Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 by singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor, who remained the sole official member of the group until English musician Atticus Ross officially joined in 2016. The band’s groundbreaking debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), synchronized heavy electronic beats with angst-driven synth-pop, but it was their multi-platinum masterpiece, The Downward Spiral (1994), that catapulted them into mainstream superstardom with hit singles like "Closer" and "Hurt." Known for intense, visually spectacular live performances and themes of alienation, addiction, and emotional turmoil, Nine Inch Nails pioneered the commercial viability of industrial rock throughout the 1990s and 2000s with albums like The Fragile and With Teeth. In the 2010s and beyond, Reznor and Ross diversified the band's legacy by transitioning into highly acclaimed film scoring, winning Academy Awards for The Social Network and Soul, while simultaneously securing Nine Inch Nails' place in rock history with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.