Nine Inch Nails is an American band formed in Cleveland in 1988 and originally composed of Trent Reznor, Chris Vrenna and Richard Patrick. A band that can boast of having sold no less than 20 million titles worldwide to date, just that.
The adventure began when the band was signed by the TVT Records label in 1988, a label that would allow the band to release a first album "Pretty hate machine" a year later in 1989. And for a first attempt it was rather successful since the album would experience a nice success on both sides of the Atlantic, notably thanks to the title "Heads like a hole".
It was a deep disagreement with TVT Records on the obligation to make commercial music that forced Reznor to found the Nothing Records label in 1992, a label with which he would produce the mini-album "Broken". Mini album that sees the group's influence begin to spread to the southern sphere, notably thanks to the titles "Wish" and "Hapiness in slavery", a title whose shocking video clip will be censored almost all over the planet.
A controversy quickly forgotten with the release two years later in 1994 of the biggest album of their entire discography "The downward spiral". An album that will sell nearly 4 million copies in the United States alone and which will produce what will remain as their reference Single, namely the enormous "Closer". Once again they will succeed in triggering controversy with the video that will accompany the title, a video that will never be broadcast in its original version…
A controversy that will accompany them during their tour, a tour that will accentuate the trashy image of the group, the members appearing in tattered clothes, attacking and injuring each other or jumping into the crowd and ending up destroying their instruments at the end of the concert…
We will have to wait 5 years to see the release in 1999 of the following album "The fragile", an album that paradoxically sees the influence of the group extend to the entire planet while not allowing it to equal, in terms of sales, the previous album. Album carried on its own by the flagship title "We're in this together".
An adventure that sees Reznor caught up by his demons at the beginning of the 2000s, who will overdose on heroin, pushing the group to take a break while he goes to rehab.
Five years will pass before the group manages to produce its new album "With teeth", a revival album that sees the group find a level of success that is most flattering, notably thanks to the huge Single "The hand that feeds".
The following album "Year zero" which will be released two years later in 1997 will experience less success but will still manage to produce the big-caliber title "Survivalism".
A big-caliber Single that will be the last because everything that will be released afterward, whether on the albums or Singles side, will only experience an average level of success.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others...) :
80s Decade :
Down in it 1989
90s Decade :
Head like a hole 1990
Sin 1990
Wish 1992
Happiness in slavery 1992
Gave up 1992
Piggy 1994
March of the pigs 1994
Closer 1994
Burn 1994
Quake theme 1995
Heresy 1995
Ruiner 1995
The perfect drug 1997
I'm afraid of Americans 1997
The day the world went away 1999
We’re in this together 1999
2000s Decade :
Into the void 2000
Slipping away 2000
Starsukers, Inc. 2000
Deep 2001
The hand that feeds 2005
Only 2005
Every day is exactly the same 2006
Survivalism 2007
Capital G 2007
The great destroyer 2007
The good soldier 2007
1 Ghost - I 2008
2 Ghost - I 2008
13 Ghost - II 2008
17 Ghost - II 2008
Discipline 2008
Echoplex 2008
2010s Decade :
Came back haunted 2013
Copy of a 2013
Everything 2013
She's gone away 2016
Dear world 2016
Burning bright (Field on fire) 2016
Less than 2017
This isn't the place 2017
Shit mirror 2018
God break down the door 2018
Over and out 2018
2020s Decade :
Letting go while holding on 2020
Together 2020
Out in the open 2020
Around every corner 2020
Trust fades 2020
Isn't everyone 2021
Tracks :
1989...first title and already first success, what more could you ask for ? Of course the success is limited to the North American sphere but still...
1990...from the first tracks it is clear that this group is not going to do things by halves and sugary sweets. With them it will be pulsating as they say...
1990... from the moment we are warned, no more bad surprises in sight. On the other hand, sensitive ears would do better to move on...
1992... here is a very concrete example of their ability to push the decibels a little far. Music necessarily reserved for the initiated...
1992... insiders who are still a few million considering the sales figures, which is not nothing. And the adventure is only just beginning...
1992...it's clear that this isn't the kind of band whose music is likely to set dancefloors on fire, that's for sure...
1994...and paradoxically they will show an astonishing capacity to produce clearly softer pieces. Who would have believed it...?
1994...the soft tracks will necessarily be an exception in an ocean of overexcited titles. But we know that they can do them in any case...
1994...then THIS title arrives ! A title that will undoubtedly remain as their reference title and which will above all offer them a direct ticket to posterity. HU-GE !
1994...they're even going to do it in the soundtrack mode with this title that we'll find on the film 'Natural born killers'. Might as well diversify as much as possible...
1995...while keeping their basic fundamentals, the group begins to evolve slowly but surely. Not too quickly though...
1995...who would have imagined for a single second that they would explore dance rhythms ? Not many people, that's for sure...
1995...this time it's a video game in which they will participate through this theme. Their fields of exploration seem limitless at first sight...
1997...this time we find them on the soundtrack of the film 'Lost Highway'. A soundtrack mode in which they like to shine, it must be said...
1997...who would have believed this association possible, their worlds are so radically different ? And yet, they did it !
1999...the 80s saw them blossom and the 90s established them as one of the references in their field. Now let's see what the next decade has in store for them...
1999...a 90s decade that ends once again with a bang but for them it's a habit. We remake them again as they say...
2000...what undeniably makes them strong is this ability to try things and not systematically remain stuck on their fundamentals...
2000...they love to experiment and not systematically follow the same paths. An ability to renew themselves that can only help to last, that's for sure...
2000...that doesn't stop them from regularly enjoying themselves and reminding anyone who will listen that they're not here to sing lullabies...
2001...a band with many facets and many faces. Never be where you expect them to be, that's their motto...
2005...and of course it works. The proof is in this new title which will allow them to add a prestigious star to a prize list which grows year after year...
2005...a mid-2000s decade that sees them perfectly mastering their subject. Not too much to worry about concerning the continuation of events...
2006...certainly not all their titles will have the same level of success but for the moment everything is going as hoped...
2007...another very big title, one more. That's the good news. The bad news is that this major success will be their last of this level...
2007...this absolutely does not mean the end of the adventure, far from it. It simply means that the beautiful adventure in the Singles Charts is coming to an end...
2007...they still managed to be present in these Singles Charts for almost 20 years, which is not nothing all the same...
2007...and that's not going to stop them from maintaining a more than certain level of success in the album charts. So, there's no need to be more alarmed than that...
2008...then comes this musical interlude, which is at least astonishing, where the group launches into pure and hard instrumental music...
2008...once again they prove with this astonishing parenthesis that experimenting is part of their basic DNA. Astonishing paradox...
2008...where the art of going from one extreme to another as they say. When you see what they are usually capable of, doing it gently and airily is a more than obvious feat...
2008...an ability to surprise that will forever remain their trademark. Why always do the same thing when you can go down unknown paths that often hold beautiful surprises...
2008...here they are again in their favorite field. They love to experiment but in a moderate way all the same...
2008...they never stray too far from their fundamentals so as not to lose too much. It's been like that since their beginnings...
2013...and another decade, one more ! And each new decade brings its share of surprises ! The group manages to reinvent himself and above all to constantly surprise us...
2013...a capacity to reinvent himself that is only found in the best of each generation, of course. The others, inevitably, disappear...
2013...there are those who go through the times and fashions as they should and those who stagnate and regress. Fortunately they are part of the first category...
2016...when we see what they were doing at the beginning and what they are doing today, there is a slight evolution. Positive evolution necessarily...
2016...they soak up each era and the latest musical trends of the moment to incorporate them into their own world. Inevitably a force that makes the difference with the others...
2016...we're not going to say that their music has become for everyone, far from it. They want to evolve but still...
2017...rare are the groups from the 80s to have succeeded in this transition between several musical eras. Well done guys !
2017...not to mention these always surprising musical interludes which allow them to show another side of themselves radically different from the one usually visible...
2018...so they will have gone through the 80s, then the 90s, then the 2000s and here they are at the twilight of the 2010s. Quite a journey...
2018...what is certain is that the adventure is not over, far from it. They will not give up until the end and will produce titles as long as they have a minimum of energy left...
2018...and it's certainly not the core fans who are going to complain, far from it. When you're a die-hard fan of a band that's been around for so long, it's a real pleasure to see them again every time...
2020... let the core fans not worry too much because here is the band starting its 5th decade of career. Who would have believed it when they started their career in 1989, not many people that's for sure...
2020...a start to the 2020 decade full of finesse and lightness. Not sure that die-hard fans will find their way there, but the others will, of course...
2020...this group will amaze us until the end, that's for sure. An almost unique model that will have known how to vary the pleasures to infinity...
2020...and we imagine that it is far from over because we know that with them, there is always a sequel whatever it may be...
2020...an instrumental suite or a sung suite but there is always a suite. This will definitely be the case for this new decade, we don't doubt it for a single second...
2021...we imagine that this title will not be the last. Now it remains to be seen with which unusual project - or not - they plan to come back afterwards...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
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