Nine Inch Nails, often abbreviated as NIN, is the mind-child of Trent Reznor, an extremely talented musician who has helped to shape the sound of modern music. Since his 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine, NIN has been recognized as one of the leaders of the electronic music movement, spawning many bands that have tried to duplicate their sound, but have never really matched it. Known for his innovation and unique style, Trent Reznor has received such accolade as one of the "25 Most Influential People in America" from Time Magazine and the "Most Vital Artist in Music Today" from Spin Magazine.

Most nine inch nails music until now has been described as "industrial", "rock", "electronic", "synthpop", "metal" or any combination of those terms. It is probably just safer to say that NIN has had a very unique sound that uses different elements from all sorts of different genres of music. But perhaps one of the most interesting qualities of nine inch nails is that with every release, the music is re-invented. There are similarities amongst all of his work, but they are definitely not just continuations of the albums or projects that came before.

What does nine inch nails mean?

In the words of Trent:

"I don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually you think you have a great one and you look at it the next day and it's stupid. I had about 200 of those. nine inch nails lasted the two-week test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated easily. It really doesn't have any literal meaning. It seemed kind of frightening. [In his best he-man voice] Tough and manly! It's a curse trying to come up with band names."