In the 1990s, industrial rock broke into the mainstream with various artists and bands such as Orgy, White Zombie, Fear Factory, and Marilyn Manson. But it was one band in particular that spearheaded the new movement --- and that band was none other than Nine Inch Nails.
In December 1992, Nine Inch Nails' EP Broken was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The band then gained further popularity with the release of their 1994 album The Downward Spiral, and at the centre of their success was the hugely talented, ambitious, and massively motivated Trent Reznor, who makes his way in.
No one played a more important role in the development of Industrial rock than Trent Reznor. With grunge on a high, and indie rock on the rise, Reznor and his band came along and chucked a big spanner in the works, with a genre of rock that drew on harsh, transgressive and provocative sounds and themes. This raw sound was new and different, with absolutely no limits, and that was what gave it so much appeal.
As a frontman, Trent Reznor didn't disappoint. The Nine Inch Nails mastermind is the complete package when it comes to putting on a show and captivating an audience. Reznor is a spectacle to behold live as his unbridled nervous energy brings conviction to the performance and presentation of his industrial mastery. He can tweak the knobs in the studio, is a multi-instrumentalist, and is the sole creative force behind the band. What more can anyone ask for?
Reznor appeared in Time's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music". Nine Inch Nails were voted the greatest industrial rock band on lists by Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, and Loudwire, and Trent himself would have to take the vast amount of credit for those accolades. This sort of constant recognition really does tell you just how huge Reznor was for the rock and metal scene, especially in the '90s.
I guess you could say that Trent Reznor is an acquired taste, but that shouldn't take anything away from how massive a role he played in the demise of grunge. And fittingly, he also paved the way for new forms of heavy metal music, like nu metal and gothic rock.
Trent Reznor definitely isn't your typical rock frontman, but that's what made him so fascinating - he was never 'typical', and neither was his genre. There are two parts to influence: First, influence is powerful; and second, influence is subtle. Reznor certainly found a way of making a powerful influence, in a quite subtle manner.
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