There’s a new Tron movie out, and Nine Inch Nails handled the soundtrack. This was undoubtedly a brilliant choice to pair with the film. NIN’s industrial sound meshes perfectly with the franchise’s futuristic technological aesthetic.
The music for Tron: Ares was composed and produced by the band’s only two active members today, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The duo has already crafted several film scores together under their own name, however, this is the first time they’ve done one billed as Nine Inch Nails.
This came at Disney’s request, which ramped up the pressure on Reznor and Ross, not just from the expectations of following in the footsteps of Wendy Carlos and Daft Punk, the composers for the previous two installments in the saga, but also from releasing the music under the band’s name.
It also shifted the way they approached the creative process. On this, Reznor comments: “There’s one practical side: from a marketing perspective, seeing a logo can do a lot more heavy lifting than two names. Artistically, what that seed planted was… you know, when we try to work on films, we attempt to disappear into the film, and our role is to tell the story and help you feel a certain way. Calling it NIN set up a certain feeling right from the start—that meant we weren’t going to completely disappear. We wanted to sound less like a typical score, nothing orchestral at all, all electronic, leaning into it sounding synthetic, heavily synthetic, particularly with the plot of this film. It really did change the way it ended up sounding, thinking of it as an extension of the idea of NIN.”
Just like with Carlos and Daft Punk, the album is entirely electronic music, though here it’s stamped with Nine Inch Nails’ sonic signature: raw industrial intensity, synths that slice like razor wire, and beats that pulse like a racing heartbeat, all wrapped in a dark, throbbing groove that blends noise with futuristic sound design, ideal for the neon chaos of Tron: Ares.
The album’s tracks brim with tension but also beauty, in a well-balanced ratio. The sound is cold and sounds very clear, laced with techno sensibilities, yet occasionally deeply emotive. It’s strikingly minimalist music, clearly drawing from the ’80s.
It’s a vibe the band describes as “precise and uncomfortable at times.” Reznor adds that “with the inclusion of original songs alongside the rest of the score, the album is structured in a way that it can be enjoyed as a conventional NIN record.”
And I think that’s a key point: the Tron: Ares soundtrack can essentially be seen as another entry in Nine Inch Nails’ discography.
To drive that home, the album features four full songs with Trent Reznor’s unmistakable vocals, delivering that authentic NIN edge, led by the single As Alive as You Need Me to Be, a track that captures the musical direction of the score as a whole.
A standout is Who Wants to Live Forever? a slow, beautiful, and vulnerable duet between Reznor and Spanish singer Judeline.
I Know You Can Feel It channels ’90s trip-hop influences. Reznor’s voice comes through with an articulately unsettling yet emotive quality.
The final full song is Shadow Over Me, another blast of industrial techno that also serves as the album’s closer.
Overall, the soundtrack has been warmly received by both audiences and critics, though sadly the same can’t be said for the movie itself. But hey, at least we’re left with a stellar musical collection.
No doubt about it, Nine Inch Nails delivered outstanding work on this score. The blend of full songs with the instrumental pieces, which already stand strong on their own, elevates the whole experience. I see no reason why, even as a film soundtrack, fans of the band won’t walk away thrilled with this album.
