Nine Inch Nails (NIN) has been one of, if not the most prevalent and influential, industrial metal bands of all time. But more than that, it’s a whole mood. The band (specifically its creator’s music in general) has grabbed hold and influenced a plethora of musical mediums. NIN has always been a go-to for TV series, video game soundtracks and movie scores. But what has made this band permeate the music scene, and how has its (typically) soul member stayed so relevant in the music industry?
Trent Reznor started NIN in 1988. He worked as a janitor in a music studio and eventually earned the privilege from his employer to use the recording and musical equipment after he had finished working for the night. He wrote and recorded his entire first album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” at the studio and released it in October of 1989. This album brought him a substantial amount of attention, but it was not where he would truly find his sound and musical potency. That would happen nearly five years later.
After “Pretty Hate Machine,” Trent released an episode (EP) titled “Broken.” It tried a new sound that was a lot grittier and more guitar-focused. This EP dipped its metaphorical toes in the water of what many would consider NIN’s magnum opus, “The Downward Spiral.” With that album,, the song “Closer” was its radio hit. The song was extremely controversial at the time due to its heavily sexual and dark themes.
Evan Price, a teacher at Ida B. Wells (IBW), remembers being very intrigued by the song, though he was worried about what his parents would think of him listening to it. “As a middle schooler, I didn’t really know what the song was talking about, but I knew it was something my parents did not want me to listen to based on the fact that they changed the radio station once the chorus kicked in.” Trent’s music had been and continued to be a haven for people who were experiencing personal emotional struggle, inner turmoil and a feeling of not being represented or cared for by the greater society at large. In an industry where thematic conformity was the key to success, very few musicians at the time would have ever tried to be as honest and uncensored as Trent had been with this album.
NIN’s career could have kept that formula, but Trent needed to keep evolving. He would later produce the soundtrack for the game Quake, a gorey shooter game, which makes sense for a band like Nine Inch Nails. Damian Magnuson, a former student at IBW, said, “I love video games and their soundtracks. Quake is one of my all time favorite video game soundtracks and it actually got me into NIN.”
Michael Pine, a teacher at IBW, says, “When I first heard NIN, I fell asleep to the fragile. It was a wall of sound. Very ambient and calming.” For casual NIN fans at the time, this was a huge shift in tone and vibe. This was a signal of things to come in Trent’s music. For NIN’s next album, Trent started working with Atticus Ross. This is where he started to really dedicate himself to the ambient side of his music.
They would continue making albums under the name Nine Inch Nails, but they would also work on many other projects outside of the confines of a band. They started off by working on “The Social Network” in 2010, which ended up being an Oscar-winning movie, and the soundtrack won the Academy Award that year as well. This propelled them to get a lot more film scores. In 2020, they were nominated with two separate soundtracks and ended up simultaneously winning and losing by beating themselves.
The score for which they won was “Soul,” a Pixar film about a jazz teacher. If you know anything about NIN, you would be surprised that Trent Reznor would be the person scoring a children’s animated film. Cricket, a student at Ida B Wells, said, “Wowzers! I can’t believe that he would make that soundtrack because his music is so intense and not appropriate for children 90% of the time.” This is a great example of how his music has gone beyond expectations and is resonating with students today.
NIN has been around for a long time and teenagers have always identified with them. The teenage years are ones that are very emotional and can be intense. NIN is perfect music for that because it can match the intensity of the teenage brain while also creating the peaceful moments that we need. His music peels back the skin and exposes everything underneath which can be exhilarating and scary at the same time. It is impressive that his music has permeated multiple generations of teens and I think he will continue to do so if he chooses to keep making music.
