Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor, the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and creative force behind Nine Inch Nails, trained as a classical pianist during his small-town Pennsylvania childhood, but his discovery of rock and early industrial groups, despite his dislike of the 'industrial' tag, changed his musical direction completely. Following a period working in a Cleveland recording studio and playing in local bands, Reznor began recording as Nine Inch Nails in 1988. The dark, atmospheric PRETTY HATE MACHINE, written, played and co-produced by Reznor, was largely synthesizer-based, but the material was transformed on stage by a ferocious wall of guitars, and show-stealing Lollapalooza performances in 1991. Coupled with a major US hit with Head Like A Hole, it brought platinum status. Inspired by the live band, Reznor added an abrasive guitar barrage to the Nine Inch Nails sound for BROKEN (a subsequent remix set was titled FIXED), which hit the US Top 10, winning a Grammy for Wish. Happiness In Slavery, however, courted controversy with an almost-universally banned video, where performance artist Bob Flanagan gave himself up to be torn apart as slave to a machine, acting out the theme of control common to Reznor's lyrics. Reznor also filmed an unreleased full-length Broken video which he felt 'makes Happiness In Slavery look like a Disney movie'. By this time, Reznor had relocated to Los Angeles, building a studio in a rented house at 10050 Cielo Drive, which he later discovered was the scene of the Tate murders by the Manson Family (much to his disgust due to eternal interview questions thereafter about the contribution of the house's atmosphere to THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL). Occupying the middle ground between the styles of previous releases, THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL'S multilayered blend of synthesizer textures and guitar fury provides a fascinating soundscape for Reznor's exploration of human degradation through sex, drugs, violence, depression and suicide, closing with personal emotional pain on Hurt: 'I hurt myself today, To see if I still feel, I focus on the pain, The only thing that's real'. THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL made its US debut at number 2, and a return to live work with Robin Finck (guitar), Danny Lohneer (bass/guitar), James Woolley (keyboards) and Reznor's long-time friend and drummer Chris Vrenna drew floods of praise, with Nine Inch Nails being one of the most talked-about acts at the Woodstock anniversary show. 1994 saw the first non-Nine Inch Nails releases on Reznor's Nothing label, and the band also found time to construct an acclaimed soundtrack for Oliver Stone's film, Natural Born Killers. In the following year Reznor announced plans to record an album with circus 'freak show' specialist, Jim Rose, stating with typical bombast: 'the record will confront just about ever issue that upsets people. It will be non-PC in every way imaginable'.