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Nine Inch Nails | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Atticus Ross (left) and Trent Reznor (right) performing in October 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Discography | |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | |
| Past members | List of Nine Inch Nails band members |
| Website | nin |
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN, stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross, joined in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Following a hiatus, Nine Inch Nails resumed touring in 2005 and released their fourth album With Teeth (2005). Following the release of the next album Year Zero (2007), the band left Interscope after a feud. Nine Inch Nails continued touring and independently released Ghosts I–IV (2008) and The Slip (2008) before a second hiatus. Their eighth album, Hesitation Marks (2013), was followed by a trilogy which consisted of the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album Bad Witch (2018). In 2020, Nine Inch Nails simultaneously released two further installments in the Ghosts series: Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts.
When touring, Reznor typically assembles a live band to perform with him under the Nine Inch Nails name. This live band has varied over the decades, with various members leaving and returning; the most recent lineup consists of Robin Finck (who initially joined in 1994), Alessandro Cortini (who initially joined in 2005), and Ilan Rubin (who initially joined in 2008) alongside Reznor and Ross. The band's concerts are noted for their extensive use of thematic visual elements, complex special effects, and elaborate lighting. Songs are often rearranged to fit any given performance, and melodies or lyrics of songs that are not scheduled to be performed are sometimes assimilated into other songs.
Nine Inch Nails have sold over 20 million records and been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning for the songs "Wish" in 1992 and "Happiness in Slavery" in 1996. Time magazine named Reznor one of its most influential people in 1997, while Spin magazine has described him as "the most vital artist in music". In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at No. 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Nine Inch Nails were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, after being nominated in 2014 (their first year of eligibility) and again in 2015.
History[edit]
Formation (1987–1988)[edit]
While living in Cleveland in 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboards in the Exotic Birds, a synthpop band managed by John Malm Jr.[1]: 38 Reznor became friends with Malm,[2] who informally became his manager when he left to work on his own music.[3] At the time, Reznor was employed as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios.[4] Studio owner Bart Koster granted Reznor free access to the studio between bookings to record demos,[5][6] commenting that it cost him nothing more than "a little wear on [his] tape heads".[7] Unable to find a band that could articulate the material as he desired, Reznor was inspired by Prince to play all instruments himself except drums, which he programmed electronically.[8] He has continued to play most parts on Nine Inch Nails recordings ever since.[2]
The first Nine Inch Nails performance took place at the Phantasy Theater in Lakewood, Ohio, on October 21, 1988.[9] Soon after, following their live support of Skinny Puppy, Reznor aimed to release one 12-inch single on a small European label.[10] Several labels responded favorably to the demo material and Reznor signed with TVT Records.[4] Nine demos, recorded live in November 1988 and collectively known as Purest Feeling, were released in revised form on the first studio album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989).[1]: 41 The overall sound on Purest Feeling is lighter than that of Pretty Hate Machine; several songs contain more live drumming and guitar, as well as a heavier use of film samples.[11]
Reznor chose the name "Nine Inch Nails" because it "abbreviated easily" rather than for "any literal meaning".[12] Other rumored explanations have circulated, alleging that Reznor chose to refer to Jesus's crucifixion with nine-inch spikes,[13]: 57 or Freddy Krueger's nine-inch fingernails.[14] The Nine Inch Nails logo first appeared on the music video for their debut single, "Down in It". Reznor and Gary Talpas designed the logo, inspired by Tibor Kalman's typography on the Talking Heads album Remain in Light.[15][16] The logo features the band's initials, with the second N mirrored. Talpas, a native of Cleveland, continued to design Nine Inch Nails packaging until 1997.[17]
Pretty Hate Machine (1988–1991)[edit]
Written, arranged, and performed by Reznor,[18] Nine Inch Nails' first album Pretty Hate Machine debuted in 1989.[19] It marked his first collaboration with Adrian Sherwood (who produced the lead single "Down in It" in London without meeting Reznor face-to-face)[10] and Mark "Flood" Ellis.[1]: 42 Reznor asked Sean Beavan to mix the demos of Pretty Hate Machine, which had received multiple offers for record deals.[20] He mixed sound during Nine Inch Nails' live concerts for several years,[21] eventually becoming an unofficial member of the live band and singing live backup vocals from his place at the mixing console.[22] 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".[23] Rolling Stone's Michael Azerrad described the album as "industrial-strength noise over a pop framework" and "harrowing but catchy music";[24] Reznor proclaimed this combination "a sincere statement" of "what was in [his] head at the time".[25] In fact, the song "Down in It" spent over two months on Billboard's club-play dance chart.[26] After spending 113 weeks on the Billboard 200,[27] Pretty Hate Machine became one of the first independently released records to attain platinum certification.[4]
Three music videos were created in promotion of the album. MTV aired the videos for "Down in It" and "Head Like a Hole", but an explicit video for "Sin" was only released in partial form for Closure. The original version of the "Down in It" video ended with the implication that Reznor's character had fallen off a building and died in the street.[28] This footage attracted the attention of the FBI.[29]
In 1989, while doing promotion for the album, the band members were asked on what shows they would like to appear. They jokingly replied (possibly while intoxicated) that they would like to appear on Dance Party USA, since it was the most absurd option they could think of at the time. Much to their surprise, they were booked on the show, and made an appearance.[30]
In 1990, Nine Inch Nails began the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series, in which it toured North America as an opening act for alternative rock artists such as Peter Murphy and the Jesus and Mary Chain.[1]: 41 [4][31] Reznor began smashing his equipment while on stage; Rockbeat interviewer Mike Gitter attributed the live band's early success in front of rock oriented audiences to this aggressive attitude.[32] Nine Inch Nails then embarked on a world tour that continued through the first Lollapalooza festival in 1991.[1]: 42
Broken (1992–1993)[edit]
After a poor European reception opening for Guns N' Roses,[33] the band returned to the US amid pressure from TVT to produce a follow-up to Pretty Hate Machine.[34] After finding out they were hindering control of his project, Reznor criticized the labeling of Nine Inch Nails as a commercially oriented band and demanded his label terminate his contract, but they ignored his plea.[35] In response, Reznor secretly began recording under various pseudonyms to avoid record company interference.[36] Involved in a feud with TVT, he signed a record deal with Interscope Records and created Nothing Records:
We made it very clear we were not doing another record for TVT. But they made it pretty clear they weren't ready to sell. So I felt like, well, I've finally got this thing going but it's dead. Flood and I had to record Broken under a different band name, because if TVT found out we were recording, they could confiscate all our shit and release it. Jimmy Iovine got involved with Interscope, and we kind of got slave-traded. It wasn't my doing. I didn't know anything about Interscope. And I was real pissed off at him at first because it was going from one bad situation to potentially another one. But Interscope went into it like they really wanted to know what I wanted. It was good, after I put my raving lunatic act on.[1]: 42
In 1992, Nine Inch Nails relocated to 10050 Cielo Drive, Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles (renamed "Le Pig" by Reznor), the site of the Tate murders, when Charles Manson's "family" murdered Sharon Tate,[37] wife of noted film director Roman Polanski, and four of her friends.[1]: 42 [4] The band used it to record Broken, an extended play (EP) that was the first Nine Inch Nails release distributed by Interscope Records[38] and reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200.[39] In the liner notes, Reznor credited the 1991 Nine Inch Nails touring band as an influence on the EP's sound.[40] He characterized Broken as a guitar-based "blast of destruction", and as "a lot harder ... than Pretty Hate Machine".[13] The inspiration for the harder sound came from the way the live band played during concerts such as Lollapalooza.[41] Songs from Broken earned Nine Inch Nails two Grammy Awards: a performance of the EP's first single "Happiness in Slavery" from Woodstock '94,[42] and the second single "Wish".[42] In reference to receiving the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for "Wish", Reznor joked that "Wish" became "the only song to ever win a Grammy that says 'fist fuck' in the lyrics."[43] Against touring of the brand new material, Reznor began living and recording full-time at Le Pig, working on a follow-up free of restrictions from his record label.[1]: 42
Peter Christopherson of the bands Coil and Throbbing Gristle directed a performance video for "Wish",[44] but the EP's most controversial video accompanied "Happiness in Slavery".[45] The video was almost universally banned[45] for its graphic depiction of performance artist Bob Flanagan disrobed and lying on a machine that pleases, tortures, then (apparently) kills him.[46] A third video for "Pinion", partially incorporated into MTV's Alternative Nation opening sequence, showed a toilet that apparently flushes into the mouth of a person in bondage.[47] Reznor and Christopherson compiled the three clips along with footage for "Help Me I Am in Hell" and "Gave Up" into a longform music video titled Broken.[48] It depicts the murder of a young man who is kidnapped and tortured while forced to watch the videos.[48] This footage was never officially released, but instead appeared covertly among tape trading circles.[46][48] A separate performance video for "Gave Up" featuring Richard Patrick and Marilyn Manson was filmed at Le Pig. A live recording of "Wish" was also filmed, and both videos appeared in Closure.[49]
Broken was followed by the companion remix EP Fixed in late 1992.[48] The only track that was left off the final version of the release is the remix of "Last", produced by Butch Vig (the outro of the "Last" remix is heard in "Throw This Away", which also includes Reznor's remix of "Suck").[50] The unedited version appeared on the internet as an 8-bit mono 11 kHz file, "NIN_LAST.AIFF", available by FTP from cyberden.com in 1993; it has been removed from the website, but can still be found on p2p networks (Reznor subsequently made it available in higher quality (256 kbit/s mp3) at remix.nin.com). Vig later spoke about his remix while answering questions on a music production forum, saying "I started recording a lot of new parts, and took it in a much different direction. When it was finished, Trent thought the front part of the mix didn't fit the EP, so he just used the ending. I'm glad it's on his website. Duke and Steve worked with me on the remix, in the very early days of Garbage."[51]
The Downward Spiral (1993–1997)[edit]
Early ideas for The Downward Spiral arose after the Lollapalooza 1991 festival's concerts ended in September.[52] Reznor elaborated the album's themes into lyrics.[1]: 42 Despite initially choosing to record the album in New Orleans,[53] Reznor searched for and moved to 10050 Cielo Drive, in Los Angeles (known as the Manson Murder House)[54] renting it for $11,000 per month from July 4, 1992, the start of the making of both Broken and The Downward Spiral.[55][56]
Nine Inch Nails' second studio album, The Downward Spiral, entered the Billboard 200 at number two,[57] and is the band's highest seller in the US, over four million copies, among five million worldwide.[58] Influenced by Pink Floyd and by David Bowie of the 1970s,[4] The Downward Spiral's diverse textures and moods depict a protagonist's mental progress.[59] Flood co-produced several tracks, while Alan Moulder mixed most,[60] and later found more extensive production duties on future albums. Reznor invited Sean Beavan to work on The Downward Spiral.[1] After contributing to remixes of Nine Inch Nails songs, such as "Closer", Beavan mixed and co-produced Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar in 1996.[61] The Downward Spiral, like Broken, was recorded at Le Pig Studios.[37] "March of the Pigs" and "Closer" were singles. Two other tracks, "Hurt" and "Piggy", though not singles, were issued to radio. Also in 1994, the band released the promotional single "Burn", which Reznor produced, on the soundtrack of Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers.[62] as well as a cover of the Joy Division song "Dead Souls" on the soundtrack to the film The Crow, which went to number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[63]
The music video for "Closer", directed by Mark Romanek, was in MTV's frequent rotation, although the network, deeming it too graphic, heavily censored the original.[64] The video shows events in a laboratory dealing with religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror; controversial imagery included a nude bald woman with a crucifix mask, a monkey tied to a cross, a pig's head spinning on some type of machine, a diagram of a vulva, Reznor wearing an S&M mask while swinging in shackles, and of him wearing a ball gag.[65] A radio edit that partially mutes the song's explicit lyrics also received extensive airtime.[1]: 96
Contemporary critics generally praised The Downward Spiral, now classed among the most important albums of the 1990s. In 2005, Spin ranked it 25th among the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005".[66] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it 200 among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[67] Blender named it the 80th Greatest American Album. It was ranked No. 488 in the book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time by Martin Popoff. In 2001 Q named The Downward Spiral as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time;[68] in 2010 the album was ranked No. 102 on their 250 Best Albums of Q's Lifetime (1986–2011) list.[69] After The Downward Spiral's release, Reznor produced an accompanying remix album entitled Further Down the Spiral, the only non-major Nine Inch Nails release to be certified gold in the United States[58] and among the best-selling remix albums of all time. It contained contributions from Coil with Danny Hyde, electronic musician Aphex Twin, producer Rick Rubin, and Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, among others.[70]
After The Downward Spiral's 1994 release, the live band supported it by embarking on the Self Destruct Tour. The stage set-up featured dirty curtains, rising and lowering for visuals shown during songs such as "Hurt". The tour debuted the band's grungy, messy image as the members appeared in ragged attire slathered in corn starch. Performances were violent and chaotic, band members often injuring themselves by attacking each other, diving into the crowd, and destroying their instruments to close.[71] The widest mainstream audience was a mud-soaked performance at Woodstock '94, and seen by Pay-Per-View in up to 24 million homes.[72][73] Enjoying mainstream success thereafter, Nine Inch Nails then performed amid greater production values, adding theatrical visual elements. Supporting acts on tour included the Jim Rose Circus and Marilyn Manson.[74] Released in 1997, the Closure video documented highlights from the tour, including full live videos of "Eraser", "Hurt" and a one-take "March of the Pigs" clip directed by Peter Christoperson.[75] In 1997 Reznor also produced the soundtrack to the David Lynch film Lost Highway, which featured one new Nine Inch Nails song, "The Perfect Drug".[76] Around this time, Reznor's studio perfectionism,[77] struggles with addiction, and bouts of writer's block prolonged the production of The Fragile.[78]
The Fragile (1998–2002)[edit]
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.[79] 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."[80] Canadian rock producer Bob Ezrin was consulted on the album's track listing; the liner notes state that he "provided final continuity and flow."[81]
On the heels of the band's previous successes, media anticipation surrounded The Fragile more than a year before its release,[82] when it was already described as "oft-delayed".[83] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 228,000 copies in its first week and receiving generally positive reviews.[79] Spin hailed The Fragile as the "album of the year", whereas Pitchfork Media panned its "melodramatic" lyrics.