The band is still as visceral and honest as ever
Last night, Nine Inch Nails made their triumphant return to Philadelphia.
The group was originally slated to perform at The Met back in 2020 as part of their Cold and Black and Infinite tour. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans. Now the band is back on the road, surprising fans with show announcements one-by-one.
Nine Inch Nails unleashed a monumental set filled with smash hits and rare gems before a sold-out crowd. The kicked things off with “Home,” which saw the light of day for the first time on this touring cycle. Year Zero‘s “The Beginning of the End” followed, then “March of the Pigs” sent the crowd into a frenzied mosh. NIИ are a chameleon of sorts, delivering a wide range of sounds and styles on any given night. “March of the Pigs” is a reminder that they can always be considered a fucking metal band.
By the way, there’s something quite poetic about a mosh pit throwing down in the middle of a classy old theater.
“Piggy” is one of the more unique moments during a Nine Inch Nails set, as a spotlight creepily follows frontman Trent Reznor around the stage.
The end of the main set packed a powerful one-two punch. NIИ nearly unleashed their head-banging anthem “The Hand That Feeds” and followed it up with their seminal smash “Head Like a Hole.” The fans soaked up every second and sang every word. It was one hell of a way to close out a show.
The band returned to the stage to treat fans to a four-track encore. The began with “Help Me I Am In Hell” then launched into the GRAMMY® Award-winning “Happiness In Slavery,” both from 1992’s Broken EP.
They concluded the evening with their seminal song “Hurt.”
Other highlights included “Copy of a,” “Survivalism,” “Even Deeper, “Every Day Is Exactly The Same,” “And All That Could Have Been,” and others.
There was a little something for everyone, as NIИ pulled songs from 10 albums and EPs.
Nine Inch Nails are one of the most dynamic live acts in music. They perform with razor-sharp precision, and their calculated production is always tailored to venue they happen to be performing at that evening. While they exploded onto the music scene in 1989, NIИ are just as visceral and honest in a live setting as they have been for over three decades.
Nine Inch Nails last performed in Philadelphia at Made In America in 2013. Their last proper headlining show in Philly was at the Wachovia Center (now Wells Fargo Center) in 2008 as part of their Lights In The Sky Tour. In 2014, the band played with Soundgarden just over the bridge in Camden, NJ at the Susquehanna Bank Center (now Waterfront Music Pavilion).
Due to overwhelming demand, Nine Inch Nails will perform at The Met again tomorrow evening, May 25. On Friday, May 27, the band will headline Boston Calling in place of Foo Fighters alongside Metallica and Rage Against The Machine. Foo Fighters have cancelled all of their tour dates and festival appearances indefinitely in wake of the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March.
Nine Inch Nails are also slated to headline Hellfest in France, Primavera Sound LA in Los Angeles, and Riot Fest in Chicago.
Nine Inch Nails are undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of all time. Over a career spanning more than three decades, the band has sold over 20 million records worldwide. They’ve garnered two GRAMMY® Awards among 13 nominations for “Wish” (1992) and “Happiness In Slavery (1996).
They shook the music world to its core in 1989 with their debut album, Pretty Hate Machine. The record was truly groundbreaking, and has since gone on to be certified multi-platinum. In 1994, NIИ set the bar once again with their sophomore effort, The Downward Spiral, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200. The disc went on to sell over 5 million copies, and be certified quadruple-platinum. It spawned their seminal single “Closer.”
The band’s third album was a monster double-disc outing titled The Fragile, released in 1999. The album saw NIИ expanding their trademark sound and earn their first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. In 2014, the band’s LP Hesitation Marks received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.
The band’s last studio outing was Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts, which were released 2020.
