Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails: the 10 best instrumental tracks according to Spin

For decades, Nine Inch Nails have been identified above all with the dark, tormented lyrics of Trent Reznor, whether whispered or screamed. But Reznor is also a hugely talented producer and multi-instrumentalist, often willing to let the music do the talking. Spin magazine has compiled the 10 best instrumental compositions by the American musician, whether as a solo artist or in his most famous incarnation. Tracks that once might have seemed like uncommercial artistic detours or mere interludes between sung songs have, over time, become an important part of his musical legacy, revealing a far wider range of sounds and moods than the abrasive industrial rock that made Nine Inch Nails famous. The first fully instrumental Nine Inch Nails album, "Ghosts I-IV" from 2008 - the magazine notes - would even end up at the center of one of the biggest pop phenomena of the following years, thanks to the sample used by Lil Nas X on "Old Town Road". At the same time - Spin further points out - Reznor's increasingly intense work for film and television alongside Atticus Ross led the pair all the way to an Oscar for "The Social Network". With the 2020 release of two more instrumental volumes, "Ghosts V: Together" and "Ghosts VI: Locusts", Reznor's catalogue of wordless music had by then surpassed twenty hours.

Here, then, are ten essential tracks from this journey - spanning Nine Inch Nails, solo work and collaborations with Ross - selected by Spin (full feature here).

Nine Inch Nails – Pinion (1992)
Nine Inch Nails – A Warm Place (1994)
Trent Reznor – Driver Down (1997)
Nine Inch Nails – Just Like You Imagined (1999)
Nine Inch Nails – 34 Ghosts IV (2008)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Pieces Form The Whole (2010)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Juno (2016)
Nine Inch Nails – Play the Goddamned Part (2018)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – NUN WITH A MOTHERF*&*ING GUN (2019)
Nine Inch Nails – Run Like Hell (2020)

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