Welcome to the World of Trent Reznor......in other words, Nine Inch Nails. This guy is basically NIN itself, being involved heavily in all parts of his music. He is a pioneer of a form of music dubbed "industrial", though I personally believe he went well beyond the bounds of that genre.

A lot of "industrial" comes across as Heavy Metal with samples, which is cool, and then there is the over-electronised stuff. Actually, I remember techno friends referring to "industrial" music in dance clubs, but this was another type altogether - more on the heavy acid dance side.

Trent Reznor is unique in that he combines elements of the two different "industrial" music types and adds his own feel. He does little ballad-like songs (though they are usually more like laments), and he also branches off into ambient instrumentals. Though sometimes this means the equivalent of a Jimi Hendrix solo done by Vangelis! Just kidding......though some of his stuff is totally tripped out!

More importantly, his music is reflective of his lyrics, which are often dark and beset with personal scorn. He often sings of the hate inside, hate brought on by the world, hate brought on by his own immaturity. His love songs speak of the destructive power of this force, often condemning himself for being to neurotic to love properly. Fear drips from his music, sometimes lightened with a ray of hope, other times crushed under the weight of the last straw. But this is not just another form of angst music crying at the faults of the world, but an inward look at our own inadequacies. All of this combined makes me put NIN in the self-examinative CyberPunk genre that is emerging.