Nine Inch Nails is probably the most popular industrial band ever, and is the reason why industrial ever broke into the mainstream. Despite these incredible accomplishments, Nine inch Nails isn’t really a “group”, it’s actually just one man, Trent Reznor, who always remained solely responsible for every aspect of Nine inch Nails musical direction (however he was supported by a backing band for live performances, but that goes without saying). Even though Nine inch Nails was quickly labeled as an “industrial” rock band, they were not exactly industrial. Instead he wrote melodical, more complicated music, and would incorporate techno beats into it. The lyrics also had much more to them, dealing with real issues and they actually had a focal point. Choosing to make his music like this, it was much easier to digest considering it wasn’t nearly as harsh, and while most industrial rock bands would reach as far as a Metal audience, Nine inch Nails was going all they to alternative. Also going on around this time was the huge grunge revolution, and despite NIN was clearly not grunge, they had developed some of the same fan base in the Alternative fan base. As a result of this success, Reznor became a huge star, and his dark, mysterious persona made him a modern day Jim Morrison like sex symbol. After the release of his first album and touring, time off and writers block followed which gave a whole bunch of new alternative bands a chance to rip off NIN’s style. After his hiatus, he was still popular but his freight train was slowing down. Now before I go on with his career, one might how Reznor came to be so successful, here is the answer. As a child he played the piano and had a general interest in music. Eventually he went on the study music at Allegheny College, but dropped out after a year to pursue a full time music career. He soon moved to Cleveland with a childhood friend to even further pursuer his career. When he got to Cleveland he started to discover new kinds of music such as new-wave and different styles of underground music. However, the one that most intrigued him was industrial. At the age of 19 he auditioned and joined a band called “The Innocent”. They went on the release one album called “Livin’ in the Streets”. He quit the band after only three months because of some problems and went on to play in different bands that went nowhere and worked as a Janitor at a recording studio and at a keyboard store. At the recording studio he eventually became a studio engineer, teaching himself the tricks of the trade and during off hours he worked on his own material. He wanted to form a band but couldn’t find anyone else so what he thought would be temporary, he decided to solo. After many different names he settled with Nine inch Nails because it survived “The two week test”. As Nine inch Nails he began recording his own material, largely influenced by “Ministry” and “Skinny Puppy”, and he played every single instrument himself. He was originally hoping to release a single on a small European label, however he sent out a bunch of demo tapes to American labels, and to his surprise he received many offers. After much consideration he decided to sign with TVT records. With them he released his first full length album in 1989 entitled “Pretty Hate Machine”. “Pretty Hate Machine” proved to be a landmark album, and is often regarded as one of the most innovative albums of all time. This was the album that broke Industrial into the mainstream and will go down in music history for doing so. His first single released “Head like a Hole” quickly spawned a cult following with decent play on MTV. As the success grew he went on tour and had to assemble a backing band, considering it would be impossible to perform live without others helping out. He then toured, opening for “Skinny Puppy”. He didn’t play with “Skinny Puppy” for long because he didn’t want to limit himself as completely Industrial rock. He then assembled a better backing band, and found a stop on drums for his friend that he moved to Cleveland with. He then decided to open for various Alternative bands to broaden his fan base. He eventually went on join the 1991 Lollapalooza tour, which was a vital role in expanding his fan base, considering the bands at this tour were largely alternative. “Pretty Hate Machine” would gain momentum until stopping at number 75 on the charts. It remained there for two years and went on to sell more than one million copies. TVT realized the potential that NIN possessed so they made an attempt at taking control of the direction of NIN, which greatly angered Reznor, so he made an attempt at getting a release contract which led to a court battle. Eventually Reznor was released and signed with Interscope records that helped him set up his own record label, entitled “Nothing Records”. Now this is where the beginning of the biography comes back into the picture, from now on showing you what happened after his original success. In 1992 Reznor wrote and recorded some new material, however was not able to come up with enough so instead he just released an 8 song EP entitled “Broken” and a remix album entitled “Fixed”. Broken proved to be much heavier and darker than “Pretty Hate Machine” because of minimal use of the techno beats, and a lot more heavy guitar work in it’s place. “Broken” still remains to be NIN’s heaviest album to date. His first single off the album “Wish” went on the win a Grammy at the MTV awards for best Metal video. He also released a video for “Happiness is Slavery”; however it was quickly banned as it showed a man being torn apart by a meat grinder. After “Broken” Reznor moved all the way to California to write and record his second full length album “The Downward Spiral”. He made his recording studio in the actual Sharon Tate house, where she and several others were brutally murdered by Charles Manson’s followers in the late 60’s. “The Downward Spiral” proved to be an incredible album, while not as ground breaking as “Pretty Hate Machine” was, it in many peoples eyes was an improvement. It had some heavy aspects as “Broken”, a few aspects of “Pretty Hate Machine”, but generally it was a new concept album. The album also featured the most complex studio craft of any NIN album to date. With Reznor’s huge fan base the album was hugely anticipated and debuted at number two on the charts. It went on the sell several million copies. The first single released, and only video, was a huge success; the infamous song “Closer”. The original video was too graphic to be shown on MTV, so a censored version was aired. It was regarded as an incredible video, showing some incredible depth that was extremely cryptic. A notable part of the video portrayed a monkey being crucified. In 1995, after completing their own tour, NIN went on to tour with David Bowie, a childhood idol of Reznor’s. Later that year NIN released another remix album entitled “Further down the Spiral”. It actually reached top 20 on the charts for a short time. Using the massive amounts on money from “The Downward Spiral”, Reznor built an incredible studio in New Orleans. Reznor than became interested in doing so producing so he singed Marilyn Mason to Nothing Records, and went on the record Marilyn Manson’s best album to date; “Antichrist Superstar”. This was the album that made Manson a superstar. Another case of writers block followed for the next five years (with the exception on EP “The Perfect Drug” that kept in the public eye) until the release on 1999’s double disc album “The Fragile”. It debuted at number 1, with incredible initial sales, but actually quickly slipped off the charts because the music yet again had changed, and the change lost him some fans. “The Fragile” was very different again, more mellow moments, not being as heavy. Some look upon it as an incredible album, possibly the best double album ever, while others look on it as a poor effort. My opinion would be the first one stated an incredible album and the best double disc ever. NIN went on to release another remix album the next year and also a live compilation. Now in 2004 Reznor has begun recording his newest full length album entitled “The Bleedthrough” which is due for release later on this year or early next year. So despite the changes in music, NIN is still one of the most successful bands on the 90’s, and undoubtedly the best “Industrial” band ever. Who knows what the future has in store for NIN, all I can really say is that it will be interesting and I will be anxiously be awaiting the release of ‘The Bleedthrough”.
Bio written by: AIC4LIFE |
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