Biography

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed by singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor in 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio. Reznor was the sole permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, English musician Atticus Ross, became an official member in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreements with TVT over how the album would be promoted, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992), followed by the albums The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999). Following a hiatus, Nine Inch Nails resumed touring and released their fourth album With Teeth (2005). Following the release of the next album Year Zero (2007), the band 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 which consisted of the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album Bad Witch (2018). The band simultaneously released two further installments of the Ghosts series in 2020: Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts. In 2024, Nine Inch Nails announced a number of new projects through their multimedia company With Teeth; the following year, they embarked on the Peel It Back Tour and released the soundtrack to Tron: Ares. When touring, Reznor typically assembles a live band to perform with him under the Nine Inch Nails name. This live band has varied over the decades, with various members leaving and returning; the current lineup consists of Reznor and Ross alongside Robin Finck (who initially joined in 1994), Stu Brooks (who joined in 2026), and Josh Freese (who initially joined in 2005). The band's concerts are noted for their extensive use of thematic visual elements, complex special effects, and elaborate lighting. Songs are often rearranged to fit any given performance, and the melodies or lyrics of songs that are not scheduled to be performed are sometimes assimilated into other songs. Nine Inch Nails has sold over 20 million records worldwide and been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning for the songs "Wish" in 1993, "Happiness in Slavery" in 1996 and "As Alive as You Need Me to Be" in 2026. Time magazine named Reznor one of its most influential people in 1997, while Spin magazine has described him as "the most vital artist in music". In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nine Inch Nails No. 94 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Nine Inch Nails was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, having first been nominated in 2014 (their first year of eligibility) and again in 2015.