About the Formation of Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is not a rock band, it is a rock project founded by Trent Reznor in 1988. Reznor is the creator and only constant member of the band. The story of the formation of Nine Inch Nails is the story of how Reznor began in music.

A metal sound from Cleveland

Trent Reznor was working as a janitor and part time engineer at Right Track Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988. He had formerly worked with a band called Exotic Birds, but left to pursue his own vision. He managed to get the studio owner to let him try out some recordings on the studio's equipment during Reznor's work hours at the studio. Nine Inch Nails was born on that day.

A different kind of sound

While most people think of Nine Inch Nails as a band, it is really Reznor playing all the instruments and doing vocals on most of the studio tracks. He has had some accompaniment come in and work with him in the studio here and there, but at the beginning it was just Trent. He had attempted to work with other musicians but no band was giving him the kind of sound he wanted to produce. So he created it himself, playing each instrument and recording them on top of one another. That is where the innovated and original sound Nine Inch Nails is famous for began. Live performances feature a band that Reznor chooses, but it frequently changes and the only official member of Nine Inch Nails is Trent himself.

Nine Inch Nails has an unusual and creative sound that inspires up and coming and established artists. Reznor is the soul creative force behind Nine Inch Nails' sound. As the only official and constant member of the project, he is Nine Inch Nails.