Although Trent Reznor has worked with oddball Hollywood director David Lynch in the past, it’s still a nice surprise to find Nine Inch Nails are the latest act to pop up on Lynch’s personally curated soundtrack for the current season of Twin Peaks. The Nine Inch Nails track, "She’s Gone Away", is one of the many interesting songs which will appear on September’s Twin Peaks – Music From The Limited Event Series album. In preparation for this release, here we’ve pulled together 10 key Trent Reznor soundtrack moments, from ‘80s synth pop outcast and ‘90s industrial monarch to Academy Awards-approved elder statesman.
- She’s Gone Away (Twin Peaks)
Originally appearing on the Not The Actual Events EP of 2016, this ominous Nine Inch Nails track has the lyrical hallmarks of a sequel to The Downward Spiral’s Reptile – bodily fluids, infection and self-imposed purgatory after a relationship breakdown. As a Twin Peaks soundtrack addition, Trent Reznor’s howls neatly work their way into the fabric of David Lynch’s creepy little township, where malevolence appears to lurk behind every smile.
- Dead Souls (The Crow)
Nine Inch Nails have only officially released a handful of covers, but Reznor’s choices to date have closely aligned with the favourite artists of his youth. As well as releasing takes on tracks from Gary Numan, Adam Ant, U2 and Queen, Nine Inch Nails released an anguished cover of Joy Division’s "Dead Souls". Given the doomed vocal Reznor delivers here, you can imagine the late Ian Curtis would be proud of this haunted cover.
- Burn (Natural Born Killers)
Not only did Trent Reznor collate the fascinating soundtrack accompaniment to Oliver Stone’s violently memorable 1994 satire Natural Born Killers, he also delivered new Nine Inch Nails material just months after dropping his ‘90s opus The Downward Spiral. Burn was a discordant and damaged track which neatly matched the manic celluloid performances of Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis and Robert Downey Jr, but it was Reznor’s stripped take on 1989 debut album Pretty Hate Machine’s "Something I Can Never" Have which signposted there was much more to Reznor than songs about pigs, pain and misanthropy.
- The Perfect Drug (Lost Highway)
After expertly stitching together Natural Born Killers’ discordant inclusions from Leonard Cohen, Patsy Cline and Tha Dogg Pound for an eye-opening sonic patchwork, Reznor’s next film project found him producing David Lynch’s Lost Highway soundtrack. Alongside ‘90s contemporaries Marilyn Manson and Smashing Pumpkins as well as ‘70s heroes David Bowie and Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails delivered the killer single "The Perfect Drug". The only Nine Inch Nails single released between 1994’s The Downward Spiral and 1999’s The Fragile, it was backed by a deliciously Gothic video by Mark Romanek. Romanek, who had directed the Nine Inch Nails video for "Closer", would later receive widespread adulation for directing the clip for Johnny Cash’s Nine Inch Nails cover "Hurt".
- Closer (Precursor) (Se7en)
Filleted like a piece of musical sashimi, Nine Inch Nails’ "Closer" was virtually unrecognisable in the form it took for the opening credits of David Fincher’s jaw-dropping 1995 film Se7en. Remixed by industrial stalwarts Coil, the version of "Closer" expertly synched with the visuals as we watched murderer John Doe painstakingly collate, annotate and decorate his dark journals. The sinister opening creaks of this remix instantly took viewers into the film’s expertly realised world of sin, brutality and death.
- Deep (Tomb Raider)
Often overlooked in the Nine Inch Nails canon, this contribution to the soundtrack of Angelina Jolie’s 2001 film Tomb Raider earnt a music video but was never released on an official Nine Inch Nails single or album. It’s worthy of re-evaluation, if only for the vague feeling it’s Reznor’s attempt to rewrite Queen’s "We Will Rock You". Fun fact: for a period of time in 2001, reproductions of the black faux fur jumper Reznor wears in the video were available on the Nine Inch Nails online store.
- The Immigrant Song (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Until Trent Reznor’s wife, former West Indian Girl vocalist Mariqueen Maandig, joined him in his How To Destroy Angels project, female Nine Inch Nails collaborators were few and far between. In the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O, Reznor found a worthy accomplice to bring a thrilling cover of "The Immigrant Song" to life. A collaboration with Reznor’s longstanding soundtrack sidekick Atticus Ross, this version of the Led Zeppelin classic created a thunderous conclusion to director David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Valhalla, I am coming!
- Quake Theme (Quake)
Back in the mid-‘90s, a time when gamers were still chiefly greasy adolescent lads who’d bed down for weekend of RPGs with nothing but Cheetos and Coke for sustenance, Reznor became one of the first A list musicians to pen a complete score for computer game. Released in 1996, the resulting game Quake was a massive success, with its creators offering a nod to their composer with a weapon which shot nails. Certain versions of the CD-rom game were also able to be played as audio CDs, providing Nine Inch Nails fans with an early taste of Reznor’s interest in instrumental ambience.
- Mantra (Sound City)
A supergroup featuring Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Joshua Homme and Trent Reznor was always going to be a tantalising prospect, but Mantra went above and beyond fans’ mouth-frothing expectations. Taken from Grohl’s documentary Sound City, a paean to the grimy LA recording studio of the same name, Mantra was a tense, tautly built track which highlighted each of the artists’ most powerful musical traits.
- Exotic Birds (Light Of Day)
Before Reznor purged his self-loathing in Nine Inch Nails or ever dreamed of suiting up for Oscar wins, the Cleveland performer made a fleeting appearance in 1987’s Light Of Day, starring Back To The Future’s Michael J Fox, This Is Spinal Tap’s Michael McKean and The Runaways’ Joan Jett. Although the band didn’t make it to the official soundtrack (featuring a title song penned by Bruce Springsteen, no less), but Reznor can be seen in a scene with performing in the bar with his band of the era, Exotic Birds.
Pre-order the new Twin Peaks soundtracks here. Check out updated Twin Peaks playlists as new episodes air on Spotify and Apple Music.