Nine Inch Nails return after their powerful Tron: Ares soundtrack for a collaboration with tone perfect Boys Noize. The result is a mashup we always knew we needed, called Nine Inch Noize. A cinematic revelation, from start to finish.
When Coachella 2026 announced their lineup, people were confused as to seeing a mistyped version of Nine Inch Nails. Surely, any festival producer knows about NIN and the impact they’ve had. Soon, fans figured out it was a collaboration between German-Iraqi electronic music producer Boys Noize (Alexander Ridha) and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as tentpoles. It’s electronic music getting that industrial aftertaste, and rust has never tasted so good. They’re here to present Nine Inch Noize.
How the project started
For some background, Trent had met Ridha while making music for the movie Challengers. Composing the entire soundtrack as a continuous dance mix, what Ridha made was incredible to Reznor’s ears. He obviously found a layer of interest in the provocative style; he mixed it as a dance album, though the Challengers score anyway leaned heavily on the electronica landscape.
Fast forward a year or so later, they meet again to compose Tron: Ares. Though not explicitly mentioned in the compositions, Boys Noize has been shown for additional production as well. A secret project had been planned before all this between Noize and NIN that never materialised. Obviously it was all accruing to become this intense performance.
Creating the album
Imagine Nine Inch Noize to be a combination of a ‘best of…’ album from Nine Inch Nails with some creative transitions and elements from Boys Noize. With an intense intro transitioning to the synth- and beat-heavy Vessel, these tunes promise to be a blast. If the original had its own charm of darkness, you’re dancing through a promised doom here. With Reznor’s angry vocals and swirling beat, this is industrial doom rock electronica all combined as one. Vessel enjoys the darkness of the lyrics that Trent mastered over decades, while having a resounding energy with Noize remastering this live version. Electronically led, these numbers still don’t lose the impact of the rock-washed versions that Nine Inch Nails had made. Nine Inch Noize are grasping the moment to give Coachella the nasty party they never wished for but will nevertheless enjoy.
The live show effect
The way Heresy carries itself is quite different. It might show itself as a light pop track, jumping around with a thrill of mainstream groove movement. Suddenly, you’re kicked up several notches to an instrumental fry with Trent’s vocals. It builds incredibly, with a charged percussion section, while the beat of Reznor’s accrued rage is being reflected and responded to with Boys Noize carrying that EDM swing. Nine Inch Noize having that acid house buzz is always something people have foreseen ages ago – it just fits here now. It’s definitely something that carries the zeal of the party.
Moving to Parasite, anyone can decipher that sound from the first second it’s played. However, the build-up and electronic notations imitate the riffs. Listening to all these well-known hits through these different lenses sure does sound and feel incredible. I especially have enjoyed Parasite and Vessel almost feeling like they were composed this way. It is an intensity shared and created through powerful collaboration. But nothing might compare to what you can feel listening to Copy of a. Having heard at least 10 different versions of the song – along with the deep cut Grammy rehearsal with Lindsey Buckingham (yes), Dave Grohl and Josh Homme – I never thought I’d quite prefer anything else other than the original and this. Boy, was I wrong.
Standout tracks
With the electronic heavy background and how the electro layers come in, it’s probably one of the brightest renditions of Copy of a I’ve listened to. There is enough variation to not feel like the original yet stays haunting with Reznor’s vocals. A lack of percussion powers the song to a whole new degree of anticipation. When there’s a loop of beats compounding together to become this exciting, thrilling flow, you start expecting more. Me, I’m Not comes in next, charging with a whole other percussion style. Nine Inch Noize lean into the bare minimum of the electronica to have the lyrics delivered with more gravity.
Coachella’s hidden gem
Another favourite obviously became Closer. It was instantly recognised by the live crowd as well, with them going apeshit the moment the lead synth comes in with chopping distortion. Nine Inch Noize infuse an exciting degree of these acid house elements into the composition. If the ‘help me’ parts made you feel empathy previously, the ones here show a degree of discomfort. When there’s a vacuum of instrumentals or beats, you feel dialled into Trent’s vocals.
This entire collection should be no surprise to NIN fans, nor for fans of Boys Noize. They are a power duo; Trent already establishing himself as a brilliant composer and spearhead of the industrial electronic rock movement was enough as a foundation. In this time and age, this orientation of more trippy, psychedelic elements in older Nine Inch Nails tracks is exactly what you’d want to hear. NIN means two versions of them now, attracting a whole other series of fans who have never known the original compositions yet appreciate this version of them.
Check out the way Nine Inch Noize evolves for a live audience:
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