Recommended Tracks: “Heresy,” “Closer,” “Me, I’m Not”
Artists You May Like: Ministry, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Gesaffelstein
The genesis of Nine Inch Noize reads as Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor and Alex Ridha (Boys Noize) taking a dare too far or committing way too much to a bit, and honestly, thank God they did. Rather than a remix cycle, the joint collective not only uses simple math to blend band monikers (Nine Inch Nails + Boys Noize = Nine Inch Noize), but also dives into a full-bodied overhaul that drags NIN’s catalog into sweat-soaked, strobe-blasted territory. Subtlety is nowhere to be found on the Nine Inch Noize guest list; in fact, it was likely dumped somewhere on the side of the road like garbage en route to the Coachella Valley.
The album, collection, compilation — I’m still frankly not too sure what to call it — sees a recorded adaptation of both their ripper Coachella performances and Nine-Inch-Nails’ 2025 Peel It Back tour, during which Ridha found himself slotted as an opening act. Entering this undertaking, the two had already established collaborative feelers—a collection of burgeoning onscreen score projects including Challengers and, most recently, Tron: Ares.
The act soon found themselves under the lights of the Sahara Tent, lodged deep on the Coachella Grounds—an act proposed by Reznor that would not only come to fruition, but in doing so create an entirely new set, sound mix, and stage structure; a set of decks facing one another behind which Reznor physically eclipses the audience and his fellow Nine-Inch-Noize-ers.
Similar to a now-elevated onstage Reznor, the synth lines on many tracks are stacked mile-high, crutched by some freaky sample additions and crowd noises; whether or not they’re actually real is for the group and only the group to know. The live-album-ness of it all, if that was their goal, is undercooked and easy to overlook, but we need not forget that we’ve already thrown subtleties like these out of the picture.
The “oonts-oonts” sort of synergy sticks with this project. It incorporates a slew of deep-cut Nine Inch Nails tracks spanning decades and projects past and present, all of which are hardly predictable with the exception of mega-hit “Closer,” which keeps a firm grip on its goliath nature. These are only modernized with a sharp right turn into mega-synth city which, though not quite futuristic per-se, is tastefully present.
“Ginormous” is the first word written big and bold atop my notepad, with renditions like “Heresy,” whose original version is already a punch in the face switching from a side swipe to an uppercut. Its original heavy synth intro is now Noize-ified with a slow burning drum loop that hurriedly grows into a wicked, almost bludgeoning repetition. Many such frequencies, though not necessarily an element that hoists the initial track above its original quality, do so in danceability and screamability. They also build raw anticipation in tracks like “Closer,” withholding its signature booming thump until well into the track, saving the audience freakout for a little bit later than normal.
There is something inherently ridiculous about Nine Inch Noize, not only as a group but also as a concept, and that is precisely why it works. Not every track walks away improved, and not every idea here earns its keep beyond the initial shock of impact, but the project rarely feels like a total misfire. As previously mentioned, the songs are not asking to be replaced but rather to be re-experienced. In any case, NIN avoids the trap of novelty. This is not Trent Reznor slumming it in EDM, nor is it Boys Noize cashing in on industrial legacy. Call it a side quest or a bit gone far beyond, but in a catalog as meticulously controlled as Nine Inch Nails’, this style of turmoil feels like a feature, not a bug.
You can listen to Nine Inch Noize on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
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