Reznor recorded the band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), while working overnight as a janitor at a Cleveland recording studio. After feuding with the label TVT Records about promotion, Reznor 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.
Reznor chose 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. The Nine Inch Nails logo first appeared on the music video for their debut single, "Down in It". The logo was designed by Reznor and Gary Talpas, inspired by Tibor Kalman's typography on the Talking Heads album Remain in Light. Talpas, a native of Cleveland, continued to design Nine Inch Nails packaging until 1997.
Following a hiatus, Nine Inch Nails resumed touring in 2005 and released their fourth album, With Teeth (2005). Following the release of Year Zero (2007), Reznor 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 consisting of the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album Bad Witch (2018). In 2020, Nine Inch Nails released two further installments in the Ghosts series, Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts.
Reznor and Ross typically assemble a live band to perform with them. Not including sporadic band hiatuses, the band has varied over the decades, with the most recent lineup consisting of Robin Finck (initially joined in 1994), Alessandro Cortini (initially joined in 2005), and Ilan Rubin (initially joined in 2009). Nine Inch Nails concerts since 2005 often employ thematic visual elements, extensive use of special effects, and elaborate light shows; songs are often rearranged for performance, and elements of songs that are not scheduled to be performed in their entirety are occasionally assimilated into other songs.
Nine Inch Nails have sold over 20 million records and have been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning for the songs "Wish" (1992) and "Happiness in Slavery" (1996). In 1997, Time named Reznor one of the most influential people, and Spin 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. They were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 (their first year of eligibility), nominated again in 2015, and were inducted in 2020.
Nine Inch Nails has issued eight major albums, which have generally received both critical and commercial acclaim. Historically, NIN releases have been assigned a "Halo" index number. For example, the album 'With Teeth' is also known as Halo 19. With the inclusion of the 'Broken' EP, the band's primary releases are:
1. 'Pretty Hate Machine' (1989)
2. 'Broken' EP (1992)
3. 'The Downward Spiral' (1994)
4. 'The Fragile (Left)' / ''The Fragile (Right)' (1999)
5. 'With Teeth' (2005)
6. 'Year Zero' (2007)
7. 'Ghosts I-IV' (2008)
8. 'The Slip' (2008)
9. 'Hesitation Marks' (2013)
10. 'Not the Actual Events' EP (2016)
11. 'Add Violence' EP (2017)
12. 'Bad Witch' (2018)
13. 'Ghosts V: Together' (2020)
14. 'Ghosts VI: Locusts' (2020)
Nine Inch Nails has also produced a number of EP's, remixes, and provided contributions to various movie soundtracks, including 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider', 'The Crow', 'Natural Born Killers', 'Lost Highway', and 'Tetsuo: The Bullet Man'. Trent Reznor additionally provided the soundtrack for the massively popular id Software game Quake, a release inspired by ambient music. His team up with Atticus Ross resulted in the critically praised soundtrack to the film 'The Social Network', with the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross duo winning an Oscar for Best Original Score at the 83rd Academy Awards
In 2002, a live album (their second live release, the first being the video 'Closure Documentary') entitled 'And All That Could Have Been' was released on DVD & CD. The Deluxe version of the CD came packaged with a mini album called 'Still'. That release featured several previously released songs in a stripped down, near-acoustic format along with several other new compositions.
Nine Inch Nails as a live band is generally understood to be a separate entity from its recording studio-based component. Occasionally, past band members are invited to participate in the process when not directly involved with recording new material, Nine Inch Nails' lineup tends to change drastically between major tours. Aside from Trent Reznor remaining on lead vocals, nothing about the live band has remained constant since its inception. Reznor cited the long gestation period between studio albums as part of the reason for these frequent personnel changes.
Beginning in late 2005, the live band featured Aaron North on guitar, Jeordie White on bass guitar, Alessandro Cortini on keyboards, and Josh Freese on drums, though all occasionally performed with different instruments. This lineup toured Europe, Asia, Australia, and America through 2007. Trent Reznor reported that he would disband the "rock band configuration" of his touring lineup after their concert in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 18, 2007, and would explore other means to perform Nine Inch Nails material on subsequent tours. Despite this claim he has regained the rock group lineup for the 'Lights In The Sky Over...' tours with Robin Finck returning on guitar and Justin Meldal-Johnsen of Beck and other projects accompanying Cortini and Freese.
Past live band members include (listed chronologically):
* Ron Musarra: Drums, Samplers
* Chris Vrenna: Keyboards, Samplers, Drums
* Richard Patrick: Guitar
* Jeff Ward: Drums
* David Haymes: Keyboards
* Nick Rushe: Keyboards
* Lee Mars: Keyboards
* James Woolley: Keyboards
* Robin Finck: Guitar, Synthesizer
* Danny Lohner: Bass, Guitar, Synthesizer
* Charlie Clouser: Synthesizer, Drums on 5 songs during the Dissonance side of David Bowie's Outside tour, Theremin
* Sean Beavan: Soundboard, Backing vocals on 5 songs
* Jerome Dillon: Drums
* Alex Carapetis: Drums
* Ilan Rubin: Drums
The September 14, 2007 edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the September 18 show in Honolulu, Hawaii would be the last performance of the current incarnation of the Nine Inch Nails live band. Trent Reznor was quoted as stating, "at this point, I want to switch things around a bit. Nine Inch Nails as a rock band configuration, we've done it and we've done it again. I see other ways I can present the material in concert, more challenging, something new. I don't want it to go stale."
A DVD/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD of live material from the 2006 With Teeth tour was released in late February 2007 entitled Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You In Time. All three formats include 24 songs from the summer and winter 2006 tours, plus bonus material.
Information about Nine Inch Nails concerts can be found on the NIN website.
Ghosts I-IV was released on March 2, 2008. It contains 36 instrumental tracks and was recorded in ten weeks of fall 2007. Initially intended to be a five-track EP, the album is presented in the form of four nine-track EPs. The tracks do not have names, and are only identified by their track listing and position on the EPs. Ghosts I-IV also adds to the recent experimentation with digital distribution; the album is available in many different ways, including a digital download, for purchase or (partially) free, a CD set, and a deluxe edition set.
The eighth album called "The Slip" was officially released on May 5, 2008. The whole album can be downloaded for free from this website: Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
On February 16th 2009, Trent announced that he would begin his last tour. Nine Inch Nails would indefinitely end. However, it is not likely that this is the end of his music career. In his letter, he hinted that he may do something with Jane's Addiction. In addition, Reznor has said outright in an interview on the official website that he is not done making music as Nine Inch Nails, but that he is done touring.
Trivia:
* Trent Reznor has worked with several big names in musical collaboration outside of NIN in recent years, including time rocker artist David Bowie, Maynard James Keenan of Tool, Zach de La Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Josh Wink, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, slam poet Saul Williams, hip-hop producer Puff Daddy & The Family, Peter Gabriel, Henry Rollins and more recently, hip-hop producer El-P and Queens of the Stone Age.
* Contrary to popular belief, Suck is technically a cover and not an original. The song was originally performed by the band Pigface on the album Gub (1991), a band which Trent worked with in the past. Trent is given vocal and writing credits and the song was later re-recorded for the Broken EP (1992) as a hidden track .
* Legendary country star Johnny Cash covered Hurt on the album The Man Comes Around.
* NIN along with Marilyn Manson, Maynard James Keenan, Phil Anselmo and other artists worked together to produce the Tapeworm Project, a side project that existed from the mid-1990s through to 2004.
2 Ghosts I
Nine Inch Nails Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forgot how it feels, well almost
No one to blame, always the same
Open my eyes, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up inflames
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me see the light
Smashed up my integrity
Smashed up what I believed in
Smashed up what's left of me
Smashed up my everything
Smashed up all that was true
Gonna smash myself to pieces
I don't know what else to do
Covered in hope and Vaseline
Still cannot fix this broken machine
Watching the hole, it used to be mine
Just watching it burn in my steady systematic decline
Of the trust, I will betray
Give it to me, I throw it away
After everything I've done
I hate myself for what I've become
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me realize
It took you to make me see the light
Smashed up my sanity
Smashed up my integrity
Smashed up what I believed in
Smashed up what's left of me
Smashed up my everything
Smashed up all that was true
Gonna smash myself to pieces
I don't know what else to do
I tried, I gave up
I tried, I gave up
I tried, I gave up
What I tried, I gave up
I tried, I gave up
I tried, I gave up
I tried, and I tried
Oh I tried and I gave up
Smashed up my sanity
Smashed up my integrity
Smashed up what I believed in
Smashed up what's left of me
Smashed up my everything
Smashed up all that was true
Gonna smash myself to pieces
I don't know what else to do
Smashed up my sanity
Smashed up my integrity
Smashed up what I believed in
Smashed up what's left of me
Smashed up my everything
Smashed up all that was true
Gonna smash myself to pieces
I don't know what else to do
Smashed up my sanity
Smashed up my integrity
Smashed up what I believed in
Smashed up what's left of me
Smashed up my everything
Smashed up all that was true
Gonna smash myself to pieces
I don't know what else to do
Throw it away
Throw it away
"2 Ghosts I" is a song that explores themes of loss, regret, and self-destruction. In the first verse, the singer describes a "perfect little dream" that has been shattered and left them feeling lost and empty. The chorus repeats the phrase "It took you to make me realize" four times, suggesting that the singer has had a profound realization about themselves or their situation, possibly in relation to someone they have lost.
The second half of the song delves into more visceral, violent imagery, with the singer describing how their sense of self has been "smashed up" and how they feel the need to "smash [themself] to pieces." The repeated phrase "I don't know what else to do" emphasizes the singer's desperation and hopelessness. The final line, "Throw it away," could be interpreted as a final, nihilistic gesture or a call to release the pain and move on.
Overall, "2 Ghosts I" is a haunting, melancholy track that speaks to the depths of human despair and the complex emotions that come with loss and trauma.
Line by Line Meaning
Perfect little dream, the kind that hurts the most
A dream that seems perfect but ultimately causes pain.
Forgot how it feels, well almost
Having forgotten what it feels like to experience something, though not entirely.
No one to blame, always the same
There's no one to blame for what's happening because the situation is always the same.
Open my eyes, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up inflames
Becoming more and more aware of the reality around them and it's causing them pain.
It took you to make me realize
They wouldn't have realized the truth without the other person's involvement.
Smashed up my sanity
Their mental state is ruined and they feel like everything is falling apart.
Smashed up my integrity
Their beliefs and values have been compromised and they feel like they can't trust themselves anymore.
Smashed up what I believed in
Their beliefs have been shattered and they're unsure of what they should believe in anymore.
Smashed up what's left of me
Their situation has taken such a toll on them that they feel like they have nothing left to give.
Smashed up my everything
Their entire being feels broken and they don't know how to fix it.
Smashed up all that was true
Even what they once thought was certain and true has been destroyed.
Gonna smash myself to pieces
They feel like they're reaching their breaking point and can't handle it anymore.
I don't know what else to do
They're at such a loss that they don't know what actions to take to remedy the situation.
Covered in hope and Vaseline
Attempting to conceal the pain and difficulty with a false sense of hope and temporary solutions.
Still cannot fix this broken machine
Despite their efforts to temporarily patch things up, they're unable to truly fix the underlying issues.
Watching the hole, it used to be mine
Reflecting on a situation that once belonged to them but has since been destroyed and taken away.
Just watching it burn in my steady systematic decline
Observing the destruction of their situation in a way that seems methodical, hopeless, and inevitable.
Of the trust, I will betray
They feel like they're going to inevitably betray anyone who gives them trust or hope.
Give it to me, I throw it away
They're acknowledging that they have a pattern of destroying anything that is given to them, even if it's valuable.
After everything I've done
Despite their best efforts or the things they've accomplished so far.
I hate myself for what I've become
They're filled with self-loathing and regret for the way they've changed and their current situation.
Throw it away
A final declaration of throwing away anything that was once important, to start anew or because they believe it's hopeless.
I tried, I gave up
Despite their efforts, they've ultimately given up because of their perceived hopelessness.
What I tried, I gave up
They're acknowledging that despite whatever actions they took, they've ultimately given up.
Oh I tried and I gave up
A repetition of the idea that they did try, but ultimately gave up because of the difficulty.
Contributed by Lillian C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ShoopDoopDaWoop
This is purely indescribable, and I don't think most artist nowadays can amount up to even close to what Trent accomplished with this album and this song in particular. Try this. Lie in your bed, get your headphones on, put on this song,close your eyes, clear your mind and focus solely on the song. Then at any point, try to think precisely on what emotions that you're feeling. It is truly incredible.
Rachel Franks
Absolutely
Garras Porgratix
I just stick my phone under the pillow on vol 1 and go to sleep to this type of music.
Faken Namel
"I don't think most artist nowadays can amount up to even close" everyone says this about their favorite artist.
BECINE93
What I love about Trent Reznor as a musician, is that psychologically and emotionally insightful brilliance his work possesses. Revealing the darkest depths of the human condition ("The Downward Spiral" and "The Fragile") as well as (although it may at times not be obvious) themes of cautious optimism and hope (the resolvement at the climax of "With Teeth" - "Right Where It Belongs").
IOSIF DRUMMER
I'm surprised no one has discovered this gorgeous song from the next sources:
- The Social Network ( 2010 ) - movie
- Citizenfour ( 2014 ) - documentary
- The Vietnam War ( 2017 ) - documentary
Hadrian Hardrada Cicero
Would a ROBLOX video from like almost ten years ago count? Because that how I discovered the song back then.
Relicaficionado
Not to mention Kony
Also some beats commercials.
nyoon
Thats the most lain pfp thing ive heard yet
Hadrian Hardrada Cicero
@nyoon Haha