History Music / NineInchNails

+Music/DavidBowie, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/DepecheMode, Music/TheHumanLeague, Music/PetShopBoys, Music/SkinnyPuppy, Music/{{Coil}}, Music/{{Ministry}}, Music/SoftCell, Music/{{Kraftwerk}}, Music/{{Kiss}}, Music/GaryNuman, Music/{{Rush}}, Music/{{Pantera}}, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Music/AphexTwin, Music/JoyDivision, Music/ThrobbingGristle, Music/{{Swans}}, Music/JanesAddiction, Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{U2}}, Test Dept., Music/KillingJoke, Music/MyBloodyValentine, Music/PinkFloyd, Music/BigBlack, Music/{{Bauhaus}}, Music/TalkingHeads

** "Get Down Make Love" (Music/{{Queen}}).

** "Zoo Station" (Music/{{U2}}).
** Two from his ''Dragon Tattoo'' soundtrack, albeit with female singers: Music/LedZeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (with Karen O of the Music/YeahYeahYeahs), and [[Music/RoxyMusic Brian Ferry's]] "Is Your Love Strong Enough" (with Mariqueen from Music/HowToDestroyAngels).

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Lots of publicity photos, as well as the music videos for "Happiness in Slavery", "Pinion", some parts in the Broken Movie version of “Gave Up”, and "We're In This Together".

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Lots of publicity photos, as well as the music videos for "Happiness in Slavery", "Pinion", and "We're In This Together".

* DigitalPiracyIsOkay: Encouraged by Reznor himself, out of spite for [[ExecutiveMeddling the record industry.]] Trent ''[[http://www.theninhotline.net/news/archives/backissue.php?y=07&m=9#1189989696 actually encouraged fans to steal his own music]]'' due to his loathing of how badly his record company was screwing his fans (he specifically used the word "steal" repeatedly, too). No doubt that because of Trent's preference for free downloading of his albums, the albums ''The Slip'' and ''Ghosts I-IV'' were released under a Creative Commons license that allows unlimited non-commercial[[note]] that is, in contrast to the CC license Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} uses that does not forbid commercial use. [[/note]] sharing and modification as long as credit is given. These can be downloaded legally at no charge from archive.org, though physical copies are also available for a fee.

* DistinctDoubleAlbum: ''The Fragile,'' which has a "left" and "right" disc, both being around 50 minutes long.

* TextlessAlbumCover: ''Year Zero'', ''The Slip'', and ''Bad Witch.''

** ''Closure'' (1997): Video album featuring music videos of songs from ''The Downward Spiral'' and recordings from live concerts in the Self Destruct Tour.

** ''Still'' (2002): A companion studio album to ''And All That Could Have Been'' featuring a mix of brand new tracks and LighterAndSofter arrangements of old songs.

* AwesomeMcCoolName:
** Just say it. ''Trent Reznor.''
** His children, sons Lazarus Echo, Balthazar Venn and daughter Nova Lux Reznor count too.

** ''The Downward Spiral'' is 14 tracks of this, including "Piggy" (which sets the whole thing off, after the narrator [[LoveMakesYouCrazy gets dumped]]), "Ruiner" (which [[WordSaladLyrics seemingly]] has the narrator convinced he's defeated God), and "Big Man with a Gun" (in which the narrator loses it completely and rapes someone).

* BoleroEffect: Used in various songs, notably "Somewhat Damaged" and "Just Like You Imagined". "Play the Goddamned Part" and "The Background World" are good latter-day examples. Arguably about half their instrumentals qualify, honestly.

* RefrainFromAssuming: The song "Fuck You Like an Animal" is actually called "Closer." Not helped by the single release (as well as a remixed version of "Closer") being titled "Closer to God."

* NotChristianRock: There are those who assume that the "Nails" in the band's name are a reference to the Crucifixion. WordOfGod flatly denies this, and many of their lyrics are very anti-religion.

** ''Fixed'', a remix of the ''Broken'' EP.
** ''Further Down the Spiral'', a remix of ''The Downward Spiral'' featuring numerous guest contributors.
** ''Things Falling Apart'', a remix of ''The Fragile.''
** ''[=Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D=] (Year Zero Remixed)'', a remix of ''Year Zero.''

** Not only from the obligatory old horror and sci-fi movies, but also occasionally from other artists. ''Pretty Hate Machine'''s liner notes thanked Music/{{Prince}}, Music/PublicEnemy, Music/JanesAddiction, among others because Trent sampled them.

** An expansive list can be found [[http://www.ninwiki.com/Samples_In_NIN_Songs here.]] The most unusual samples on the list include ''Saddam Hussein'''s trial verdict and a Website/YouTube video of ''VideoGame/BioShock'' cosplay.

* ReligionRantSong: "Heresy" and "Ruiner" from ''The Downward Spiral,'' "Terrible Lie" from ''Pretty Hate Machine,'' and judging by WordOfGod, "Capital G" from ''Year Zero''. "Find My Way" is a weird version, as the narrator begs the Lord to watch over him and take him back -- even though he knows there's no Lord.

** ''Pretty Hate Machine'' is at its heart an AlternativeDance album in the vein of Music/DepecheMode (being especially comparable to a more aggressive ''Music/MusicForTheMasses''), in contrast tp the rawer sound of ''Broken'' and ''The Downward Spiral''.

NIN is somewhat somewhat unusual in that for nearly three decades, [[IAmTheBand it was essentially one man]], Trent Reznor, who was doing everything. The first official member to be added to the lineup since the project's inception was long-time collaborator Atticus Ross, who was inducted in late 2016. Most members have come and gone, occasionally contributing to albums but mostly staying for the live shows. (One such member, Richard Patrick, struck out on his own and formed a little band you might've heard of called Music/{{Filter}}.)

* RecordProducer: Trent's personally produced every single ''NIN'' album, with help from various others at some points, like Adrian Sherwood and John Fryer (''Pretty Hate Machine''), Flood (''Broken,'' ''The Downward Spiral'') and Alan Moulder (''The Fragile,'' ''With Teeth''). All the ''NIN'' albums since ''Year Zero'' have been credited to Reznor, Moulder, and Atticus Ross.

* RockersSmashGuitars: Live ''NIN'' shows in TheNineties could give Music/TheWho a run for their money when it comes to on-stage destruction. Guitars, keyboards, and sound equipment alike have all gone faulty numerous times during ''NIN'' shows, and have been subsequently obliterated. Reznor was fond of using the heel of his boot to strip keys off of keyboards. During a Lollapalooza show, Trent had a particularly infamous outburst:

** "Nothing can stop me now," used primarily to illustrate the protagonist's delusion in various ''The Downward Spiral'' songs, re-appears on ''The Fragile'' ("La Mer" and "We're in This Together") in a much more optimistic context, and again on one song on ''With Teeth,'' "Sunspots."
** "Down in It" had the lyric: "Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye, it was just about too small to see," which was referenced in "Only" with the line "The tiniest little dot caught my eye, and it turned out to be a scab."
** A line in ''With Teeth'' calls back to the end of "Now I'm Nothing:"
-->''Wave goodbye / to what you were / The rules have changed / the lines begin to blur'' -- "With Teeth"
-->''All that I can do / is break myself in two / I fucked it all away / Now I'm nothing / Wave goodbye'' -- "Now I'm Nothing"

** The concept of the presence from ''Year Zero,'' being a call back to "The Wretched:"
-->"...The clouds will part and the sky cracks open and God himself will reach his fucking arm through, just to push you down, to hold you down..."
** "The Wretched" from the album ''The Fragile'' contains the line: "Back at the beginning / Sinking, spinning..." which may be a reference to the title of the previous album ''The Downward Spiral''.
** "In This Twilight" calls back to "Survivalism:"
-->"...The world we set on fire..."
** "The Big Come Down" contains a brief excerpt of off-key guitars and buzzing nearly identical to "The Downward Spiral." Fitting, given the former song's subject matter.

* CarefulWithThatAxe + MetalScream: In spades prior to his mid-40's.

** "Only" nods to "Down in It:" The latter is halo 1 while the former is halo 20, the vocal delivery is very similar, and "Only" refers to a lyric from "Down in It:"
-->''Just then a tiny little dot / Caught my eye it was just about too small to see / But I watched it way too long / It was pulling me down'' -- "Down in It"
-->''Well, the tiniest little dot caught my eye / And it turned out to be a scab / And I had this funny feeling / [[OhCrap Like I just knew it's something bad]]'' -- "Only"
** "Adrift and at Peace" is the conclusion to "[[GratuitousFrench La Mer,]]" according to Reznor.
** "Nothing can stop me now," ArcWords in ''The Downward Spiral,'' re-appear in the songs "La Mer," "Sunspots," and "We're in This Together," which are from two other albums.

* AteHisGun: ''1,000,000''. "Put the gun... in my mouth! Close your eyes... blow my [[PrecisionFStrike fuckin']] brains out!"

** ''The Downward Spiral,'' which follows a man solipsistically shedding every aspect of his world from him until [[spoiler: he attempts suicide.]]
** ''The Fragile,'' which is loosely about depression and trying to re-assemble one's life, only to end up "where it starts -- [with] the same emotion." It may or may not be a sequel to ''The Downward Spiral'' as well.
** ''Year Zero,'' which presents a dystopian version of 2022 in which nuclear war and bio terrorism has started to erupt and (at the very least) [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] civil liberties are eliminated.

** ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral'' ends with [[spoiler: a suicide attempt. Whether or not it went through is still left to open interpretation]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Pretty Hate Machine'' is at its heart an AlternativeDance album in the vein of Music/DepecheMode (being especially comparable to a more aggressive ''Music/MusicForTheMasses''), contrasted with the rawer sound of ''Broken'' and ''The Downward Spiral.'' The bootleg ''Purest Feeling'' is made up of ''Pretty Hate Machine'' demos, and they sound even ''more'' poppy. Where the final version of ''Pretty Hate Machine'' sounded like a more aggressive Music/DepecheMode, "Maybe Just Once" outright '''sounds''' like a lost Depeche Mode track. Even more so, as some fans commented on, ''[[ARareSentence Trent sounds happy]]''. '''[[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer No really]]'''. Keep in mind, this was ''before'' NIN was a big serious thing.

** ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral'' is [[UpToEleven even darker]] -- what else can you say about a ConceptAlbum about a descent into madness that may or may not end with [[spoiler:suicide]]?

Arguably one of the most [[TropeCodifier essential]] acts in IndustrialMetal, Nine Inch Nails is an American rock band that's been rolling around the musical scene since 1988.

NIN is somewhat somewhat unusual in that for nearly three decades, [[IAmTheBand it was essentially one man]], Trent Reznor, who was doing all of it. The first official member to be added to the lineup since the project's inception was long-time collaborator Atticus Ross, who was inducted in late 2016. Most members have come and gone, occasionally contributing to albums but mostly staying for the live shows. (One such member, Richard Patrick, struck out on his own and formed a little band you might've heard of called Music/{{Filter}}.)

The NIN discography, once a noisy gauntlet of '90s alt-rock and industrial metal, has become exceedingly varied over the years, ranging from ear-destroying screaming guitar death on ''Broken'' to beautiful, mellow piano pieces on ''Still'', to the groovy sound of bass and saxophone that lines much of ''Hesitation Marks'' and all kinds of twisted sounds in between, but most of it falls squarely under TrueArtIsAngsty. Their visuals are also known for being similarly free-spirited, with their music videos classifiable as everything from politically subversive to the sort of video which answers the question, "What if ''Film/{{Hostel}}'' had been a set for music videos?"

In contrast to his at-times highly intense and brutal output, Reznor in person is generally a pretty nice guy (if not provoked) and very active in his community.

* InsistentTerminology: ''Bad Witch'' is the final installment of a trilogy in which the first two parts were [=EPs=]; despite it being similarly short in length, Trent has been adamant on insisting that ''Bad Witch'' is an '''album'''. He explains this move as a response to [=EPs=] often being overlooked on places like music streaming websites.

[[HeAlsoDid Reznor also provided the soundtrack]] to ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'' and recorded tracks for ''VideoGame/Doom3'' that didn't make it into the final game, although they can still be found in the game files, while the former bandmate Chris Vrenna has also struck out as a notable composer, aiding Reznor with the ''Quake'' soundtrack and making music for ''Doom 3'', ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and ''VideoGame/QuakeChampions''.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[RecoveredAddict "I am home...]] [[ReformedButNotTamed I believe."]][[note]]Ross on the left, Reznor on the right.[[/note]]]]

NIN is somewhat somewhat unusual in that for nearly three decades, [[IAmTheBand it was essentially one man]], Trent Reznor, who was doing all of it. The first official member to be added to the lineup since the project's inception was long-time collaborator Atticus Ross, who was inducted in late 2016. Most members have come and gone, occasionally contributing to albums but mostly staying for the live shows (one such member, Richard Patrick, has struck out on his own and formed a little band you might've heard of called Music/{{Filter}}).

The discography, once a noisy gauntlet of 90s alt-rock and industrial metal, has become exceedingly varied over the years, from ear-destroying screaming guitar death on ''Broken'' to beautiful, mellow piano pieces on ''Still'', to the groovy sound of bass and saxophone that lines much of ''Hesitation Marks'' and all kinds of twisted sounds in between; but most of it falls squarely under TrueArtIsAngsty.

Their visuals are also known for being forward-thinking in all senses of the phrase, with the band releasing music videos which have ranged from politically subversive to the sort of video which answers the question: "What if ''Film/{{Hostel}}'' had been a set for music videos?"

In contrast to his highly brutal industrial rock output, Reznor in person is very active in his community and generally a pretty nice guy (if not provoked). Also in the same vein, he was very close with Music/ToriAmos -- he even sang backing vocals on one of her songs (the past tense is Music/CourtneyLove's fault).

Reznor's also worked on different musical ventures, namely Music/HowToDestroyAngels (a supergroup with longtime NIN collaborator Rob Sheridan and Reznor's wife Mariqueen Maandig) as well as a now-cemented venture into score composition. Along with Atticus Ross, Reznor has handled scores for various films and TV series, becoming Creator/DavidFincher's {{associated composer}}s ever since their initial collaboration with ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', as well as [[PlayingAgainstType branching out to the unexpected]] with, of all things, a score for a Creator/{{Pixar}} film (''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}''). [[HeAlsoDid Reznor also provided the soundtrack]] to ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'' and recorded tracks for ''VideoGame/Doom3'' that didn't make it into the final game, although they can still be found in the game files, while the former bandmate Chris Vrenna has also struck out as a notable composer, aiding Reznor with the ''Quake'' soundtrack and making music for ''Doom 3'', ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and ''VideoGame/QuakeChampions''.

* ''Broken Movie'' (1993): Essentially one long extended music video for the ''Broken'' EP, made to look (very convincingly) like a SnuffFilm. [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Never officially released.]] VHS tapes of the film exist, torrents of the film were made by Trent in 2006, and the film was put up by download, also by Trent, in 2013. Directed by the late [[Music/{{Coil}} Peter Christopherson.]]

+Music/DavidBowie, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/DepecheMode, Music/TheHumanLeague, Music/PetShopBoys, Music/SkinnyPuppy, Music/{{Coil}}, Music/{{Ministry}}, Music/SoftCell, Music/{{Kraftwerk}}, Music/{{Kiss}}, Music/GaryNuman, Music/{{Rush}}, Music/{{Pantera}}, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/TheCure, Music/AphexTwin, Music/JoyDivision, Music/ThrobbingGristle, Music/{{Swans}}, Music/JanesAddiction, Music/KingCrimson, Music/{{U2}}, Test Dept., Music/KillingJoke, Music/MyBloodyValentine, Music/PinkFloyd, Music/BigBlack, Music/{{Bauhaus}}, Music/TalkingHeads

!! [=DVDs=]:

* ''Closure'' (1997): Two-disc VHS/DVD set, one tape / disc chronicles the chaotic ''Self Destruct'' tour of '95-'96, the other is a collection of music videos that had been released thus far. (The DVD version got caught in red tape, so Trent got fed up and released torrents of ''that'' as well.)

* ''UsefulNotes/{{Solipsism}}'': "Right where it belongs" is all about this.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent:
** "Everything" from ''Hesitation Marks'' is a PowerPop / PostPunk song.
** ''Ghosts I-IV'' is an album rooted in dark ambient.
** ''Still'' is acoustic and features extremely subdued music compared to NIN's usual fare.
* SpokenWordInMusic: Used in "Closer," "The Downward Spiral," "I Do Not Want This," "The Becoming,", "Zero-Sum", "Dear World,", "The Idea of You" and "The Lovers".

* {{Mondegreen}}: In one interview, Trent wanted to drive home the point that in "Head Like a Hole", he sings "God / money" and not "Got money?", and in "Down in It," he is saying "I was up above it" and not "Eyes of a puppet".
** There's a photo out there of one of guitarist Aaron North's setlists on the ''With_Teeth'' tour, that reads: "Down in It AKA Eyes of a Puppet," along with a few other jokes.

Arguably one of the most [[TropeCodifier essential]] [[IndustrialMetal Industrial Rock]] acts of the genre, Nine Inch Nails is an American rock band that's been rolling around the musical scene since 1988.