NINE INCH NAILS AT 30 AT GINGER NUTS OF HORROR INTRODUCTION BY ALEX DAVIS

In 1989, Nine Inch Nails – Trent Reznor's unique industrial music project – smashed onto the scene with Pretty Hate Machine. Thirty years on, NIN retain a cult following and a reputation as one of the fiercest and most singular bands out there, and throughout 2019 Ginger Nuts of Horror will be celebrating this landmark anniversary with a host of album, EP and live reviews and articles.

I've been a huge fan of the band for many years, although I can't claim to have been around from the very get-go – I was eight when Pretty Hate Machine hit, and came to the band as a teenager with one of NIN's most famous releases, The Downward Spiral. It's hard to describe the effect an album like that can have on a fourteen year old, but it was incredibly formative for me musically and creatively, seeming to capture so much of my feelings around that time of my life.
 
Over the years, the music of Nine Inch Nails has been a constant companion, and something that I have turned to at times both good and bad. The absolute fury of Broken has provided a catharsis in times of frustration, the energy of With Teeth has offered up motivation when the impetus was sorely lacking, and the darkness of the best-known tracks such as Hurt and The Day The World Went Away have emerged with a thread of understanding in bleaker times. One of the things that has always amazed me is that across the length of one album there can be incredible beauty, deep sadness and raw anger, with all of those moods somehow blended perfectly and seamlessly to create the whole. The Fragile remains one of the best albums ever to listen to in its entirety, truly taking you on a journey through a host of emotions.

It's also very notable that Trent Reznor, the band's creator, has always done things his own way, never compromising musically or creatively. That's taken in releasing full albums for free online, unexpectedly putting out acoustic or 'quiet' albums such as the brilliant Still and Ghosts I-IV, developing one of the most exciting live shows around – in fact their scintillating Woodstock performance was one of the things that brought the band too light for many people – and also developing a host of movie soundtracks, even landing an Oscar in the process. I've always said whether you like the band or not, it's hard not to give Reznor respect for his output and his approach to his music.


Every two weeks through 2019, I'll be joined by some of Ginger Nuts' regular contributors in celebrating three decades of incredible music from a band that has truly gone its own path and produced some of the best alternative music since its inception. We'll be kicking off in a fortnight's time with the debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, before working through the full NIN discography, as well as looking at some notable live shows and Trent Reznor side projects.

We hope you'll join us on the journey!