Live Act of the Year Nine Inch Nails Peeled It Back to the Future in 2025

Consequence is thrilled to name Nine Inch Nails our Live Act of the Year. Check out the rest of our 2025 Annual Report to see our Best Albums, Best Metal & Hard Rock Albums, and Songs of the Year lists, as well as our Band of the Year feature on Turnstile.

By his own admission, Trent Reznor wasn't initially thrilled with the idea of taking Nine Inch Nails out on the road again, but those who witnessed the band's revolutionary "Peel It Back Tour" are surely glad he did. The groundbreaking show, which will continue with another North American tour leg in 2026, is an absolute triumph, leading Consequence to name Nine Inch Nails our 2025 Live Act of the Year.

"The truth of this tour was I had put off touring for a while because I wasn't sure how to present the music," Reznor tells Consequence via Zoom from his studio, where he is sitting next to NIN bandmate Atticus Ross. "I kind of feel like my goal as an artist at the age I'm at right now is not to just rinse and repeat and tour until you can't tour anymore. Either you die or you can't physically do it, or people aren't interested... all of which aren't great options."

He adds that he wants "to treat Nine Inch Nails with reverence and respect, versus it being a means of paying bills and an obligation," something he isn't sure is at the forefront of music these days. "I think the role of music in terms of a soundtrack and a blueprint of figuring out who one is feels like it's changed from when I was young... It's shifted into something that's less understandable to me and less respected in a lot of ways. I didn't want Nine Inch Nails to feel that way -- but I wasn't thrilled about the idea of a tour. It's mentally and physically exhausting."

Reznor credits an introduction to "Peel It Back" creative director Todd Tourso as the kick in the pants he needed to get NIN back on the road in an invigorating way. "When I was introduced to Todd, [it was] with a cautious amount of skepticism, because I'd never had anyone that was really a creative director," says Reznor. "I didn't know if that was a made-up title. But  what I found with Todd was someone that I immediately felt a connection to, and liked as a person. As [when] we talked about how Nine Inch Nails would tour, it didn't start from, 'What kind of lights do we wanna put onstage?' It started from, 'What kind of story do we want to tell?"

Tourso, who has worked with a wide range of artists, including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, and Rage Against the Machine, joins us on the Zoom call. He chimes in, "My ideas are only as good as the leadership that will take them and embrace them, but... there's things that Nine Inch Nails meant to me that maybe Trent never saw, if that makes sense."

Coming into the tour with an outside perspective, Tourso explains, "Being naked and being vulnerable and being romantic are words that I would use to describe Nine Inch Nails that maybe he never would... It was kind of just trying to step back and imbue the show with these emotions that I certainly feel in the music."

That's what led to Tourso's idea of having Reznor begin the show alone at a keyboard on a secondary stage -- something that didn't immediately click for Reznor. "[Todd] starts with, 'What if the show started with you in the middle of the audience, by yourself, with the quietest moment that Nine Inch Nails has ever had, with just white lights and no bombast in an emotionally jarring, naked exposed setting?'  And I thought, 'That sounds like a terrible fucking idea.  I would never wanna do that... I wanna be hidden in fog.'"

For those who haven't seen the "Peel It Back" tour yet, it has a unique setup: There's a main stage on one end, and an intimate B-stage in the middle of the arena floor, with the setlist broken into four "Acts." Leading straight into that vulnerable opening NIN moment is a DJ set by Boys Noize (aka Alexander Ridha), who previously worked with Reznor and Ross on the Challengers score that earned them Consequence’s Composers of the Year accolade in 2024. The trio also join together on the B-stage during the later portion of the show. (Reznor and Ross also worked on Luca Guadagnino’s Queer in '24, and we're giving away an autographed copy of the score's new vinyl pressing here.)

The seamless transition from Boys Noize to Nine Inch Nails is reminiscent of 1995's "Outside Tour," in which NIN shared a bill with the legendary David Bowie. On that run, NIN started with their own performance, then stayed onstage and played a handful of songs with Bowie, before eventually exiting and allowing Bowie to continue his own set.

When I bring up the similarities to Reznor, it stirs up some fond memories of touring with his musical hero. "To get the call from Bowie... I didn't know him, but I had left every possible breadcrumb of flattery in any interview I'd ever done...  We had just finished a long wave of touring. We were burnt out. I wasn't in the best shape personally, and we'd just said we have to take some time off. The phone rings...  David Bowie [tells me he] just did an album with [Brian] Eno, saying, 'It's very weird. It's not what the audience wants, but it's what I need to do. And the only band I'd want to be onstage with is you guys. Would you like to go on a tour this summer?' Before he finishes the sentence, [I respond] 'Yes, of course.'"

Reznor continues, "We were faced with a strange predicament at that time, because at that moment Nine Inch Nails were a bigger concert draw than David Bowie, as impossible as that seems. And there was no possible way that David Bowie's gonna play before Nine Inch Nails. So, I talked it over with David: 'Maybe both bands join the stage at the same time, then I'll stay for a song with you guys and it morphs into your show...'  He was completely up for it and it worked. It became a way to make it less about two bands on tour, and more about a unique experience."

Fast forward to "Peel It Back," and there are a lot more moving parts... literally. The show sees Reznor and his bandmates making their way back and forth from the B-stage to the main stage a few times, weaving through mazes carved out in the audience, making for some significant production challenges. Tourso recalls witnessing the transitions for the first time during the tour's opening night in Dublin, Ireland:  "I can't speak for [the band] because I wasn't the one going through it, but I was definitely very nervous the first night and thinking about them moving through the audience, and what that would look like, what that would feel like, and what that would do for the energy of the room."

What I observed during NIN's early September show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was a seamless transition from stage to stage, with the first one highlighted by a giant projection of returning drummer Josh Freese playing the intro to "Wish" as the rest of the band members made their way to the main stage. Freese himself was something of a new moving part, as well, as NIN were forced to switch drummers between tour legs when Ilan Rubin left NIN to join Foo Fighters following Freese being let go from the Foos earlier in the year.

"It was impressive," notes Reznor of Freese's quick assimilation. "The reality of that scenario was it was a surprise to me that Ilan was joining the Foo Fighters. Ilan is a great musician and had been a solid guy during his tenure in the band, but it presented a problem in terms of we knew there was another leg of the tour that we're going to start in February [2026].  And we could either replace him immediately [after the 2025 European leg] or we could replace him after the [2025 North American] leg, which would mean trying to find someone over the holiday break.

"As soon as I heard the news, I thought I could call Josh and he could play the show tonight, 'cause there's no doubt about his ability... He was available and willing, and it just made sense on a number of levels. Being completely honest, we're adults and we're professional, but we're also people with emotional feelings and a sense of camaraderie and intent and purpose. I thought it would feel better to play that last wave of tours with someone that wants to be there, and that's what went down."

Fans haven't been the only ones blown away by NIN's "Peel It Back" stage show, as fellow musicians have weighed in, as well. Jack White caught a Nashville gig in September, and declared, "The best lighting that I’ve ever seen in a show. Very inspiring." That's high praise from a fellow (newly inducted) Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, but it's hard to argue against White's assessment. The lighting is absolutely spectacular, taking concertgoers into a futuristic world that is visually mesmerizing.

Tourso, who gives credit to lighting director Paul "Arlo" Guthrie, says, "I think the intention was to create something that kind of seamlessly evolved, so almost like 15 minutes later, you would be just drowning in light and almost feel like, 'How did I get here?'"

Reznor adds, "I think back to the very beginning of Nine Inch Nails where you have no resources, no budget, you have a few lights in the venue, in the club you were playing maybe as the opening act. The desire's always been: How can the setting influence how the audience feels? How can it help make the music sound better? How can it help convey and immerse you in the experience?"

He notes there was a period when Nine Inch Nails "was on the trajectory of embracing scale," but realized "the pinnacle of scale" had been reached by Roger Waters and Pink Floyd with "a flying fucking pig and a wall that crumbles onstage." "So, if it's not about scale and it's not about gimmick, [we asked ourselves], 'What is the emotional material to dress the set to best convey the intent of the performance?'" Reznor continues. "I think I started by saying to Todd, 'I want to tell a story on this tour... I want to have an emotion, like it's a film. I'm not sure how to do that. I'm not gonna literally tell fucking Bruce Springsteen stories in between songs.'"

"Film" is the key word from Reznor, as the "Peel It Back" show is very cinematic -- not surprising given Reznor and Ross' extensive résumé scoring movies, including Nine Inch Nails providing the soundtrack to this year's visually explosive Tron: Ares.

As Ross notes, "I'd always looked at Nine Inch Nails as a very cinematic experience, not only in terms of the live show, but just in terms of the music. As an entity, it can [range from] ferociously aggressive to neoclassical... I think that the film scores have helped in a number of different ways -- there's an aspect of when you return to Nine Inch Nails, you really want to be there."

While NIN hit an absolute home run with the visuals, like any concert experience, the most important aspect is the music. And, as someone who's seen them multiple times over the past 30 years, I can say the band sounds as invigorated as ever.

The two stages provide completely unique experiences, with NIN delivering a full-on rock show on the main stage via crushing versions of songs like "March of the Pigs" and "Mr. Self Destruct," while delving into experimentation on the B-stage, especially during the "Act" where Reznor and Ross are joined by Boys Noize.

"I feel fond of the catalog we're working from, and it's just about it needing to feel exciting for us to play," says Reznor. "The songs we played with Boys Noize in the middle of the set... for example, 'Closer' had started becoming one of the songs that [I felt], 'I've done this enough,' and now is a highlight to play 'cause it feels exciting. I feel the re-contextualization of it feels current and interesting, and then I see that echoed back from the response in the crowd."

What rarely gets talked about when discussing NIN's concerts is Reznor's vocals, perhaps the most underrated aspect of the band. At 60 years old, Reznor's voice sounds powerful, as he brings a raw emotion to his dark and poignant lyrics.

"I had to find my own style because I didn't have the voice I wished I had," asserts Reznor. "When I listen to Bowie, I always think, 'Man, I wish I had what seems like an instrument capable of anything.' So I've had to learn how to use it to what I think it can do. And I think through feeling less uptight or more comfortable with myself, I've gotten a little looser with how I approach it. That combined with a sense of mortality and trying to take care of myself, which I didn't have to think about or didn't wanna think about a large chunk of my life...  I wish I had a different raw material to work with, but I'm just trying to make the best sculpture I can out of the gravel kit I got."

NIN shows can also be a very cathartic experience. You can see concertgoers' connection to the music on their faces. Personally, a wave of emotion pours through me whenever I see the band perform "Head Like a Hole," a song that served as my gateway into industrial and heavier music. I ask Reznor if he feels a similar catharsis when performing his own songs.

"When Nine Inch Nails first started out, it was trying to convey via a studio how to emotionally connect with somebody in the container of a pop song," remembers Reznor. "When we started playing shows... the songs had a life of their own and they thrived in that environment. The shows became this cathartic kind of ritualistic thing, where it had a purpose...  [I recall] being someplace I'd never been, Tulsa, opening for Peter Murphy, and playing 'Head Like a Hole...' I can see there's a fucking dude in the back I've never met, and it seems like it's meaning to him what the music that defined me means to me."

Of course, Reznor is in a different place in his life than when he wrote lines like "No new tale to tell/ Twenty-six years on my way to hell," but that hasn't prevented him from staying connected with the lyrics.

"I can't say that all the songs mean exactly what they meant when I wrote them, because I'm not the same person I was when I wrote them," acknowledges Reznor. "But they mean something that has value and feels alive.  I don't feel like I'm dressing in a costume, reciting the lines... I feel like it's me conveying something that's valid and real today."

It's certainly real that this was a triumphant year for Nine Inch Nails, but the band won't be quiet in 2026. As mentioned, NIN have already mapped out a new North American leg of "Peel It Back," and they're also set to play Coachella under the somewhat mysterious name Nine Inch Noize. (Get tickets to all their upcoming dates here.) While it's safe to assume that will involve NIN and Boys Noize, Reznor admits, " I think confusion was one of the interesting parts of why we chose to do it. We, ourselves, are not sure what we're gonna do, but it's become an exciting thing to think about, to be on that stage in that context."

Fans will also be ecstatic to know that the "Peel It Back" tour has helped light a creative fire under Nine Inch Nails, who are working on new music to follow their recent Tron: Ares soundtrack.

"We are working on new stuff and we're excited to work on it, and we are prioritizing working on Nine Inch Nails over just taking on every single thing that comes up in the other category," reveals Reznor. "So, beyond that, I can't say much, but the difference between now and a year ago is the fuse has been lit and the desire is there."