Vol #205: Nine Inch Nails
Rustbelt Rock Review
By: Z.M. Delgado
Rustbeltrockreview.com
Volume #205: Nine Inch Nails
August 31st, 2025
Rocket Arena
Hello to all my friends in Cleveland and beyond! It is I, Z.M. Delgado your guide down a fantastically strange and twisted highway. Tonight I will not be leading down into the depths of Northeast Ohio’s music scene, but rather to it’s absolute pinnacle. I have only just returned from the arena, where I witnessed the Nine Inch Nails 2025 “Peel It Back” Tour... and I have tell you it was a thing to behold. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. This story does have a logical beginning, which in this case started around 5:30 I arrived at the home of my close associate and confidant: My German Ally. We adjourned to the balcony where we smoked a pipe of my newest reefer strain: Zangria. Shortly thereafter we hit the road, and grabbed some dinner, on our way downtown. We arrived at the arena and smoked a joint before entering. We cleared security and found ourselves inside without incident. I had a bag of gummies in my pocket, which I would visit periodically throughout the evening. Together with vape pen, I was able to stay nice and high for the entirety of the show. But that’s neither here nor there. We hit the t-shirt line and then made our way to our seats. Those seats, which My German Ally procured, were pretty phenomenal. We sat down at about 7:30 and that was when My German Ally produced some high quality blotter acid. In a quick instant it disappeared into our mouths and we were off to the races.
The floor, the DJ and the mysterious cube
From our seats we had more than a fair vantage of the floor. There was a DJ table set up on our end of the arena, opposite the stage. Dominating the center of the floor was a mysterious black cube. It loomed monolithic above us all and we all wondered what purpose it would serve. At 8pm, with the room awash in red light, an electronic music set began by the performer Boys Noise. We took this in for a while, but soon got anxious and decided to go smoke a joint. We circled the arena, looking for the designated smoking area, but soon found out THERE ISN’T ONE! That’s right folks, the days of sneaking outside the arena to burn one at half time are over. This naturally disappointed us, but what could we do? Accepting defeat we resumed our stroll. We people watched and killed time. Luckily we were still able to hear all the music no matter where we wandered. By 8:30 we had returned to our seats and I was beginning to feel the first tingles of the acid taking hold. In the ceiling there were these red lights and they began to pulse like Cylon eyes. Time passed, the beats throbbed through the speakers and the acid strengthened. Soon enough it was 9 oclock and suddenly the show began.
The Main Stage
Remember that mysterious cube at the center of the arena floor? Well, the curtain that surrounded it lifted or fell away or something. In a blink it was gone. Low and behold, guess who was behind it. None other than Trent Reznor himself, who sat at the keys of a piano. He opened with “Right Where it Belongs” and from there a night unfolded unlike any I have previously experienced. I could get into the minutia of the set. I could breakdown the thing, song by song. I could... but I’m not gonna do that. Instead I want to just try to explain if possible, what I have just witnessed. Because, and I say this with the full knowledge of the weight behind these words… that may have been the best damn show I’ve ever saw. It was like thousands of moving pictures and concepts all woven together. The band switched between two stages, the small one at mid floor and the main stage.
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The production was simply amazing. The entire thing was… perfect. Every note, ever action was in sync and deliberate. There was no slack in the presentation. There was no senseless time lost between songs with dialogue or anecdotes. Trent addressed the crowd exactly one time throughout the whole night. He gave an appreciative talk on how Cleveland shaped him and his music. Then it was right back to business. Song after song without break, NIN hammered it home. The musicians played with absolute fire. With all the pristine production and studio polish that Industrial music can get, seeing NIN live again reminded me of just how visceral the genre can be. The Drum work in particular was INSANE. Seeing a live drummer beating the skins like and animal, in conjunction with all the synthesizers and other hardware, was epic.
Blinding Lights
Behind the music, was an optical presentation that was unlike anything I have ever seen. This was an ever evolving visual landscape. From song to song the lighting and screens changed, the imagery was always shifting. It seemed like the set was in perpetual motion somehow, as we traveled through the track list, the visuals continually evolved. There were times when the lights were so dazzling it was too much to bear. For a time I watched the show with my sunglasses on, because the lights were so blinding. Other times the room was so occluded by smoke the band wasn’t even visible. There was a portion of the set that I was certain I was witnessing an alien abduction scenario. Every aspect was jaw dropping and utterly impressive. At the heart of it all stood Mr. Reznor who seems not to have aged a day since I last encountered him, back on “The Fragile” Tour. He performed with such energy and power and unbridled passion that it was a thing of beauty to see him rage. And rage he did. On every hit, every mainstay, every song you could dream up that you wanted to hear… because they pretty much played’em all. Trent ran wild on the stage, on the guitar, at the keys, even swinging a tambourine I do believe. It was an inspired performance.
An Alien Abduction
I don’t know what else to say on the subject. I doubt I have the words in my head to explain this show to someone who wasn’t there. I can’t write precisely how awe inspiring it really was. Much like the LSD which still courses through my brain, there is no writing out how this feels, you either know or you don’t. You either were there, or you weren't. It is really is that simple. On the way out the arena My German Ally and I joked about just “How in the hell are we were supposed to go back to out lives and act like everything is the same?” Because to put it simply, it is not. Like I said this was one of, if not the, best show I have EVER seen. And I have seen some big ones.
The Final Image
The NIN “Peel It Back” Tour was something special. It really and truly was. From it’s indepth 19 song set list, to it’s unrivaled visuals effects. From the passionate performance of the musicians to the equally passionate response from the thousands of screaming fans. I have to tell you from the top to the bottom, this one will go down in the record books. I hope you were there and if not, I hope reading this makes you wish you were. That’s all for now. I suppose I’ll stop here and let the tail end of this trip fade out. Goodnight Cleveland, thanks for reading.
Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,
-Z.M. Delgado
Rustbelt Rock Review
Rustbeltrockreview.com
9/1/2025
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