Nine Inch Nails

The ever-prickly Trent Reznor has vowed to put down his industrial workhorse NIN this year—following a few farewell shows in New York, Chicago, and LA—just as it was finally starting to get prolific. Reznor unleashed his fierce debut, Pretty Hate Machine in 1989, but waited until 1994 before his touchstone sophomore release, The Downward Spiral. It was another five years before the sprawlingly damaged The Fragile and then another six before the so-so With Teeth, but Reznor has since picked up the pace to deliver his pulverizing aggression with a pair of albums over the past two years. Although NIN is ending, Reznor plans to continue making music—what kind and under what name remains to be seen.

Updated 08/13/2009