Electronic Artist/Composer - Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails were the most popular industrial rock group ever, and were largely responsible for bringing the music to a mass audience. Nine Inch Nails was founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor, the main producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist for the group. Reznor is the only sole member of Nine Inch Nails, but is supported in concert by a live backing band.

Nine Inch Nails produced several highly influential records in the 1990’s that achieved widespread popularity such as Pretty Hate Machine (1989), Broken EP (1992), The Downward Spiral (1994), and The Fragile (Left)/The Fragile (Right) (1999). They would later be followed with albums such as With Teeth (2005), Year Zero (2007), Ghosts I-IV (2008), and The Slip (2008). Many Nine Inch Nails songs went onto becoming radio hits. Two Nine Inch Nails songs won Grammy Awards, and have reached record sales exceeding over 20 million albums worldwide with 10.5 million sales certified in the U.S. alone. In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music.”

Reznor wrote melodic, traditionally structured songs, but with harsh electronic beats of industrial music, which sounded very mechanical at times. However, the lyrics are the focal point of the music, and Reznor's singing is very dynamic and frequently moves from whispers to screams. Nine Inch Nails' music occasionally features complex time signatures, most notably in The Collector from the album With Teeth, and concert favorite March of the Pigs. Reznor also uses noise and distortion in his song arrangements, and incorporates dissonance with chromatic melody and/or harmony.

As a listener, I’m more of a fan of earlier Nine Inch Nails albums such as Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral, but have an appreciation for all of their records. Nine Inch Nails has definitely influenced many newer artists most specifically in the mid-late 90’s during the “nu-metal era.” The harsh, electronic mechanical-esque industrial sound that has made Nine Inch Nails who they are is made apparent in the music and sound of industrial rock and metal artists such as Marilyn Manson, Static-X, and Fear Factory.