Ministry was the first band to popularize industrial metal in the late '80s, basing their signature grind on countless repetitions of jackhammer guitar riffs, as well as electronics, samples, and distorted vocals; however, it was Nine Inch Nails that really brought the sound to the mainstream during the early '90s, thanks to Trent Reznor's flair for melodic songwriting and multi-layered production. In the wake of Nine Inch Nails" success, a number of similar-sounding bands popped up on alternative radio, and toward the end of the decade, a number of popular alternative metal bands appropriated industrial metal's electronic production touches into their hybrid of aggressive music styles." (allmusic.com).
Trent's upbringing seems like it would have no way of putting him into the area of music he is now, and certainly didn't put him into the position to change the industry. His parents divorced in the early 1970s. "I don't think about it and I don't really put any blame on anybody. My Parents were young. I would have done the same thing, I"m sure", Trent says. (Huxley, 10) He went to live with his grandparents shortly thereafter. When he was child, he was in the boy scouts; he skateboarded, built model planes, and played the piano, according to his grandfather. Rita Beglin has compared his playing to that of Harry Connick Jr. His high school career was not unlike that of the usual person his age; he was popular and clean cut, and he hated school with a passion. He played in local bands, and voted best in drama by his classmates. His grandfather, Bill Clark, said, "He was a good boy", and he was "gifted" in music. He was never abused, contrary to popular belief.
Playing in small bands, and even having a small roll in a movie as a keyboard player don't really show Reznor as he is now. That was before he got into making music his own. "After some experimenting and failing on a few different things, realized that what would make the biggest impression I thought was to make a very honest thing.
