innovations “that are in [his] realm.” Vrenna and Perkins played drum parts recorded live in the studio; the tracks were rendered into looped samples. Reznor took a similar approach to recording guitar parts: he would tape 20- to 25-minute-long sessions of himself playing guitars on a hard disc recorder with the Studio Vision sequencer.

Most of the music was recorded into a Macintosh computer using a board and manipulated with music editor programs on the computer. Unique effects such as analyzing and inverting the frequency were applied to the tracks to create original sounds. The band would “get an arrangement together” and convert it into analog tape. Reznor sampled excerpts from guitar tracks and processed them to the point of randomness and expression. Among the equipment Reznor used for recording the album are Pro Tools, Digidesign’s TurboSynth, a Marshall rack head, the Prophet VS keyboard, and various Jackson and Gibson guitars.

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Critical Reception The Downward Spiral

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The Downward Spiral’s release date was delayed at

“Holing up in the one-time home of Manson-family

various times to slow down Reznor’s intended pace

victim Sharon Tate, Trent Reznor made an overpowering

of the album’s recording. The first delay caused the

meditation on NIN’s central theme: control.” The album

process of setting up Le Pig to take longer than he

was placed 10th on Spin’s 125 Best Albums of the

expected, and its release was postponed again as he

Past 25 Years list; the Spin staff quoted Ann Powers’

was educating himself different ways to write songs

review that appreciated its bleak, aggressive style.

that did not resemble those on Broken and Pretty

It was ranked number 488 in the book The Top 500

Hate Machine. He considered delivering the album to

Heavy Metal Albums of All Time by heavy metal music

Interscope in early 1993, only to experience a writer’s

critic Martin Popoff. In 2001, Q named The Downward

block as he was unable to produce any satisfactory

Spiral as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time;

material. Interscope grew impatient and concerned

in 2010, the album was ranked number 102 on their

with this progress, but Reznor was not forced by their

250 Best Albums of Q’s Lifetime (1986–2011) list. The

demands of expediency despite crediting the label for

Downward Spiral was featured in Robert Dimery’s book

giving him creative freedom. He told rock music pro-

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In May

ducer Rick Rubin that his motivation for creating the

2014, Loudwire placed The Downward Spiral at number

album was to get it finished, thus Rubin responded that

two on its “10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994” list. In

Reznor might not do so until he makes music that is

July 2014, Guitar World placed The Downward Spiral at

allowed to be heard. Reznor realized that he was in the

number 43 in their “Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums

most fortunate situation he imagined when the album

That Defined 1994” list.

was recorded with a normal budget, “cool” equipment, and a studio to work at. Released on March 8, 1994 to instant success, The Downward Spiral debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling nearly 119,000 copies in its first week.

The Downward Spiral has been listed on several publications’ best album lists. In 2003, the album was ranked number 201 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and number 201 on its 2012 online edition. The Rolling Stone staff wrote:

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The Fragile

Album Art David Carson

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Nothing Records September 21, 1999

The Right Somewhat Damaged The Frail The Wretched We’re in This Together The Fragile Just Like You Imagined Even Deeper Pilgrimage No, You Don’t La Mer The Great Below

Five years elapsed between The Downward Spiral and Nine Inch Nails’ next studio album, The Fragile, which arrived as a double album in September 1999.

The Fragile was conceived by making “songwriting and arranging and production and sound design ... the same thing. A song would start with a drum loop or a visual and eventually a song would emerge out of it and that was the song.” Canadian rock producer Bob Ezrin was consulted on the album’s track listing; the liner notes state that he “provided final continuity and flow.”

On the heels of the band’s previous successes, media anticipation surrounded The Fragile more

The Left The Way Out Is Through Into The Void Where Is Everybody?

The Mark Has Been Made Please Starfuckers, Inc. Complication The Big Come Down Underneath It All Ripe (With Decay)

than a year before its release, when it was already described as “oft-delayed”. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 228,000 copies in its first week and receiving generally positive reviews. Spin hailed The Fragile as the “album of the year,” whereas Pitchfork Media panned its “melodramatic” lyrics. Nine Inch Nails released three commercial singles from the album in different territories: “The Day the World Went Away” in North America; “We’re in This Together” in the EU and Japan (on three separate discs); and “Into the Void” in Australia. Several songs from the album became regular features on alternative rock radio stations, however the album dropped to number 16 and slipped out of the Billboard Top 10 only a week after its release, resulting in the band setting a record for the biggest drop from number one, which has since been broken. Reznor funded the subsequent North American tour out of his own pocket.

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Beginnings The Downward Spiral was conceived after the

referred to as the “Tate House” since Sharon Tate was

Lollapalooza festival tour as Trent Reznor thought of

murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969;

a “negative vibe” felt by the band when they were in

Reznor named the studio “Le Pig” after the message

a European hotel. Nine Inch Nails live performances

that was scrawled on the front door with Tate’s blood

were known for its aggressive on-stage dynamic, in

by her murderers, and stayed there with Malm for 18

which band members act angry, injure themselves,

months. He called his first night in 10050 Cielo Drive

and destroy instruments. Reznor had a feud with TVT

“terrifying” because he already knew it and read

Records that resulted in him co-founding Nothing

books related to the incident. Reznor chose the Tate

Records with his former manager John Malm, Jr.

house to calibrate his engineering skills and the band

and signing with Interscope. He wanted to explore

bought a large console and two Studer machines

a fictional character whose life is psychologically

as resources, a move that he believed was cheaper

wounded and developed a concept about the album’s

than renting. The studio was also used for the record-

themes; he later used the concept as lyrics. The

ing of Marilyn Manson’s debut album Portrait of an

concept was based on Reznor’s social issues at the

American Family, which Reznor co-produced. Marilyn

time: he had personal conflicts with band member

Manson accepted Reznor’s offer of signing a contract

Richard Patrick and was known for enjoying alco-

with Nothing Records.

hol. When developing The Downward Spiral, Reznor struggled with drug addiction and was depressed as he wrote songs related to personal issues. His friends suggested that he could take Prozac (fluoxetine), an antidepressant, but this choice did not appeal to him.

He wanted the album’s sound to diverge from Broken, emphasizing mood, texture, restraint and subtlety, although he was not sure about its musical direction.

The album was made with “full range” and focused on texture and space, avoiding explicit usage of guitars or synthesizers.

Reznor searched for and moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in 1992 for recording Broken and The Downward Spiral, a decision made against his initial choice to record the album in New Orleans. 10050 Cielo Drive is

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 4 6

Recording and Collaborations Reznor collaborated with former Jane’s Addiction and

Most of the music was recorded into a Macintosh

Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins, progres-

computer using a board and manipulated with music

sive rock guitarist Adrian Belew, and Nine Inch Nails

editor programs on the computer. Unique effects such

drummer Chris Vrenna. Belew’s first visit to the studio

as analyzing and inverting the frequency were applied

involved playing the guitar parts in “Mr. Self-Destruct”,

to the tracks to create original sounds. The band

and he was told to play freely, think on reacting to

would “get an arrangement together” and convert it

melodies, concentrate on rhythm, and use noise.

into analog tape. Reznor sampled excerpts from guitar

This approach improved Reznor’s confidence in the

tracks and processed them to the point of randomness

instrument: he found it to be more expressive than the

and expression. Among the equipment Reznor used

keyboard due to the interface. Belew praised Reznor

for recording the album are Pro Tools, Digidesign’s

for his “command of technology,” and commented

TurboSynth, a Marshall rack head, the Prophet VS key-

that the music of Nine Inch Nails made innovations

board, and various Jackson and Gibson guitars.

“that are in [his] realm.” Vrenna and Perkins played drum parts recorded live in the studio; the tracks were rendered into looped samples. Reznor took a similar approach to recording guitar parts: he would tape 20to 25-minute-long sessions of himself playing guitars on a hard disc recorder with the Studio Vision sequencer.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 4 7

Critical Reception

The Fragile received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics. Mojo called it “an impressively multi-textured, satisfyingly violent sonic workout”, and Alternative Press found it “nothing short of astounding”. Edna Gundersen of USA Today called

The Fragile

it “meticulously honed and twisted to baffle, tantalize, disarm and challenge the listener”, and wrote that “the coats of polish ... can’t camouflage Trent Reznor’s perverse and subversive paths to musical glory.” Ann Powers of Spin called the album “a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience”. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that, although he “doesn’t approach suicide as he did on” The Downward Spiral, “Reznor can hide in the studio and piece together music that’s as cunning, and disquieting, as his raw anger used to be.” Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly viewed that, even “if [Reznor’s] emotional palette is limited, it remains broader than any of his metalhead peers”, and that, “right now, hard rock simply doesn’t get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this.” Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, despite its length, “this is a profoundly challenging and moving work that strikes at the hollowness of most contemporary pop.

In a negative review, Pitchfork’s Brent DiCrescenzo panned the album’s lyrics as “overly melodramatic”.

However, the website late increased the score in their

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 4 8

review of the 2017 Definitive Edition, stating that “Trent

enough memorable tunes underneath the alluring

Reznor’s 1999 magnum opus The Fragile scrapes

surfaces.” AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine

the sky like never before.” John Aizlewood of Q felt

offered similar criticism, writing that “Reznor’s music

that it is “let down by Reznor’s refusal to trouble him-

is immaculately crafted and arranged, with every note

self with melody and by some embarrassing lyrics”.

and nuance gliding into the next but he spent more

NME panned its music as “background” and accused

time constructing surfaces than songs. Those surfaces

it of “chasing ‘crossover’”, with “grey rock sleet

can be enticing but since it’s just surface, The Fragile

masquerading as a storm beneath a haze of ‘experi-

winds up being vaguely unsatisfying.” In 2005, The

mental’ textures.” Scott Seward of The Village Voice

Fragile was ranked number 341 in Rock Hard maga-

facetiously commended Reznor for “once again ...

zine’s book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums

pioneering the marriage of heavy guitars, moody atmo-

of All Time. But, even if initial reception was mixed, the

spherics, electronic drones and beats, and aggressive

album has gotten a cult following from Nine Inch Nails

singing. Just like Killing Joke 20 years ago.” Village

fans. In 2016, Exclaim! listed The Fragile at number

Voice critic Robert Christgau was even less receptive,

two on their “Essential Albums” list for Nine Inch Nails

writing that “Reznor delivers double-hoohah, every

citing it as “...Nine Inch Nails’ most ambitious work...”

second remixed till it glistens like broken glass on a

and stating “...With ambient moments as powerful as

prison wall. Is the way he takes his petty pain out on

its loudest swells, The Fragile is a tragic if not stunning

the world a little, er, immature for a guy who’s pushing

portrait of depression.”

35? Never mind, I’m told—just immerse in the music”.

The Fragile was included on several magazines’ “end-of-year” album lists, including The Village Voice (number 14), Rolling Stone (number four), and Spin (number one). In a retrospective review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that, as “NIN’s monumental double-disc bid for the art-rock crown, The Fragile sounds fantastic from start to finish, but there aren’t

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 4 9

The Wretc Just

Just a Little NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

ched t a Glimpse

e Reminder NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Tracklist All the Love in the World You Know What You Are? The Collector The Hand That Feeds Love Is Not Enough Every Day With Teeth Only Getting Smaller Sunspots The Line Begins to Blur Beside You In Time Right Where It Belongs

Album Art Rob Sheridan

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 5 2

With Teeth

Nothing Records May 3, 2005

A further six years elapsed before Nine Inch Nails’ fourth full-length album, With Teeth, was released in 2005, though it was leaked prior to its official release date. The album was written and recorded in 2004 following Reznor’s battle with alcoholism and substance abuse. With Teeth debuted on top of the Billboard 200, Nine Inch Nails’ second reign at number one with an album. The album’s package lacks typical liner notes; instead it simply lists the names of songs and co-producers, and the URL for an online PDF poster with lyrics and full credits. The entire album was made available in streaming audio on the band’s official MySpace page in advance of its release date.

Critical reception of the album was mostly positive: Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield described the album as “vintage Nine Inch Nails”. PopMatters condemned the album, claiming Reznor “ran out of ideas.”

A music video for the song “The Hand That Feeds” premiered on the Nine Inch Nails official website in March 2005. Reznor released the source files for it in GarageBand format a month later, allowing fans to remix the song. He similarly released files for the album’s second single “Only” in a wider range of formats, including Pro Tools and ACID Pro. David Fincher directed a video for “Only” with primarily computer-generated imagery. The planned music video for its third single, “Every Day Is Exactly the Same”, was directed by Francis Lawrence but reportedly scrapped in the post-production stage.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 5 3

“I‘d come up with this kind of elaborate storyline, and the record was gonna be a concept record that had a number of pretentious elements to it.”

Trent Reznor

Recordings Before the album’s release, Reznor described With Teeth as “more song-oriented” and “lean” than the previous Nine Inch Nails album, The Fragile (1999). In reference to the album’s sound, Reznor said he “tried to keep a lo-fi aesthetic running through it, a kind of carelessness.” Moreover, he stated the music was less of a concept album, and more of “a collection of songs that are friends with each other, but don’t have to rely on each other to make sense”.

With Teeth is considered as Reznor’s most rock-centric album since the Broken EP and labeled as industrial rock, electronic rock and hard rock. The album’s sound also draws inspirations from genres such as drum and bass, pop, electronica and ambient.

The album’s lyrics tackle Reznor’s opinion of himself, his relationship with the world around him and his place in it, as well as his struggles with addiction. Although it dealt with these issues, Reznor was hopeful that it was still “disguised enough that [it was] not a terribly boring record about recovery and addiction”.

Reznor also drew influence from the September 11, 2001 attacks, which occurred shortly after his recovery. The album’s first single, “The Hand That Feeds”, was a direct example of the themes of protest and propagandist fear that helped influence the album. These influences became more prominent in his next album, Year Zero, and the alternate reality game that accompanied it.

There are over 30 expletives included in With Teeth. Inaugurating the majority of them evident on the album is “fuck”, heard most commonly in “You Know What You Are?”. This led to a Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics sticker being printed on most copies, as seen on many editions, and also being the final Nine Inch Nails studio album to be labelled as such.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 5 5

Critical Reception

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 5 6

With Teeth

With Teeth received mostly positive reviews from crit-

With Teeth was named one of the top 40 albums of 2005

ics, with an aggregate rating of 71 based on 22 reviews

by Spin magazine. The song “The Hand That Feeds” was

on Metacritic. Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield described

nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance for the 48th

the album as “vintage Nine Inch Nails”, while Stylus

Annual Grammy Awards in 2006. The song “Every Day Is

Magazine said “The words ‘triumphant return’ are apt.”

Exactly the Same” was nominated for a Grammy Award

Rock critic Robert Christgau gave it a lukewarm review,

in 2007. Pitchfork named “The Hand That Feeds” in its

commenting, “All pretense of deeper meaning worn into

“Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s”, at number 406. In 2005,

shtick, [Reznor] is left with the aggro mood music that

Reznor was nominated by the Billboard Music Awards as

was always his calling.” Newsday gave With Teeth a rat-

the “Modern Rock Artist of the Year”.

ing of A– and called it “a strong reminder why, despite his lengthy absences, Reznor remains alt-rock royalty.”

Other critics panned the album, including The Village Voice, which described the album as “all paint-bynumbers with no topography or relief—just one angry distorted chord after another.” PopMatters critically slammed the album, summarizing its poor review by simply saying “Trent Reznor has run out of ideas.”

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 5 7

Sun Spo

You Turn You Make

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n ots

n Me On e It Real NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Year Zero

Interscope Records April 17, 2007

Nine Inch Nails’ fifth studio album, Year Zero, was released only two years after With Teeth, a marked change in the slow pace from the release of previous albums.

With lyrics written from the perspective of multiple fictitious characters, Year Zero is a concept album criticizing the United States government’s policies and their impact on the world 15 years in the future. Critical response to the album was generally favorable, with an average rating of 76% on Metacritic.

The story takes place in the United States in 2022, which has been termed “Year 0”, by the government, being the year America was reborn. It had suffered several major terrorist attacks, apparently by Islamic fundamentalists, including attacks on Los Angeles and Seattle, and in response, the government seized absolute control of the country. The government is a Christian fundamentalist theocracy, maintaining control of the populace through institutions like the Bureau of Morality and the First Evangelical Church of Plano. The government corporation Cedocore distributes the drug Parepin through the water supply, making Americans who drink water apathetic and carefree. There are several underground rebel groups, mainly operating online, most notably Art is Resistance and Solutions Backwards Initiative.

In response to the increasing oppression of the government, several corporate, government, and subversive websites were transported back in time to the present by a group of scientists working clandestinely against the authorities. The websites-from-the-future were sent to the year 2007 to warn American people of the impending dystopian future and to prevent it from ever forming in the first place.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 6 2

Album Art Rob Sheridan

Tracklist Hyperpower!

The Beginning of the End Survivalism The Good Soldier Vessel Me, I’m Not Capital G My Violent Heart The Warning God Given Meet Your Maste The Greater Good The Great Destroyer

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 6 3

Recording In a 2005 interview with Kerrang!, Trent Reznor expressed his intentions to write material for a new release while on tour promoting With Teeth. He reportedly began work on the new album by September 2006. Reznor devised much of the album’s musical direction on his laptop.Reznor told Kerrang! in a later interview, “When I was on the Live: With Teeth tour, to keep myself busy I just really hunkered down and was working on music the whole time, so this kept me in a creative mode and when I finished the tour I felt like I wasn’t tired and wanted to keep at it.”

The limitations of devising the album’s musical direction on a tour bus forced Reznor to work differently from usual. Reznor said, “I didn’t have guitars around because it was too much hassle ... It was another creative limitation ... If I were in my studio, I would have done things the way I normally do them. But not having the ability to do that forced me into trying some things that were fun to do.”

By the end of the tour, Reznor began work on the album’s lyrical concepts, attempting to break away from his typically introspective approach. Reznor drew inspiration from his concern at the state of affairs in the United States and at what he envisioned as the country’s political, spiritual, and social direction. Year Zero was mixed in January 2007, and Reznor stated on his blog that the album was finished as of February 5. The album’s budget was a reported US$2 million, but since Reznor composed most of the album himself on his laptop and in his home-studio, much of the budget instead went toward the extensive accompanying promotional campaign.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 6 4

Composition The album’s music has been described as incorporat-

releases such as The Downward Spiral and The Fragile,

ing industrial rock, electronic music, noise rock and

while contrasting its heavily modified sounds to the

digital hardcore. Reznor called Year Zero a “shift in

more “organic” approach of With Teeth. Many critics

direction” in that it “doesn’t sound like With Teeth”.

also commented on the album’s overall tone, including

He also said that when he finishes a new album, he

descriptions such as “lots of silver and grey ambience”

has to “go into battle with the people whose job it is

and reference to the album’s “oblique tone”. The New

to figure out how to sell the record. The only time that

York Times review described the album’s sound by

didn’t happen was for With Teeth. This time, however,

saying “Hard beats are softened with distortion, static

he was expecting an epic struggle. Year Zero is not

cushions the tantrums, sneaky bass lines float beneath

a particularly friendly record and it certainly doesn’t

the surface.” The article went on to describe individual

sound like anything else out there right now.”

tracks: “And as usual the music is packed with details:

Fifteen original tracks were considered for inclusion on the album, which Reznor described as “Highly conceptual. Quite noisy. Fucking cool.” Reznor also

“Meet Your Master” goes through at least three cycles of decay and rebirth; part of the fun of “The Warning” is tracking the ever-mutating timbres.”

described the album as a “collage of sound type of

Many of the songs on the album feature an extended

thing”, citing musical inspiration from early Public

instrumental ending, which encompasses the entire

Enemy records, specifically the production techniques

second half of the three-minute long “The Great

of The Bomb Squad. Most of Year Zero’s musical

Destroyer”. The album was co-produced by Reznor

elements were created by Reznor solely on his lap-

and Atticus Ross, mixed by long-time collaborator Alan

top, as opposed to the instrument-heavy With Teeth.

Moulder, and mastered by Brian Gardner. The album

AllMusic’s review described the album’s laptop-mixed

features instrumental contributions by live band mem-

sound: “guitars squall against glitches, beeps, pops,

ber Josh Freese and vocals by Saul Williams.

and blotches of blurry sonic attacks. Percussion looms large, distorted, organic, looped, screwed, spindled and broken.” Many reviews of the album compared the album’s electronic sound to earlier Nine Inch Nails

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 6 5

Critical Reception

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 6 6

Year Zero

Year Zero received generally favourable reviews from

Jaffe of Brandweek commented that such “mysterious

music critics, with an average rating of 76% based

marketing measures are what’s desperately needed

on 28 reviews on review aggregator Metacritic. Robert

to gain attention in this uncertain era of distribution

Christgau described Year Zero as Reznor’s “most

dilemmas and sagging sales”, also commending acts

songful album”, while Thomas Inskeep of Stylus

such as Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead for being “more

magazine praised it as “one of the most forward-think-

innovative than marketers”. Entertainment Weekly

ing ‘rock’ albums to come down the pike in some

gave the album a B+, comparing it to The X-Files and

time”. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called the album

calling it “A sci-fi concept album whose end-of-days,

Reznor’s “strongest, weirdest and most complex

paranoia-drenched story line has been disseminated

record since The Downward Spiral”, and concluded

via the Internet”. It also stated: “Amid its carefully cali-

that “he’s got his bravado back.” Rolling Stone ranked

brated sonic assaults, Year Zero has a number of tracks

it at number 21 on its “Top 50 Albums of 2007” list.

that will stop you in yours. Sometimes, it’s a matter

Several reviewers also commented on the accompanying alternate reality game. Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times, praised the album and game concept as “a total marriage of the pop and gamer aesthetics that unlocks the rusty cages of the music industry and solves some key problems facing rock music as its cultural dominance dissolves into dust.”

In relation to the declining music industry, Joseph

of dropping the volume. Even his use of electronics has shifted to a new level. Is the truth in here? Dunno, but Reznor’s claim that ‘I got my violence in high def ultra-realism’ sounds like gospel to us.”

I Got My

Surv alism

I Got My P NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

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Plan NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Ghosts I–IV

Ghosts I–IV is the sixth studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on March 2, 2008 by The Null Corporation. The album’s production team included Nine Inch Nails front-

Null Corporation March 2, 2008

man Trent Reznor, studio collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder and instrumental contributions from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Reznor described the music of Ghosts as “a soundtrack for daydreams”, a sentiment echoed by many critics who compared it with the work of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. The songs are unnamed, and are identified only by their track listing and group number.

The album is the first independent release from Nine Inch Nails following its breakup with Interscope Records, and is an almost entirely instrumental album.

Ghosts was initially intended to be a five-track EP, but the final release consists of four nine-track EPs, totaling as 36 tracks. The album was released under a Creative Commons license (BY-NC-SA), and in a variety of differing packages and price points, including a USD 300 “Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition”. Ghosts was initially released digitally through the official Nine Inch Nails website without any prior advertisement or promotion. Via the official Nine Inch Nails YouTube profile, a user-generated “film festival” was announced, where fans were invited to visually interpret the album’s music and post their results. Critical reception of the album has been generally favorable, with its unorthodox release attracting positive comments from many critics.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 0

Tracklist

Album Art

1–9 Ghosts I

Rob Sheridan

10–18 Ghosts II 19–27 Ghosts III 28–36 Ghosts IV

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 1

The Slip

Null Corporation July 22, 2008

The Slip is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on July 22, 2008. It was the fourth consecutive Nine Inch Nails release to be produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder. The album was released for free under a Creative Commons license, with the message from Reznor, “this one’s on me”. The Slip was initially released digitally via the Nine Inch Nails official website without any prior advertisement or promotion. A limited-edition, physical version followed two months later, though this iteration of the album was not free.

The Slip was originally intended to be an extended play, but eventually grew to be a full-length album. It was recorded and released in three weeks; Reznor released the album’s single, “Discipline”, to radio stations himself, less than 24 hours after it was mastered by Moulder. Critical reception of the album has been generally favorable, and its unorthodox method of release attracted significant media attention.

The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 2

Album Art Rob Sheridan

Tracklist 999,999 1,000,000 Letting You Discipline Echoplex Head Down Lights in the Sky Corona Radiata The Four of Us Demon Seed

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 3

Recording Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor announced

members Josh Freese, Robin Finck and Alessandro

in 2007 that the band had completed its contractual

Cortini, though they did not participate in the song-

obligations to its record label Interscope Records, and

writing process; their contributions were limited to

would no longer be working with the company. Reznor

small parts rather than complete song recordings.

also revealed that Nine Inch Nails would likely distrib-

During recording sessions, Reznor sent the album’s

ute any future material independently. Following the

first and only single, “Discipline”, to radio stations

announcement, Nine Inch Nails released the 36-track

before the remainder of the album was completed,

instrumental album Ghosts I–IV in March, 2008 on

and less than 24 hours after the track had been

Reznor’s independent label The Null Corporation.

mastered. According to Reznor, the track listing and

Reznor returned to writing soon after the release of Ghosts, and after a month of work, The Slip was recorded in three weeks of studio time at Trent Reznor’s in-home studio. The album was engineered

by Atticus Ross and mixed by Alan Moulder, both of whom co-produced it with Reznor. Originally intended as an EP, in Reznor’s own words “it just kept growing legs until it became what it is”. Some instrumental performances were contributed by NIN live band

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 4

lyrics were finished on a Wednesday, the final mix and album sequencing on Thursday, the mastering on Friday, artwork on Saturday and the album was released on Sunday, May 5. Reznor reflected on the quick turnaround by saying “that was fun you never could have done that before”, referring to the slow and bureaucratic pace of record production, promotion and release he experienced with major record labels.

Music and Lyrics Many critics noted how tracks on The Slip echoed musical stylings from the band’s past, and that the record contained musical allusions to older Nine Inch Nails records. Anastasia Pantsios of the Cleveland Free Times said that “The Slip more or less sums up the terrain Reznor’s covered in his nearly two-decade career”, and went on to compare the album sound with the “edgy but irresistible beats” of Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, and “the elusive atmospherics” of The Fragile. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that “the music revives Nine Inch Nails’ past, from stomping hard rock to danceclub beats to piano ballad to inexorably building instrumentals.” The album’s final track, “Demon Seed”, directly incorporates instrumental elements from the final track of the band’s previous all-instrumental album Ghosts I–IV.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 5

Critical Reception The Slip

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 6

The Slip received generally positive reviews from

“Musically, it’s his most adventurous work since The

music critics, with an average rating of 78/100 based

Fragile, and his business model is inspired—if unsus-

on eleven reviews on Metacritic. IGN gave the album

tainable.” Mikael Wood of Spin complained that “a few

an 8.8 out of 10, stating “Simply put, The Slip is an

tracks, such as ‘The Four of Us Are Dying,’ go on for

amazing record.” The Toronto Star said “The Slip is

far too long”, but then said “Reznor recovers with a

hardly a throwaway, this seems a sincere gift to fans.”

barn burner like ‘Demon Seed’.

Eric Harvey of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.5 out of 10 and wrote “Reznor’s unique capacity to commingle raging industrial bangers with ballads and ambient instrumental passages appears in its best form since The Downward Spiral, and here gains much of the focus and restraint that many remember used to be his calling card.” Daphne Carr of LA Weekly said,

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 7 7

I Need Your

Disci

I Need

r Discipline

ipline

d Your Help

The Downward Spiral 3,700,000 Pretty Hate Machine 3,000,000 With Teeth The Fragile 898,000

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 8 0

1,100,000

Album Sales Nine Inch Nails reached their peak album sales with The Downward Spiral in 1994. Pretty Hate Machine, With Teeth and the Fragile also had considerable album sales with With Teeth having a large amount of success with the release of Hand That Feeds.

Year Zero 445,000

Hesitation Marks

Ghosts I–IV 149,000

152,000 The Slip 112,000

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 8 1

Cam Back

I Don’t Believe It NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

me k NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

I Had To See

Index

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Atticus Ross, 10–11

Neal Cooper, 14–15

David Tonge, 48

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Melanie Edwars, 17, 19

Scott Weiner, 9

Adrian Boot, 18

Broken, 10–11

Gary Gershoff, 8, 10, 35

Lili Wilde, 7, 32

Larry Busacca, 12,13

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

MIck Hutson, 4, 5, 27

Atticus Ross, 10–11

Neal Cooper, 14–15

The Fragile, 13–15

Bernhard Kuhmstedt, 14–15

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Melanie Edwars, 17, 19

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Eddie Malluk, 10–11

Broken, 10–11

Gary Gershoff, 8, 10, 35

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Tony Maltrum, 30–32

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

MIck Hutson, 4, 5, 27

Josh Freese, 16

Claire Pasta, 10–11

The Fragile, 13–15

Bernhard Kuhmstedt, 14–15

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Richard Patrick, 14–15

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Eddie Malluk, 10–11

Adrian Boot, 18

Neal Preston, 32

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Tony Maltrum, 30–32

Larry Busacca, 12,13

Stills, 33

Josh Freese, 16

Claire Pasta, 10–11

Neal Cooper, 14–15

David Tonge, 48

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Richard Patrick, 14–15

Melanie Edwars, 17, 19

Scott Weiner, 9

Adrian Boot, 18

Neal Preston, 32

Gary Gershoff, 8, 10, 35

Lili Wilde, 7, 32

Larry Busacca, 12,13

Stills, 33

MIck Hutson, 4, 5, 27

Atticus Ross, 10–11

Neal Cooper, 14–15

David Tonge, 48

Bernhard Kuhmstedt, 14–15

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Melanie Edwars, 17, 19

Scott Weiner, 9

Eddie Malluk, 10–11

Broken, 10–11

Gary Gershoff, 8, 10, 35

Lili Wilde, 7, 32

Tony Maltrum, 30–32

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

MIck Hutson, 4, 5, 27

Atticus Ross, 10–11

Claire Pasta, 10–11

The Fragile, 13–15

Bernhard Kuhmstedt, 14–15

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Richard Patrick, 14–15

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Eddie Malluk, 10–11

Broken, 10–11

Neal Preston, 32

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Tony Maltrum, 30–32

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

Stills, 33

Josh Freese, 16

Claire Pasta, 10–11

The Fragile, 13–15

David Tonge, 48

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Richard Patrick, 14–15

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Scott Weiner, 9

Adrian Boot, 18

Neal Preston, 32

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Lili Wilde, 7, 32

Larry Busacca, 12,13

Stills, 33

Josh Freese, 16

Atticus Ross, 10–11

Neal Cooper, 14–15

David Tonge, 48

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Melanie Edwars, 17, 19

Scott Weiner, 9

Adrian Boot, 18

Broken, 10–11

Gary Gershoff, 8, 10, 35

Lili Wilde, 7, 32

Larry Busacca, 12,13

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

MIck Hutson, 4, 5, 27

Atticus Ross, 10–11

The Fragile, 13–15

Bernhard Kuhmstedt, 14–15

Adrian Belew, 14–15

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Eddie Malluk, 10–11

Broken, 10–11

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Tony Maltrum, 30–32

The Downward Spiral, 11–13

Josh Freese, 16

Claire Pasta, 10–11

The Fragile, 13–15

Jay Blakesburg, 2, 3

Richard Patrick, 14–15

Ghosts IV, 15–17

Adrian Boot, 18

Neal Preston, 32

Hesitation Marks, 14–15

Larry Busacca, 12,13

Stills, 33

Josh Freese, 16

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1

Nine Inch Nails Things Falling Apart Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock band founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio.

The band released two influential albums during the 1990s—The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999)—and has record sales exceeding over 20 million copies worldwide, with 10 million sales certified in the United States alone.

NINE I N C H N A I L S / / 0 1