Recommendations of the Editorial team
Nine Inch Nails’ collaboration with Boys Noize began in 2024, when German EDM producer Trent Reznor remixed and Atticus Ross’ “Challengers” soundtrack. Last year, NIN put a short block of songs with Boys Noize at the center of their Peel It Back tour. Now on Friday they are releasing the independent, “purely electronic” album “Nine Inch Noize” – recorded “in all kinds of places – some of it live, some of it in studios, hotels, airplanes, etc.,” as Reznor explained. The album is now available for reservation and pre-order.
“The creative fulfillment I experienced working on the scores for ‘Challengers’ and ‘Tron’ with Boys Noize gave me the idea of including him on the Peel It Back tour as an interesting way to present NIN live in purely electronic form, a concept I’ve been wanting to explore for some time,” Reznor said in a statement. “We had so much fun with the result that we felt it was worth expanding the whole thing and recording it in some form.
“On a whim, I mentioned that it would be cool to play a full set as Nine Inch Noize in the Sahara tent at Coachella,” he continued. “Be careful what you wish for… the next thing you know, we were designing a whole new show to do it justice.”
Coachella as a blueprint
The tracklist for “Nine Inch Noize” mirrors the setlist from Coachella, where Reznor, Ross, Boys Noize (real name: Alexander Ridha) and Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels bandmate (and wife) Mariqueen Maandig played a selection of Nine Inch Nails songs, an Angels track and a cover of Soft Cell’s “Memorabilia.” The cover artwork shows the name Nine Inch Nails, from which “Noize” branches off the last word like a crossword puzzle.
Aside from an Encore performance during Coachella’s second weekend on Saturday, the collaboration won’t be seen live any time soon. “There is no surprise tour announcement – this Saturday is everything,” Reznor said. “I’m taking Sunday off, and I’m looking forward to working on new Nine Inch Nails music on Monday. I’ll get back to you when I show up.”
ROLLING STONE honored the “Nine Inch Noize” performance at Coachella this past weekend. “The entire set consisted of beat-driven remixes of Nine Inch Nails songs, including a dark, low-simmering version of fan favorites like ‘Copy of A’ and back catalog gems like ‘Me, I’m Not,'” the magazine’s festival report said. “Other highlights included ‘Parasite’, a song from Reznor and Maandig’s long-dormant side project How to Destroy Angels, as well as ‘Closer’, the Nine Inch Nails hit so dirty it could make even Sabrina Carpenter blush – reinterpreted here with slapback synths and powerful snares.”
“Nine Inch Noize” tracklist:
- 1. “Intro” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 2. “Vessel” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 3. “She’s Gone Away” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 4. “Heresy” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 5. “Parasite” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 6. “Copy Of A” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 7. “Me I’m Not” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 8. “Closer” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 9. “The Warning” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 10. “Memorabilia” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 11. “Came Back Haunted” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
- 12. “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” (Nine Inch Noize Version)
