Noize Boyz

FUCK.

YES.

TRENT.

(& Atticus & Alex)

That’s my succinct review for anyone who doesn’t feel like reading further: Five out of five Reznors. Give it AOTY, a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony, and why not a Nobel Peace Prize for good measure?

As anyone who has consistently read my content is aware, Trent Reznor is my personal musical G.O.A.T. and Nine Inch Nails is unequivocally my favorite artist of all time (though I’m weird in that my personal favorite album of all time still goes to Superunknown by Soundgarden and my favorite song of all time is "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins, but that’s a whole different article).

Anyway, feel free to proceed knowing there is zero objectivity with the following piece of content:

In my mind, Reznor truly can do no wrong, and, despite having watched the stream of the Coachella set last weekend and experiencing several of these renditions live last year, my hype for this almost-surprise drop was immense.

And, thankfully, this official release, which features recordings from live shows, new instrumentation and vocals (including from Reznor’s wife and How to Destroy Angels bandmate Mariqueen Maandig), remixed elements from the original tracks, and all sorts of production treats, delivers spectacularly. The album serves to showcase a wild, but unsurprising, considering the three primary sources, amount of technical effort put into mixing and matching the old and new and, in turn, creating something wholly fresh and unique, especially for longtime fans. 

The origins of Nine Inch Noize begin with German DJ and producer Alex Ridha, AKA Boys Noize, being tasked with remixing Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ then-most-recent project, the score for Zendaya-starring tennis drama Challengers. From there, he became a genuine collaborator, working alongside Nine Inch Nails as they scored the Tron: Ares soundtrack (and then later, the ‘Divergence’ re-mixed release of said project).  And in the midst of all of this, he served as both the opener and B-stage collaborator for Nine Inch Nails’ last tour, with legs in 2025 and 2026. 

See my recap when they hit Philly last summer here:

I’m Afraid of Americans - NIN at Xfinity Mobile Arena

Trent Reznor and co. brought Philly “closer to God” with a dual-stage night exploring the act’s 36 year-history in spectacular fashion.

Music JawnJustin Stercula

The official debut of this extraordinarily fruitful collaboration occurred at Weekend One of Coachella (and was repeated on Weekend Two) on the Sahara stage. For fans, it’s a fresh take on both classics and deep cuts. The diversity of song selections to rework for this kind of project lends itself to creating just enough of a separation from being akin to any of Nine Inch Nails’ previous remixed releases (of which there are many in the official pantheon of NIN’s officially numbered “halo” releases).

The final product justifies why this is credited as a distinctly Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize collaboration. There is a remixed version of their cover of “Memorabilia,” originally by Soft Cell and recorded during The Downward Spiral era, a remixed cover of Reznor and Maandig’s other project, How to Destroy Angels’ "Parasite," and then a selection of reworked NIN tracks spanning the majority of the act’s career, including, of course, "Closer."

While there are a few omissions from this release that were part of both legs of the Peel It Back Tour, their absence makes no real difference outside of being a future piece of trivia for die-hards.

The album, which was recorded, produced, and stitched together with surgical precision, features a litany of sources for each track. One such source, as mentioned above, is the live recordings from the tour. Included in that is periodic crowd noise snippets, which help to create the feeling of witnessing them perform in that giant ass Coachella tent. It solidifies the flash-in-the-pan nature of this project and its lifecycle being emblematic of a very specific experience and point in time for NIN.  It becomes distinctly clear when certain tracks transition in or out of live performance elements, though the interweaving of what I imagine to be an insane amount of layered tracks throughout each song creates a stable, thumping baseline (also with literal bass lines) that makes it all just sound bigger, more exciting, and infinitely more dynamic. Nothing is lost in the sauce.

From a craftsmanship perspective, this shit is unparalleled. Reznor and Ross are famous for their production-savvy and refined skills in the studio, and Ridha is well-regarded for his own original productions and collaborations with artists like A$AP Rocky, Lady Gaga, and Frank Ocean. Having three prolific, meticulous, experienced producers melding minds has resulted in a collection that pivots and weaves at exactly the right moments. Tight, dynamic, surprising, yet cohesive, each track blends perfectly into the next and, by the time the experience is over, it feels like you just survived global nuclear winter and entered the Waste Lands ready to live your best Mad Max life.

I have no idea if this will appeal to those outside the purview of NIN fandom, but judging by the reaction at Coachella, it seems that “end times dance party” is a theme everyone is down for.

I know Trent and Atticus are about to get back to work on more Nine Inch Nails material, but I’m grateful to have such an amazing career segue with Nine Inch Noize. Credit to Ridha for injecting a level of energy into the act not seen for a hot second. This album is going to forever evoke a very specific period in time for myself and, I imagine, any others who share my enthusiasm. It’s a time of hope, fear, optimism, defeat, excitement, disillusionment, societal angst, peak “fuck-the-man” festering anger, existential confusion, and a delusional, yet unrelenting belief that better days are ahead for us all. Quite the mixed bag…

And if not better days ahead, at least we have a sick ass soundtrack to explode the world to.

See you on the scorched earth dance floor.

TRACKLIST: 

01 "Intro (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
02 "Vessel (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
03 "She’s Gone Away (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
04 "Heresy (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
05 "Parasite (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
06 "Copy Of A (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
07 "Me I’m Not (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
08 "Closer (Nine Inch Noize Version)"
09 "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)"