I’m standing in the photo pit between five thousand screaming Nine Inch Nails fans and the stage at the legendary Brixton Academy. I’ve been here dozens of times before, but this one was different; the return of one of the most influential bands of all time.
It’s been four years since Trent Reznor and company brought their brutal industrial sounds to the UK, and a lot was riding on this one. The smoke rolls across the stage, cutting through the chromed metal fixtures as if it’s on a mission to engulf the entire front of the stage, including myself. Mission accomplished. The stage is a glowing orange, reminiscent of a futuristic wasteland as it’s contrasting with the darkness leaving an eerie feeling of the inevitable nuclear blast of sounds about to hit.
Then it happens. The lights go dark and before I can even turn my head to comprehend what’s happening, the whitest light I’ve ever seen hits me. It was like watching an atom bomb explosion through a welder’s mask—and just like that the band is blasting into their first song. Holy shit, I didn’t even see anyone walk on stage, and now I’m in the middle of a full-on riot.
I’ve seen thousands of shows before, and generally, you get some inkling that the band is coming on stage in the form of the drummer first taking to the throne with a stick in the air, a gracious wave from the singer, and snark from the guitarist. Fuck that, not this time. It was pedal to the metal, an all-guns-blazing sonic assault. Fuck, this is awesome turns quickly, too, fuck, I’ve got to take some pictures. Seconds later the crowd surfers are in full force, dropping, kicking, screaming, and reaching for the stage; it’s full-blown chaos.
“Mr. Self Destruct” is the opening song and the perfect soundtrack for what felt like a musical day of reckoning, or maybe the actual apocalypse. It didn’t let up for even a second as the band broke immediately into “Wish” from the almighty “Broken” EP. THIS was the Nine Inch Nails that everyone was hoping for. The kick-in-the-face explosion of industrial metal makes us all forget that the world is indeed going to hell at the moment. This has quickly turned into the most epic opening of a show that I’ve ever seen.
Next up was “Less Than” from 2017’s “Add Violence” EP, which fit right in as a return to form. Then it was right back into the early chaos with a blistering version of “March of the Pigs.” This one gave me chills. I remember seeing this video for the first time in 1994 and thinking, this is the heaviest, coolest, punk, metal, industrial thing I’ve ever heard.
Guitarist extraordinaire Robin Finch is on stage, moving precisely as he did in the video, which took this one up yet another notch. We got seven songs from The Downward Spiral, three from Pretty Hate Machine, and even two from the “Broken” EP. These were the absolute highlights for me, quite selfishly, as they brought me back to when the band mattered to me the most. There was never a dull moment here, though, as each record was touched, and they doubled down on David Bowie with “I’m Afraid of Americans” and “Fashion.” The encore wrapped with a mesmerizing live version of “Hurt,” and it was all over. How on earth is this place still standing?
The beauty of NIN is that they mix up the setlist every single night. Most bands don’t really give a shit and just play the same set across the entire tour. Yet another reason Trent Reznor is on another level. You never know what you will get, and he pulled out all the stops for London. Banger and banger after fucking glorious banger. They reminded everyone in the room who actually invented this genre and that the original is still the best.
They were on fire, and no one can touch Nine Inch Nails when they are peaking like this. Maybe it was the fact that I saw Gary Numan in the crowd, or that Jimmy Page was there? I think it was simply a band proving that they still have plenty to give and say to an audience that they adore.
All in all, this was easily one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. The music, the mystique, the attitude, the anger, the emotion—Nine Inch Nails haven’t lost a thing over the past few decades and I’m excited to see what’s coming up next after their triumphant return. On another note, the lights were pretty much the most insane things I’ve ever seen. Lighting that would make most photographers cry with its unpredictability. I welcome the challenge.
