Nine Inch Nails: Royal Albert Hall, Europe 2018 Tour — Review
Last week, Nine Inch Nails played a one-off gig at the Royal Albert Hall, shortly after headlining Meltdown Festival. Head of Music Alex West was there to capture it all for you.
The Royal Albert Hall did seem a slightly odd choice for Nine Inch Nails. The American rock band have long been pioneers of industrial, jarring grooves and beats, a huge contrast from the predominantly classical headliners at the venue which brands itself as “London’s most iconic”.
However, this was certainly not an event lacking in occasion or gusto. The gig was sold out, the predominantly young crowd were adorned with ‘NIN’ merchandise, and there was an exclusive feel; both Nine Inch Nails and their support Black Moth Super Rainbow were only playing two UK dates in this segment of their tours.
Black Moth Super Rainbow’s bizarre name is coherent with their whole identity. All of the band play under peculiar pseudonyms (see synth players Pony Diver and The Seven Fields of Aphelion, plus past member Father Hummingbird) and their music, whilst having the same dark, processed sound as Nine Inch Nails, is even more left-field than their compatriots. Frontman Tobacco sings through a vocoder, adding distortion to his lyrics, which are accompanied by an array of synths, drummer Iffernaut and the pitched-up melodies and gorgeous rolling bass lines of STV SLV.
On the night, the bassist was surprisingly the most compelling of the entire group, though this was partly due to the nature of the group’s instruments: despite the positioning of the group roughly following convention, with frontman Tobacco facing the audience, he stood behind a synth, and the rest of the band faced inwards, whilst a projection displaying dull-toned psychedelic animations took the onlooker’s gaze away from the musicians themselves.
However this was perhaps deliberate: the act work hard to cultivate an emphatically enigmatic image (see those pseudonyms again, no members giving regular interviews, and drummer Iffernaut masked by a balaclava). The net result of all this was music that might not have brought the whole room to its feet, but instead left the fans focused on the sounds of the group; mystified, and hungry for more.
Meanwhile, Trent Reznor’s multi-talented crew of synth players, guitarists, and percussionists could not have been more filled with energy throughout their set. My dad described their set as “exactly what he’d expected — very loud, with not much light and shade”, and I’d agree.
The group walked out to ‘The Fireman’ by Angelo Badalementi, foreshadowing the hazardous explosion that was to come. Lit by dynamic, bright lights, the workers churned through the first numbers of the set, dressed only in black as their silhouettes spun on a background of white canvas.
Reznor switched continuously between instruments, not interacting with the crowd at all for the first few songs, simultaneously embodying a ball of energy as the band mixed new hits like 2017’s ‘Less Than’ with their more seasoned work. During one particularly vociferous switch the Los Angeles-based star grabbed his mic from the stand, stepped back to his keyboard and smashed the implement into the blacks and whites. This triggered an amusing moment as a sound engineer ran centre stage mid-song to replace the mic stand, showing that perhaps this had been choreographed. Either that, or the engineers knew what to expect; Reznor has become known over the years for destroying his equipment during live performances.
For years, Reznor had been the only official member of Nine Inch Nails, with full control over all creative and artistic processes. However, in 2016, he invited long time English collaborator Atticus Ross to join him as the second member of the band. The transatlantic pair were joined by three other musicians, and all five rotated throughout guitar, synths and drums, displaying immense skill in the process.
Around halfway through the set, Reznor suddenly began engaging with the audience in greater detail, as the band debuted ‘Shit Mirror’, the opening track from NIN’s new album, ‘Bad Witch’, which went down very well considering it was a live debut, with the crowd remaining as animated as ever.
This was followed by a series of covers, mixed in with classic Nine Inch Nails songs. First up was ‘Parasite’ by How To Destroy Angels, a cover in only name — HTDA were formed in 2010 by Reznor and Ross. Then the synths kicked into the unmistakeable opening riff of ‘Copy of A’, a 2013 release which is one of the group’s most popular more recent works, and the crowd went beserk again. Despite most of the arena being ‘seated’, this was perhaps a misleading title as nearly all of the crowd were on their feet and dancing for much of the set, though the mood did change significantly for what was to come next.
As the sounds of ‘Copy of A’ died away, the band left the stage, leaving just Reznor, who announced that “tonight they were going to say goodbye” to a song that they have been regularly playing on tour recently. Taking a seat at the piano, he began playing a slower version of David Bowie’s ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, the final track of the legend’s farewell ‘Blackstar’ album. This was not just an emotional tribute to a musician who inspired Reznor (the Pennsylvania-born singer cites 1977 album ‘Low’ as one of his all-time favourites); it was also a tribute to a friend who convinced Trent to “see the light” and stay sober when the pair toured together in 1995–6. The connection Reznor felt with Bowie was palpable as he showcased the softer side of his baritone voice, drawing on Bowie’s style in the same way he does on ‘Over and Out’, the last track of ‘Bad Witch’.
The strength of Reznor’s exposed voice did make me wonder for a moment why he hadn’t dabbled more in this side of his art until recently — but then questioning the choices of an artist who has managed to stay as relevant and as powerful for as long as he has is perhaps foolish.
My impudence was drummed home as the full band returned to the stage to show me why, launching into ‘The Background World’ followed by ‘Burning Bright (Field On Fire)’, two more recent releases which are still as quintessentially Nine Inch Nails as the band’s raw early work. For the second, Reznor picked up a megaphone to sing some of the song’s chorus, bathed in a vibrant red light as the noise reached its summit.
From there, we were once more pulled down memory lane as a cover of Joy Division’s ‘Digital’ reverberated around the hall. Nine Inch Nails have covered the Mancunian legends over 200 times, and the similarities between the two are evident: both have cult followings, are icons of industrial rock, and made groundbreaking movements into electronic music, although for Joy Division this occurred as New Order.
As the main section of the set drew to a close, and ‘The Hand That Feeds’ sent the revellers into euphoria, Trent reminisced about starting his career and coming to Britain’s capital for the first time, and making an album that the record company hated — “but I thought about how lucky I was to be here, in London” he laughed, to huge applause, before the band began ‘Head Like A Hole’, NIN’s 1989 breakout hit. As the last throes of the song died away, Reznor catapulted his guitar into the air, bringing it crashing it down on stage whilst the band departed.
Of course, it wasn’t long before the begging of the crowd summoned their heroes back to the arena. To close, the group blitzed through ‘Survivalism’, ‘The Day The World Went Away’, and a rendition of ‘Hurt’, throughout which Trent seemed particularly emotional, perhaps upset to be ending a night that will go down as a momentous one, even in comparison to others at such a prestigious venue.
For Reznor, captivating a sold-out Royal Albert Hall had seemed effortless, even at the age of 53. Whilst he draws on David Bowie and Joy Division for inspiration, an ever-growing list of aspiring (and celebrated) artists look to him for light. It won’t be long before he, too, joins the pantheon of greats. Perhaps he is already there.
Photos © Peter West
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