advertisement
Rock

Trent Reznor Hints at the End of the Road for Nine Inch Nails

NIN spearhead Trent Reznor gave fans a surprise warning when the industrial rock heavyweights visited Tulsa, OK.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performing in Las Vegas on June 15, 2018.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performing in Las Vegas on June 15, 2018.

Paul Citone

Nine Inch Nails are active, and on the road. But the end might be closer than we realize.

NIN spearhead Trent Reznor gave fans a surprise warning when the industrial rock heavyweights visited Tulsa, OK last Friday night, Feb. 27.


“I don’t know if we’re going to be touring anymore after this,” he remarked in a fan-filmed video from the show, “but I’m proud of the show that we’re doing right now. And I’m f—ing grateful that you’ve chosen to spend your evening with us tonight. Thank you very much.”

Reznor shared his thoughts as the recounted a performance in Tulsa “many years” ago when NIN was the support act for Peter Murphy at Cain’s Ballroom. That night, Reznor had a life-affirming moment, as he watched a member of the audience scream back the lyrics of “Head Like a Hole,” a classic early NIN song from the 1989 album Pretty Hate Machine.

advertisement

On the same day that Reznor hinted at the end of the road for his Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band, another surprise: NIN released a companion album to its Tron: Ares soundtrack, titled Tron Ares: Divergence. It’s the followup to TRON: Ares, the first-ever film score from Oscar-winning composers Reznor and Atticus Ross (credited under their Nine Inch Nails), which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

NIN ensured the 1980s were buried under a ton of metal with Pretty Hate Machine. Although it only peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200, the album marked ground zero in a new movement of heavy edged music, with the synth in its stable. It’s one of 18 NIN appearances on the all-genres albums chart, including two leaders: 1999’s The Fragile (one week at No. 1) and 2015’s With Teeth (one week).

Reznor and Co. are currently on the second leg of its Peel It Back tour, which scheduled to wrap up March 16 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA. The first leg got underway June 15, 2025, in Dublin, and ended with two shows at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles last September.

advertisement

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.

advertisement
Drummer Frank Beard of American rock band ZZ Top at their concert in Munich, Germany 1986.
Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance/Getty Images

Drummer Frank Beard of American rock band ZZ Top at their concert in Munich, Germany 1986.

FYI

Obituaries: Tributes to ZZ Top's Frank Beard, Actor/Singer Hayden Panettiere

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Hall of Fame blues/R&B singer Latimore and legendary Australian music industry veteran Johnny Young.

Frank Lee Beard, drummer with Texan rock greats ZZ Top for 56 years, died on Aug. 17, at age 77.

A press release from longtime band publicist Bob Merlis confirmed his passing, stating that Beard was “in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, TX with family members at his side.”

keep readingShow less
advertisement