Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock music group, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, & instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails & remains solely responsible for its direction.
NIN's music straddles a wide range of genres, while retaining a characteristic sound using electronic instruments and processing. After recording a new album, Reznor usually assembles a live band to perform with him. The touring band features a revolving lineup that often rearranges songs to fit a live setting. On stage, NIN often employ spectacular visual elements to accompany performances, which frequently culminate with the band destroying their instruments. Underground music audiences warmly received Nine Inch Nails in its early years. The band produced several highly influential records in the 1990s that achieved widespread popularity: many Nine Inch Nails songs became radio hits, two NIN recordings won Grammy Awards, and the band has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, with 11 million sales certified in the US 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." In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Despite this acclaim, the band has had several feuds with the corporate side of the recording industry. In 2007, these corporate entanglements resulted in Reznor announcing that Nine Inch Nails would split from its label and release future material independently. Since 1989, Nine Inch Nails have made eight major studio releases. The most recent releases, Ghosts I–IV and The Slip, both released in 2008, were released under Creative Commons licenses. Both were initially released digitally, with physical releases coming later. The digital release of The Slip was made available completely free of charge. NIN has been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and won twice for the songs "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery", in 1992 and 1995 respectively.
Live performances
Trent Reznor is the sole official member of Nine Inch Nails. However, Reznor has typically formed a backing group of musicians to perform the songs in a live setting. This live band, also known as Nine Inch Nails, rearranges the band's studio catalog and creates a different sound than that of Reznor's studio recordings. Band members have occasionally been invited to participate in the recording process, but creative control within the studio has always been exclusively with Reznor. The Tapeworm project was created in 1995 as a Nine Inch Nails side-project between Reznor and various live-band members as a more "democratic" creative environment. The band initially included band members Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser, but eventually expanded to feature other frequent NIN contributors Josh Freese, Atticus Ross, and Alan Moulder. However, after 9 years of studio sessions, no material was ever officially released from the group, and it was confirmed to be no longer active in 2005. The lineup of the live band has a tendency to change drastically between major tours: aside from Reznor remaining on lead vocals and guitar, no member of 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, as well as his desire for fresh interpretations of his music. The 2009 incarnation of the live band features Reznor with Robin Finck, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and Ilan Rubin.
Discography
Nine Inch Nails has produced eight major releases:
* 1989: Pretty Hate Machine
* 1992: Broken
* 1994: The Downward Spiral
* 1999: The Fragile
* 2005: With Teeth
* 2007: Year Zero
* 2008: Ghosts I–IV
* 2008: The Slip
In addition, the band has released four remix albums:
* 1992: Fixed
* 1995: Further Down the Spiral
* 2000: Things Falling Apart
* 2007: Year Zero Remixed
Further, there have been three tour documentaries:
* 1997: Closure
* 2002: And All That Could Have Been
* 2007: Beside You in Time
Nine Inch Nails has also released numerous singles containing several B-sides. The majority of these are labeled with Halo numbers, a sequential numbering system used to catalog the core Nine Inch Nails body of work.
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