Nine Inch Nails‘ collaborations with Boys Noize began in 2024 when the German EDM producer remixed Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Challengers soundtrack, and it blossomed last year when NIN made a short set of songs with Boys Noize a centerpiece of their Peel It Back tour. Now they’re releasing a unique, “purely electronic” full-length Nine Inch Noize album recorded “all over the place – some of it’s live, some in studios, hotels, planes, etc.,” according to Reznor, on Friday. The album is available to pre-save and preorder now.
“The creative fulfillment of working on the Challengers and Tron scores with Boys Noize led me to think that including him in the Peel It Back tour could be an interesting way to express NIN in more purely electronic terms live — a concept I’ve wanted to explore for some time,” Reznor said in a statement. “The result was so much fun for us we felt it was worth expanding and formalizing in some way.
“On a whim, I mentioned it would be cool to play a whole set as Nine Inch Noize in the Sahara tent at Coachella,” he continued. “Careful what you wish for … the next thing I knew we were designing a whole new show to present in the way it deserved.”
The track list for Nine Inch Noize mirrors the set list from Coachella, where Reznor, Ross, Boys Noize (real name: Alexander Ridha), and Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels bandmate (and wife) Mariqueen Maandig performed a selection of Nine Inch Nails songs, an Angels cut, and a cover of Soft Cell’s “Memorabilia.” The cover art features Nine Inch Nails name with “Noize” sprouting off from the last word like a crossword puzzle.
Other than an encore performance at Coachella’s second weekend on Saturday, the collaboration will not be performing again anytime soon. “There’s no surprise tour announcement — this Saturday is it,” Reznor said. “I’m taking Sunday off and excited to be working on new Nine Inch Nails music Monday. I’ll see you when I come up for air.”
Rolling Stone praised the “Nine Inch Noize” performance at Coachella this past weekend. “The entire set was composed of beat-augmented remixes of Nine Inch Nails songs, including a brooding, slow-burn take on fan favorites like ‘Copy of A’ and back catalog drops including ‘Me, I’m Not,'” the magazine’s recap reported. “Other highlights included ‘Parasite,’ a song by Reznor and Maandig’s long dormant side project How to Destroy Angels, and ‘Closer,’ the Nine Inch Nails hit so dirty it might make Sabrina Carpenter blush, here reimagined with slapback synths and super-smack snares.”
Nine Inch Noize track list:
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)
