Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile Tentatively Due Out September 1999!!

The First Single "The Day The World Went Away" Due July 20th '99.

KEEP IT HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE NINE INCH NAILS NEWS

Nine Inch Nails Teaser, aired during Mtv's 15th Anual Mtv Music Video Awards on September 10th, 1998

nine inch nails teaser, HIGH quality

nine inch nails teaser, HIGH quality

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[ ISDN Format - Real Video]

Updated - February 12th, 1999

USA Today features an interview of Trent Reznor informing us all the latest concerning the new album, still tentatively titled The Fragile. As of today, 20 tracks are complete and just as we suspected (read our February 9th headline "NIN Release Date Delays") the release is set for June '99.

Reznor plays on 'Fragile' strength

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

As Trent Reznor, the creative force behind Nine Inch Nails, obsessively tinkers in his New Orleans studio, he's beginning to lose perspective.

"I'm in the home stretch and there's this question nagging me: Is this fantastic or so self-absorbed that I missed the mark?" Reznor says of his upcoming album, The Fragile.

Rock's electronic Frankenstein had the same doubts about his last studio release, 1994's The Downward Spiral, a critical and commercial triumph that cemented his reputation as one of rock's few remaining daredevils.

Before its release, Reznor was certain "it was the end of my career," he says. "I thought nobody's going to buy this."

A remix album followed, along with tracks on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack (produced by Reznor) and The Perfect Drug single.

Reznor also put energy into building his Nothing label and tech-saturated studio, further delaying NIN's album, to the dismay of fans and retailers hoping for a fresh rock catalyst. In 1997, Alternative Press declared it one of 1998's most anticipated releases. It never surfaced, so the magazine recast it as one of 1999's hottest prospects. It's expected by June.

"For the past two years, I've been trying to reinvent myself. I didn't have a plan, unlike the rigid set of rules I followed in The Downward Spiral. I let my subconscious go in an unpredictable direction. It's been a good learning experience."

And a lengthy one. He's finished 20 tracks and has another 25 demos on the assembly line. He's contemplating a double album: one instrumental disc and one with vocals.

"By the time it's sorted out, I hope it makes a pretty monumental statement in terms of where I'm at."

It seems the pop auteur has vacated the scorched earth of despair, guilt and rage. He's curtailing self-destructive tendencies and favoring observation over painful introspection.

"It's not as knee-jerk muscle-flexingly angry," he says. "It's got a newfound maturity. In hindsight, some of my music seems a bit juvenile. But if you look back and say, 'I couldn't beat that,' there's no point doing another record."

While he remains perversely experimental, abandoning song structure and cyber-shredding conventional instruments into unrecognizable sounds, Reznor claims The Fragile may be his most ear-friendly record yet.

"I'm less concerned with going out of my way to make it unlistenable," he says. " I'm approaching music as art, but part of my head is tuned into the hooks of AM radio."

Still, Reznor's capsule review is hardly conventional: "Imagine Tom Waits on a bayou filtered through a funk blender and slowed down."

Corrupted by technology, organic sounds are rendered alien. Distorted ukuleles and detuned cellos enhance a feeling of decay that permeates every track. Bandmates and guests add riffs they'll be hard-pressed to locate in the dense, manipulated soundscape.

"I play guitar on almost every track, and there are live drums," he says. "But never fear it doesn't sound like a band playing. It's very bent and at times claustrophobic. We went to incredible lengths pushing technology to do things it shouldn't do."

Prone to depression, Reznor felt revivified by the therapeutic process of creating music, especially after suffering a celebrity hangover.

"I got sick of the press wars, the backstabbing, the chart positions, the ugly side you never thought about when you started practicing guitar. I forgot the feeling ofbeauty I can achieve by writing. You lose that in the nonsense of being a rock star."

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Updated - February 9th, 1999
Unfortunately Universal explains to me the release date for the Nine Inch Nails album tentatively titled "The Fragile" is hitting more delays. Based on info from some of the very best possible sources, we will be lucky to see it in the stores by the end of June. We'll keep you posted...

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Updated - February 3rd, 1999
It seems Aaliyah who recently put Nine Inch Nails "Closer" as her tenth most favorite video recently contacted Trent Reznor and asked him to produce a track on her upcoming as-yet-untitled album. "A spokesperson for the R&B singer says that the two camps are now in negotiations", says MTV News here. The album is set to start recording in the next few weeks, claims MTV.
Aaliyah loves Trent Reznor... or at least his music. The young singer is such a big fan that she called up the Nine Inch Nails frontman and asked him to produce a track on her upcoming as-yet-untitled album. A spokesperson for the R&B singer says that the two camps are now in negotiations.

Aaliyah, who is best known for her hit song "Are You That Somebody" off of the "Dr. Dolittle" soundtrack, is currently in New York working on her album and is set to start recording within the next few weeks. Rapper and producer Timbaland will be producing the bulk of the project, with about seven to eight tracks. Also popping up as possible guests are her fellow Blackground family members Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Playa, and Ginuwine.

The forthcoming album is the follow-up to her 1996 double platinum album, "One In A Million," which is due out by summer or fall.

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Updated - February 3rd, 1999
Allstarmag.com have recently posted their two part interview with Adrian Belew. He talks about his work that he did in February '98 on the new album with Trent. Here are a few snippets from the article:
Reprising his role as a session musician for the last Nine Inch Nails record, avant guitarist Adrian Belew has once again joined Trent Reznor for work on his new project. Belew, who worked last year with Reznor at his New Orleans studio hideaway, contributed to tracks for the long- awaited, as- yet -untitled follow-up to 1994's The Downward Spiral.

"I did a lot of work on this record," Belew says from his home studio just outside of Nashville. "I worked on about 15 tracks. I can't wait to hear it, because the sounds were terrific. Trent Reznor is just really impressive."

While it might seem a touch odd that a 49- year- old father of two might be so well-paired with one of today's dark champions of disaffected youth, their mutual admiration for one another seems to be based on aesthetic vision and a shared fondness for creating elaborate sonic atmospheres.

Over the years, Belew has contributed to a variety of artists and projects as stylistically far-reaching as Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Paul Simon's Graceland, and prog-rock titans King Crimson, in which he has shared songwriting chores with Robert Fripp. His collaboration with Reznor, then, is another step in his continuing march towards being an ultra-viable guitarist while remaining artistically relevant.

"I feel very much on the same level with Trent. As a person, he's very nice," Belew says with respect to their relationship. "He's very easy to work with, but he's demanding in the way that I think most people should be about their music. But Trent's always been very generous to me in terms of letting me try a lot of things."

However, where they differ somewhat is in how they put together songs. Like many other musicians on this side of the millennium, Reznor's methodology is heavily grounded in the digital domain.

"His music is all done in continual loops," Belew says of the production. "In my music, if I have a spot where I'm going to play a guitar solo and it's 36 bars long, I'll play and put the solo [within that space]. With him, the music just plays endlessly and you can play a half-hour guitar solo if you want. So there were many times when Trent was on the floor plugging in different [effects] boxes, while I was continuing to play, in order to change the sound. Between the two of us I think we make a pretty good guitar player."

Belew says his association with NIN did have a partial impact on the direction of his forthcoming material. The new work he's putting together is comprised of some equally edgy sounds concocted from his own intricate brew of equipment.

"Most of the sounds are aggressive, so they tend to cause me to write that way," he says while describing the complex sonic vibe that currently exists in his Nashville setup. "Actually, there are times when it sounds like there's 10 guitar parts on there."

To find out more about Belew and King Crimson's future projects, check out part two of our interview with the guitarist on Tuesday (Feb. 2).
You can read part two at Allstarmag.com.

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Updated - January 26th, 1999

It seems that Trent Reznor is steadily keeping himself busy with collaborations, mixing and his latest Nine Inch Nails release the Fragile tentatively due out this Spring.

Mtv news reports here according to the L.A. Times that Trent Reznor has been asked to mix material from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It seems that tracks are being sent out to Trent and others such as Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, De La Soul, Cornershop and Spain.

Sister Soleil has collaborated with Trent Reznor in New Orleans on a song for the movie "Stigmata," according to a message from Sister Soleil's Stella Katsoudas in newsletter sent out by the band, and confirmed by the Nothing Records-sanctioned website, "Seems Like Salvation (at http://www.nineinchnails.net/ne ws/). The connection was apparently made because the band's manager, crew chief and producer are friendly with Reznor.

In related news, Reznor has been asked to mix some material from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a project put together by producer Mike Simpson, hip-hop artist/producer Prince Paul and electronic dance music's Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (of Dr. Octagon), according to the Los Angeles Times, incorporating three turntables, three sampling machines and a handful of randomly selected vinyl records.

The newspaper reports that the tracks are being sent out to Reznor and others including Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, De La Soul, Cornershop and Spain.

Allstarmag.com features some new information here about our January 22nd update about Sister Soleil and Trent Reznor collaborating for a track on the upcoming movie Stigmata. I'd like to mention that it is said here that Trent Reznor used the melody from David Bowie's "Crystal Japan" for "A Warm Place".

Here's the article from Allstarmag.com:

As if he needs to be worrying about finishing anyone's record other than his own, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor recently hooked up with Chicago band Sister Soleil on a remake of an instrumental NIN song. According to Sister Soleil flute player Todd Kelsey, Reznor and Sister Soleil lead singer Stella Katsoudas just wrapped up recording a remake of NIN's "A Warm Place" in Reznor's home studio in New Orleans. "Stella has been a NIN fan from way back, and had developed some ethereal vocal melodies for the song," says Kelsey. "She recorded them over the real song and Trent wound up hearing them, and liked what she had done, so they ended up working on the remake. It complements the song without detracting from its original beauty. Sounds cool."

The remake of the song is for the upcoming MGM flick Stigmata, which stars Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, and Portia De Rossi. "A Warm Place" originally surfaced on 1994's The Downward Spiral. Stigmata is tentatively scheduled to hit theaters this summer.

Those who are interested in seeing the movie. Test screenings are out and about which the first review can be read here at Darkhorizons.com.

This film is bound to stir up a lot of controversy for it's religious material, which is surely to offend anyone who is of the more devote persuasion... says Light House. Especially all you die hard Catholics out there. For stigmata, just in case you didn't know, refers to the mysterious and often unexplained appearance of Christ like wounds on an individual. Who is almost always an extremely religious person, usually associated with the Church in some manner, though not in the case of the lead character in this film.

The movie stars Patrica Arquette as Frankie Paige who plays a self proclaimed Atheist, who mysteriously starts showing all the signs of the stigmata after receiving a rosary as a gift from her mother that formerly belonged to a now deceased priest (Father Alameia, who it turns out also suffered the signs or wounds of the stigmata).

You can also check out some quick stats about the cast members here as well.

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Updated - January 22nd, 1999

This information has been confirmed. The Chicago-based group Sister Soleil and Trent Reznor have recently collaborated in New Orleans for a song featured on a movie soundtrack "Stigmata". Expect the soundtrack to hit the racks this Spring. Details below:

Universal Recording artist Sister Soleil has just finished recording in New Orleans with Trent Reznor. The song was recorded for the new movie Stigmata. It will be on the soundtrack or at least in the film. The release date hasn't been set but it should sometime in the spring. Stella Katsoudas is the lead singer and main force behind the Chicago-based Sister Soleil. This union between Stella and Trent came about because her manager, Mike Ryan, is friends with Trent. Ryan is also Sister Machine Gun's manager and several years ago also worked with (and may have also managed) Skinny Puppy. Also, her road manager, Mark O'Shea, used to be the road manager for NIN. The producer Flood has also done some work with Sister Soleil. Universal Records has been trying to promote Stella and Sister Soleil by bringing in 'big-name' people such as Howie Beno and Peter Gabriel to work with her (both are credited on 'Soularium', Sister Soleil's debut on Universal). Stella has long been a huge NIN fan and has wanted to work with Trent, so various people on her behalf have been working toward bringing Trent and her together in some musical capacity. Doug Morris, who is one of the head guys at Universal Records, is the driving force behind signing Sister Soleil after a huge bidding war among several record companies.

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Updated - January 22nd, 1999

In the "Life" section of USA Today on Friday it contained some confirmed news on the new nails album.

"The Backstreet Boys will be back, challenged by 'N Sync and a host of new kids on the block. Nine Inch Nails could pull alternative rock out of its slump. And No doubt will no doubt revitalize ska-pop. But can they regenerate the lucrative tidal wave of 1998?" "Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, andBush are expected topower spring's uphill chart push, with reinforcements coming later in the year from red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Pantera, AC/DC, Third Eye Blind, and Def Leppard." "Nine Inch Nails, The Fragile. After completing 20 tracks and shaping another 25, Trent Reznor is plotting a double album-half instrumental, half vocal. Though steepened in loss, the tunes are more observational and less angry, a departure from 1994's critical and commercial success The Downward Spiral. May."

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Updated - January 20th, 1999

This here is also in the latest Entertainment Weekly (January 22nd issue) magazine that features Trent talking in breif about his album that we reported 3 days ago. But this mention can be found on page 102 in the last paragraph of the Wyclef talking about his new album.

... And while we're on the subject of unlikely pairings, the Fugee(Wyclef Jean) also plans to team with reclusive Nine Inch Nails masterminds Trent Reznor for a remake of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall"; at this point, it's unclear if the track will end up on the next NIN album, a future Jean Project, or elsewhere. Hmmm: Jean, Pavarotti, and Reznor. Sounds like the supergroup of the decade to us.

I was skeptical at first when this was also included in the original email, but as you can very well see the scans don't lie. This is just as bizarre as the puff daddy collaboration around this time last year... Say it in your head a few times, Wyclef, Trent, Wyclef, Trent... Could it be true?

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Updated - January 17th, 1999

The latest Entertainment Weekly magazine features news about upcoming albums for 1999. Which in fact EW had a chance to talk to Trent briefly about the double album which still carries "The Fragile" title...

Is it possible to sell challenging, innovative music to the masses? On the Fragile, the long-awaited follow-up to Nine Inch Nails' dense, aggressive The Downward Spiral, Trent Reznor will take one of the year's biggest creative leaps by attempting just that. Tentatively due this spring and including such unorthodox production techniques as recording a ukulele in a kitchen sink, the possible 2-cd set represents a huge commercial risk, especially in a market flooded with Backstreet clones. "It doesn't look to me like a singles-oriented hit pop top of the charts type album," admits the singer. "I assume we aren't going to have super-heavy MTV rotation." Still, the Fragile has the potential to be a career defining artistic triumph. "I just want to make a record where someone says that's a fucking good record," says Reznor,33. "If I fail, I fail with a good conscience. Of course, I'll probably be singing a different tune if my record falls off the charts in the second week."

Best Case Scenario: Fragile becomes the year's quirkiest hit--demonstrating there is a rock god
Worst Case Scenario: NiN's Career begins a long downward spiral--and provides further proof that the '90's are over.

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Updated - January 6th, 1999

Allstarmag.com has the same idea as I did on our January 4th update... Mtv news on January 4th featured some interesting news about Nine Inch Nails guitarist Danny Lohner, they explained that Everlast and Lohner are in their New Orleans studio working on their collaboration as of today... Anyhow, Allstarmag.com features some new information here on the statues of the collaboration, which they also believe if this isn't on the new nin album, the collaboration may be on the nin Tapeworm album.... Who knows at this point...?

According to Everlast's manager, Corey Wagner of Deluxe Entertainment, it's not yet known where his track with Nine Inch Nails guitarist Danny Lohner will end up. The hip-hop/ folk/ rock artist recently worked on the recording with Lohner in New Orleans. If it's not for the next NIN record, it's mostly likely for the Tapeworm project, which has been in the works as far back as November 1996 (allstar, Nov. 15, 1996),and was originally going to include then-NIN drummer Chris Vrenna, NIN keyboardist Charlie Clouser, ex-NIN/current Guns N'Roses guitarist Robin Finck, and a slew of guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor. So far, Everlast has only laid down the first verse of his contribution and he and Lohner are trying to get together to finish the track as we type...

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Updated - January 4th, 1999

Mtv news features some new information here that could pertain to the new nine inch nails album...

Before heading out on a U.S. tour with Sugar Ray in February, former House of Pain frontman Everlast is to shoot a video for his second single, "Ends," the follow-up to his Beck-ian breakthrough, "What It's Like." Also apparently in the works is an Everlast/Nine Inch Nails collaboration, which actually grew out of a session in November during which Everlast laid down some vocals with the Nails' Danny Lohner in the group's New Orleans studio. However, a spokesperson for Nine Inch Nails had no comment on whether Everlast's work would turn up on the new NIN record or some undetermined, unannounced future project. As for the Nails, the Trent Reznor-fronted act is currently working on its heavily-veiled new album due this year, on which former helmet frontman Page Hamilton has already contributed (see "Former Helmet Guitarist Provides Update On New Nine Inch Nails Record"). Meanwhile, the Everlast/Sugar Ray joint tour dates are expected to be announced by mid-January.

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Updated - December 29th, 1998

First I would like to add for those who don't know, the following artists are those who [are] worked/working with Trent Reznor on Nine Inch Nails' next album:

- Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails- guitars, bass, keyboards.
- Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails- drums, keyboards.
- Mike Garson of David Bowie- keyboards.
- Page Hamilton of Helmet- programming drums
- Adrian Belew of King Crimson- guitars.
- Bill Rieflen of Ministry- drums.

Now to the news. A monthly magazine called "My Launch" features an interview with Adrian Belew in their latest issue. Adrian has a bit to say about the new NIN album.

The long-awaited new album by Nine Inch Nails may still not have a firm release date ("sometime in 1999" is all that Interscope Records is saying at the moment) or even a definite title (the most recently aired contender is The Fragile, but that's said to be tentative). Yet one thing's pretty certain: at least a few of its songs will feature the talents of King Crimson guitar wizard Adrian Belew. Earlier this year, Belew spent a couple of weeks in the studio with head Nail Trent Reznor laying down a bunch of tracks; he previously guest-starred on two songs on NIN's last album, 1994's The Downward Spiral. In a recent conversation with myLAUNCH, Belew discussed the work he did with Reznor and what fans can hope to hear whenever the album finally appears.

"This time," Belew says, "I was in for a longer stay. On The Downward Spiral, I was in for just two days, and that was when they were almost finished with the record--there wasn't much room to play. When I went back this time, Trent wanted to get me in on it earlier, so that I was more a part of the music. He was working on about 40 tracks; some of them sounded like Nine Inch Nails and some of them sounded different. We spent long hours in the studio, and I played a number of instruments for him--string bass, cello, lap steel, mandolin, and a lot of electric guitar. I played so much guitar stuff. I'm anxious to see what made the cut, but you never know how much they'll use. Obviously, I can't say because I don't know, but I do know I did a lot of playing."

One of the reasons for this surplus of electric guitar parts was because Belew played each song a number of different ways, each one of which was recorded. "Sometimes there may have been a quick discussion beforehand where he'd say, 'I'm hoping for something like this,' but most of the time he'd just let me go. What I'd usually do is give him four or five options. So I'd play all the way through and when we'd had enough of that, I'd say, 'How about this?' That's why there's so much stuff. Later, he and his engineers were all laughing and saying, 'You just gave us a lot of work, to sort through all of this.' But it was immensely fun."

According to Belew, many of the parts he played were highly intense, a quality that Reznor would often take several steps further. "There were times when I thought I was getting pretty hot, and then he'd get down on the floor and add in another effect," he says with a gleeful laugh. "It was like a two-man guitar team there."

Part of the fun for Belew at these sessions came simply from watching Reznor work. "I think Trent makes amazing-sounding records. I was really fascinated with the way he makes records. I have my own studio and I make records a certain way, but he makes records a very different way, which was interesting to watch." For his part, Reznor seemed pleased with Belew's work: "I know that he's a big fan of the [late-'70s] David Bowie era of my playing, and I guess he must have liked what I did the first time [on The Downward Spiral] because he gave me a call again. I think it's going to be a terrific record, and I'm really happy that I was able to do it."

Coincidentally, Belew just received in the mail his own framed copy of the quadruple-platinum certification for The Downward Spiral, which he plans to hang up in a privileged corner of his studio. "I put all that stuff on the walls; I don't hide it away in my closet. It does mean something, to tell you the truth. It's an achievement, and I don't think there's anything wrong with feeling that way about it."

Look for a full Adrian Belew feature soon on myLAUNCH.

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Updated - December 18th, 1998
I gave a quick call to my uni rep yesterday evening to see about more information concerning the new Nine Inch Nails album as well as the new promotional postcards that are currently being distributed to radio stations, magazines, all over the country...

What you see on the right are the new 'ninetynine' postcards that we mentioned on December 11th. As you can see, it isn't much to look at than what we've seen many times before in magazines and on the commercials. The postcards feature a plain black background with the new orange nin font that the labels are advertising 'ninteynine'.

Those new to this subject... There was a one time showing of a nine inch nails commercial on September 10th featured during the Mtv Music Video Awards, ninteynine t-shirts, magazine ads and now postcards...

What happens is for those interested, a few months before the release of a new album the label gives out a 'timeline' to distribution companies (Universal distributes Nothing/Interscope) which they keep track of featuring all the promotional news/items, etc. Interscope says that there is no current timeline for the new Nine Inch Nails album yet, but when that happens it'll feature larger quantities of news which only the representatives read. The other form of distribution news are the 'solicitation' sheets that the representatives bring to record stores, such as Tower Records, Waxi Maxi, Sam Goody, Music Land, etc. The stores then pick and choose what they want to carry, "We want 10 of these, 30 of those" you get the hint.

Interscope's promotional department also carry a mailing list of radio stations and music magazines that are signed up to receive promotional items such as CD's and postcards that you see today. So those radio stations out there that have been writing me... start making your phone calls to Interscope today.

When the timeline is created and the solicitation sheets are given out, we'll have the news online ASAP... other words, that day. So those who didn't know how it all works, you do now. =) By the way, my ninteynine postcards are running a little late, but when I get them I'll replace the graphic you see now with larger scans for those who keeping tabs on the album.

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Updated - December 15th, 1998

Last week we mentioned quite a lot about Trent Reznor offering his Garden District Mansion in New Orleans... as a first time peek inside his fully refurbished Greek Revival mansion for those who were lucky enough to obtain reservations with the Preservation Resource Center (PRC).

Well, it was definitely worth mentioning if you ask me... The home-tour patron party for the PRC was held on Friday, Dec. 11th at 7-10pm.

For those fortunate souls who were over 21 years of age and dressed formally, attended this grand event last weekend, had to pay a pretty penny of $75 dollars up front at the PRC for reservations. In fact the PRC patron-party sold out on Wed, Dec. 9th at 4pm central with a whopping 300 people attending...

So without further ado... SeemsLikeSalvation News presents the full story on what went on that special night at the Reznor house including news about the new nin album, new single, his home, his family the works...

Thanks to: ApathY351 who attended the party. (please give credit, where credit is due)

The PRC party was awesome! My three friends and I were hoping just to see Trent or somebody associated with Nine Inch Nails. We ended up getting to talk to Trent, John Malm, Keith Hillebrandt, Trent's agent (also the agent for Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and 311), Trent's parents, and his grandfather.

Trent's grandfather, the one who raised him, told us about Trent getting in trouble for putting corn in some guy's gas tank when he was younger.

I talked to Keith Hillebrandt for about 15 minutes before I even knew who he was. He was a really nice guy. I asked him about the new album and he said it would probably come out in Spring some time. I could tell that he couldn't talk in depth about the new album so I just asked him what he thought about it. He said in his opinion it is the best NIN album yet. He also said that the music on the commercial for the new album was a combination of two songs.

We hit it off really well with Trent's dad Mike and his wife. We hung out with them for probably over half the time that we were there. They were very familiar with all the stuff going on with NIN and really liked the music. Mike was making us laugh the whole time; he was really funny. He said he never wears tuxedos and felt out of place. He jokingly told us to push some guy in the pool, His wife was just extremely nice. She was so friendly and easy to talk to that we immediately stopped feeling like we were out of place and just had a good time. We got their take on all kinds of things. We talked about Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love, the new album (they said they thought a new single would be coming out real soon), their favorite NIN album (Downward Spiral), and tons of other stuff. Talking to them was definitely the highlight of the evening for the four of us.

Mike personally introduced me to Trent. His hair was cut short. I only got to talk to him for a minute before a bunch of people with the PRC came up and started talking to him. Everyone in the place was trying to mingle with him so if you got to talk to him it wasn't for long. But he was very nice and not at all condescending like a few of the people at the party.

The original paintings for the Downward Spiral and Closure were hanging up in the house. There are actual human teeth on one of the paintings for the Downward Spiral.

I was surprised to see that at least ninety percent of the people were either associated with NIN or the PRC. I saw maybe a small handful of people who were just NIN fans like us.

Also for those who are interested... Trent has cut his hair which is about 2-3 inches long and it's combed forward. In the picture we posted here last month it is slicked back. At the Friday's party I'm told it was like a long ceasar cut.

Another viewer who also attended the party at Trent's house with ApathY351 had a chance to speak with Trent as well. Nothing news worthy was said, but this is what he had to say....

i finally got to speak with trent and i told him, "dont worry i wont ask you about the new 'double?' album." then he said "dont ask" then i said ya i wont ask you about the album called 'the fragile?'" and he kind of laughed and said "dont ask."
We also received an email from another viewer who was spoken to about the party...
I just thought that I'd let you know that my teacher met trent at his house friday night. She said that he was very nice and even though she wanted to tell him that his music was "bad, bad, bad," she didn't. She also told me that he spotted two "stalkers" and that they had to be removed. What i was most upset about was that the people weren't even checking id's and she could have gotten me in!

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Updated - November 25th, 1998

The January '99 issue of Alternative Press (AP) magazine features a large article in their latest issue, called The 25 Most Anticipated Albums of 1999 and Nine Inch Nails is featured in the Better Late Than Never category. Recently AP Magazine had chance to get a hold of Trent Reznor and he informed us about his "writers block" and how he believes that things are on a steady pace again, thankfully!

On another note, the January issue of Alternative Press also features the "ninetynine" print ad which was first disovered in the November/ December issue of GEA R magazine. There is a slight difference in the new ad though. The original print ad (click here for graphic) featured all the 'N's backwards... in the new AP issue, the ad features (click here for graphic) The first and third 'N' are in it's normal format while the others stay backward so that it forms the famous NIN logo...

NINE INCH NAILS

WORKING ALBUM TITLE: The Fragile

PROJECTED RELEASE DATE: Early 1999, on Nothing/Interscope

WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?: According to Trent Reznor, the reason for the delay is simple: He didn't know if he wanted to continue. "I had to rediscover my passion for wanting to make music," he says. "A lot of the other shit started to take the shine off it -- the celebrity aspect, the constant competitive backbiting. I've seen that with close friends. For a while it just didn't seem as appealing to get back in that arena. Not from an 'I'm afraid to do it' point of view but more from an 'It's not as fun as it used to be' [perspective]. But I think I've got my head turnedback around."

WHAT'S IT SOUND LIKE NOW?: The double album Reznor plans to release picks up thematically from "Hurt", the sliver of optimism that closes 1994's "The Downward Spiral". According to Reznor, that song was about a "sense of remorse and awakening, and looking back feeling that it's not all to blame on others --- growing up a little bit about things."

Musically, the maturation process included a lot of trial and error. "I tried to write the new record from a different perspective, trying to write things that are simpler --- maybe you could play it on a piano and sing it --- which I've never tried to do. And I tried and failed... Everything started to sound like a Billy Joel song and shit that made me want to kill myself and make sure all the tapes were well destroyed before I offed myself," he says, laughing.

Instead of snuffing himself, Reznor worked at recapturing the "spirit of reinvention" he felt while making "The Downward Spiral". Now that the spirit's moving him again, he's getting back to what he does best: being different. "I don't think any artist wants to look at their own life or career and think, 'Well, I really can only do this one thing good, so fuck it, I'll just do that.' I'm sure people actually do that, but I don't want to think I'm one of those people. I aspire to be a David Bowie, some sort of enigma that isn't a one-trick pony.

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Updated - November 21st, 1998
On the right you will see the first of the new Nine Inch Nails t-shirts for the double album due out Spring of '99.

NINETYNINE ( L and XL) (nin-0096)16.99
FRONT: Has the word "ninetynine" on the front
BACK: Has the "nothing" logo
COLORS: Black shirt with red logo(color of shirt subject to change to Blue) The first and third 'N' are in it's normal format while the others stay backward so that it forms the famous NIN logo...

You can order them through Weathermen Records.

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Updated - November 13th, 1998

Mtv news features a large article here with Helmet guitarist, Page Hamilton who took two days of work to help on the album with programming drums and loops, has a lot to say about the new album... The full report talks much about the Nine Inch Nails side Project "Tapeworm" and of course.. Nine Inch Nails 'ninteynine' release...

Former Helmet Guitarist Provides Update On New Nine Inch Nails Record NIN's Trent Reznor

Though there is still no official word about when fans might expect to see (and hear) the next Nine Inch Nails album, Helmet guitarist Page Hamilton says that the group's sound has defiantly progressed during the recording for the upcoming double disc set.

Hamilton, who contributed two days of work on the project on programming drums and loops, says that the music he's heard so far ranges from big guitars and ambient synth to tribal drum and bass and more melodic songs.

The guitarist mentioned that some of the new material reminds him of the '60s British group the Yardbirds, all while remaining uniquely Nine Inch Nails-ish via some "brilliant sound manipulations." Hamilton also said that group mastermind Trent Reznor has written lyrics for 20 to 22 songs, though there will be instrumental tracks on the album as well.

Hamilton believes that it's taken so long for NIN to finish the album because Reznor is trying to get away from their trademark "Head Like A Hole" sound, and has scrapped a lot of material he originally recorded.

Nine Inch Nails have been working on the project for about two years and it is speculated that the work is finally close to completion. The album is expected to be out sometime next year with a tour to follow.

Also still in the works after almost four years is the Nine Inch Nails side-project Tapeworm. Hamilton also contributed, as both a singer and a guitarist, about four songs to this project and says that Phil Anselmo from Pantera is singing on a track as well.

As of the moment, Nine Inch Nails members Charlie Clouser and Danny Lohner are said to be the driving forces behind Tapeworm, which may or may not ever see the light of day, as there is still no word yet on if, when, or how this project will ever be released.

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Updated - October 22nd, 1998
Sonicnet.com has released a large report on all the latest information concerning Nine Inch Nails upcoming 'ninetynine' release, which the album is still untilted as of today. Here are just a few snippets among many featured in the new article...

Zimmerman [ NIN spokeswoman ] said rumors of recently hired Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5 (born John Lowery) lending a hand are untrue.

Zimmerman had no comment on word that the new effort will be a two-CD set.

... black-and-white, pulsing NIN logo and snippets of several songs expected to appear on the collection, which as yet has no release date. Zimmerman said Nothing/Interscope was shooting for a late winter/early spring release.

You can read the rest of the article here which features lots of information.

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Updated - October 12th, 1998

[ click for larger scan ]

 The latest advertisment for Nine Inch Nails' anticipated April '99 release of their double disc album, still untitled as of today.

This advertisement is the first magazine ad of its kind and can be found in the Nov/ Dec issue of Gear Magazine (the new men magazine) featuring Emma Bunton on the cover. (Baby Spice of Spice Girls, click here for cover)

The advertisment is located on page 112 which a scan of the ad can be seen on the left.

Interscope says that this is a head start of a 3 month early ad campaign.

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Updated - October 12th, 1998

Word from the Nine Inch Nails camp is that Trent Reznor has been taking a "completely different, kind of funky, very non-industrial" direction for the forthcoming NIN record. Still in New Orleans, Reznor has reportedly been listening to a good deal of hip hop and working with guests ranging from Helmet's Page Hamilton to Marilyn Manson guitarist John Lowery.

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Updated - October 2nd, 1998

Radio Station 103.3 "the Edge" (Toronto or Buffalo, I'm not sure which) explained that the new Nine Inch Nails double album is now tentatively due for April 1999.

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Updated - September 27th, 1998

Nine Inch Nails For 1999. While there is still no official title or release date, sources report that the new Nine Inch Nails album will be in stores by spring of 1999. Trent Reznor is said to be finishing production in his New Orleans studio with producer Alan Moulder (Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Marilyn Manson). The release of the two-CD set is reportedly to be followed by a US tour. As previously reported, Nine Inch Nails ran two 30-second commercials during the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. While the ads did not give a name or date for the album, they did include short snippets of songs from the forthcoming album.

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Updated - August 29th, 1998

The latest issue of Kerrang magazine (british music mag) there is a short article about the new NIN album. The article is as follows:

Nine Inch Nails are expected to release their new album before the end of the year. The band are currently beavering away in the studio - and this time it seems to be more of a band effort than a Trent Reznor solo project. The record is being recorded in New Orleans, with NIN mainman Reznor joined by regular collaborators Charlie Clouser (keyboards/drums) and Danny Lohner (guitar). And according to Clouser, he and Lohner are far more involved in the whole process than ever before. "Trent is charting the course and has a clear vision of how he wants things ot sound," says Clouser. "But Danny and I have been able to contribute a fair amount, and some of the songs we're working on have grown out of sesions with all of us fiddling around in the studio." Apart from the core trio, a number of major guests have been roped in to contribute to the record. These include guitarists Page Hamilton (Helmet) and Adrian Belew (vetran prog rockers King Crimson), drummers Bill Rieflin (Ministry) and Tony Thompson (Powerstation, Genesis), and keyboard player Mike Garson (who's been touring with the Smashing Pumpkins). Reports also claim top producer Steve Albini is involved with the project, although his role remains unclear.

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Updated - August 17th, 1998

This information comes off of the Line 6 site, an amp company that makes software that Trent Reznor uses.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of finishing the next Nine Inch Nails opus, engineer/producer Alan Moulder offered up a stunning assessment of the premiere plug-in for ProToolsTM TDM: "Fuckking hell! I can't believe that's a plug in!!," then promptly emptied his coffee cup into the faders of an SSL G-series console. NIN linchpin Trent Reznor commented on "superior English engineering", off the record (of course).

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Updated - August 14th, 1998

Just another online magazine, repeating news from New York Times, and Raygun magazine, this from Daily News...

Trent Reznor's new album may be a double

It's been four years since Nine Inch Nail's last album came out, but you'd hardly even know it. Trent Reznor is just as popular as ever, with his 1997 "The Perfect Drug" single still getting radio play. So what's up with the new album? Read on.

Tentatively titled The Fragile, the new album is expected to appear on two CDs, possibly sold as two conceptually different albums in one package. But why has it taken him so long to release another album? Because he's recorded 45 songs for it. Not all will make it onto the finished product, but that's still a lot of material.

So what will it sound like? The album will be less aggressive and more musically and rhythmically sophisticated than previous efforts, according to the New York Times. Sounds like Reznor may be working on his version of the White Album.

Guest artists expected to appear on the album include such diverse performers as guitarist Adrian Belew of 70s prog band King Crimson, keyboardist Mike Garson (last heard playing with David Bowie) producer Steve Albini, and percussionists Bill Rieflin of Ministry and Tony Thompson of disco group Chic.

Don't expect an album out until early 1999, as Reznor still has a lot more work to do. He's particularly concerned with the lyrics, something he feels genuinely insecure about. Don't worry, Trent, I'm sure everybody will love it.

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Updated - August 12th, 1998

Here is the interview with Charlie Clouser I told you about yesterday that Sonicnet sent word about... The new nin album has been delayed AGAIN to sometime after the FIRST quarter of 1999, the album is HALF finished.... the band has contributed more in the writting style than ever... the album is till untitled....

After nearly a year's work, gothic industrial-rockers Nine Inch Nails are nearly halfway done with what is turning out to be a more collaborative follow-up to 1994's The Downward Spiral, according to NIN keyboardist/drummer Charlie Clouser.

Holed up in their high-tech New Orleans studio nearly every day, the band, led by dark mastermind Trent Reznor and featuring Clouser and guitarist Danny Lohner, is "right in the middle" of recording the album, Clouser said, adding that each member has contributed to the songwriting this time around.

"[We've got] more than a few songs finished and mixed, and more than a few left to go," Clouser said earlier this month while calling from New Orleans.

Although past efforts have sprung almost entirely from Reznor's tortured head, Clouser said that he and Lohner are being given more of an opportunity to offer their ideas on the record, which the band's publicist said would likely not come out before the first quarter of 1999.

"As always, Trent is charting the course, and has a clear vision of how he wants things to sound," Clouser said. "But I've been able to contribute a fair amount, and some of the songs we're working on have grown out of sessions with all of us fiddling around in the studio, so it does seem like a more collaborative process than before."

While Clouser and Lohner are the only full-time bandmembers working with Reznor on a daily basis -- former programmer/producer Chris Vrenna left the group more than a year ago -- band publicist Sioux Zimmerman confirmed the participation of a number of outside musicians on the album.

Among the guests scheduled to appear on the CD are former King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew (who also lent a hand on The Downward Spiral), Helmet guitarist Page Hamilton, Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin, former Chic/Power Station drummer Tony Thompson, keyboardist Mike Garson (currently on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins) and producer Steve Albini (Page and Plant, Nirvana), who has assisted in an undisclosed capacity.

The untitled album will be NIN's third studio album of all-new material since the band's formation in 1988. In addition to their 1989 debut, Pretty Hate Machine, which featured the alternative hit "Head Like a Hole" (RealAudio excerpt), the band has released 1994's The Downward Spiral and a number of remix albums, including 1992's Broken and Fixed EPs and 1995's Further Down the Spiral.

Attesting to the long layoff between albums, broken only by the inclusion of the new NIN song "The Perfect Drug" on the 1997 Lost Highway soundtrack, Clouser said it is simply a matter of how the band creates its lush electronic symphonies. "The way we work is very time-consuming," Clouser said. "So it will take a while, but I don't mind. The process is the enjoyable part for me, more than the celebration at the end, so I'm happy."

Although the band's notoriously loyal fans have been eagerly awaiting new music, at least one longtime follower said he thinks he understands the lag. "The continuous delay in the album has been very frustrating," fan Brian Hough Jr. wrote in an e-mail. "But I realize that perfection takes time, and Trent seems like he wants this album to be perfect."

The West Virginia-based webmaster of the unofficial NIN site "Halo Zero" said he's been listening to former Reznor protégé shock-rocker Marilyn Manson in the meantime, along with industrial act Gravity Kills. "But mostly I've been getting into a lot of Trent's outside works," he added. "I've been collecting remixes he has done and also finding phantom songs and bootlegs. It really hasn't filled the void but just helps pass the time faster."

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Updated - July 16th, 1998

Well everyone here it is, 30% of our questions have been answered. It's an interview we've needed for a long time. It talks about a lot of issues... here are a few headlines from the interview... which you can read by clicking her e.

.... Right now, I'm looking at 45 songs and trying to work my way through-and that's after weeding through- to the ones where: "That has to be on the record." Pretty soon it was: "It has to be a double CD now.....

.... It's a lot slower. And sparser. And that doesn't mean happier or full of ballards, because it certainly isn't that. But there's a lot of organic instruments....

.... [ The Perfect Drug ] Its nothing like that. In the context of doing a song for a movie, that was just kind of thrown together in two weeks experiment.....

.... Cube and I worked on a Bowie remix a bit, but I'm planning on having him involved on at least one thing on this record and possibly another thing for nothing records...

.... It'll probably be done by the end of the summer and come out sometime in the fall....

.... Its been fun. It got me back on track, because I'd do something and I'd realize, "I do enjoy this." That's why I was in it in the first place....

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Updated - June 16th, 1998

I must say first off... mtv news reports many stories off SLS including my Interscope confirmation, "Finnish magazine" , "Vrenna studio sessions w/ Morissette" etc, etc... Which I'm very flattered... anyways... below is from mtv online...

Trent Reznor Looking For New Album Sounds

Trent Reznor, aka Nine Inch Nails, has told a Finnish magazine that his next album is going to utilize a variety of vocalists, musicians and exotic instruments.

Reznor, notoriously tight-lipped about his works in progress in the past, told Soundi magazine that he's gathered pieces from different styles over the last few years and that he's trying to find a way to mix them. The discussion with Reznor was part of an article centered on the use of computers in writing and recording music.

Previously on the NIN tip, guitarist Adrian Belew told fans that he had been in the studio with Reznor in February and had laid down guitar work for roughly 14 songs or song fragments. There were no vocals at that point.

Meanwhile, net sources contacting Interscope have been told the album tentatively scheduled for release in November. Previous reports say the working title is "The Fragile." Reznor's publicity firm declined to comment other than to say they could not confirm any of the information.

In related news, former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna is close to signing a deal with Almo Records for his new band, Tweaker. Vrenna's latest studio project is sessions with Alanis Morissette. He's recently worked with Green Day, Seal and Hole, among others.

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Updated - June 11th, 1998

Trent Reznor talks about how he uses his computers in making music and a little about the new NIN album:

When Nine Inch Nails recorded Pretty Hate Machine in 1989, the audio tracks could not be put on computer. The album was still sequenced with Mac Plus. Their third release album The Downward Spiral was a different case. It was completely recorded with computer, just like Marilyn Mansons Antichrist Superstar, which Reznor produced.

"Instead of recording to tapes, I played parts of the songs into my computer and after that I could make loops and stuff ", Reznor says. "If you want to write a song, just put a loop from a drum track, and then add bass and guitars into it. After that you can do whatever you like with the song: use samples, put on the vocals and so on. This way it's easy to make remixes of a song when you have the basis of it saved in your computer."

On the next NIN album Reznor will be using computers as well, but he has something new in his mind too. He's going to use different vocalists on the backround, many musicians and many real and exotic instruments. "I've gathered pieces from many different music styles in these few years and I'm trying to find a way to mix them." Reznor's music writing didn't work out with piano, so maybe he's getting help with that from his "assistant musicians".

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Updated - May 25th, 1998

Adrian himself gives an official report about his role in the new NIN album. This is from Belew's official homepage, a section called "Adrian's Corner" -a section where Adrian gives a report himself on what he's been doing (you have to scroll down a bit before you get the NIN part).

The next project was a bit more well known. February 8 through 12 I worked with Trent Reznor on the next NINE INCH NAILS record. It was fascinating to see how he makes records; a totally different approach than mine. I love the sounds he gets. He had 40 tracks for me to attack, none of which had vocals. For three days we worked long hours and I played some of the most aggressive guitar playing I've done in a while. There were several tracks which required Trent to manipulate the pedals on the floor while I played endless solos. We joked that the two of us made a pretty good guitarist. I also played cello, mandolin, lap steel, and string bass. Trent has a devoted crew of engineers and computer experts and a first class studio. He was kind enough to show me through his renovated historic New Orleans home as well. I have no idea what the record will ultimately sound like but I can't wait to hear it.

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Updated - May 12th, 1998

Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson has just been tapped to tour with the Smashing Pumpkins in Europe and will also play on the forthcoming album from Nine Inch Nails

BOWIE keyboardist Mike Garson has just been tapped to tour with the Smashing Pumpkins in Europe and will also play on the forthcoming album from Nine Inch Nails (a connection that was made during 1995's DAVID BOWIE/Nine Inch Nails tour), while Garson and BOWIE guitarist Reeves Gabrels will both play on Seal's next album. Gabrels likewise recently played on The Cure track "Sorry Wrong Number" and performed with the band at a special gig in Los Angeles (a musical union that began when the two met at BOWIE's 50th birthday show at Madison Square Garden where Smith joined BOWIE onstage for two songs). What's more, Gabrels is working on an upcoming project with Public Enemy