Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

1: The Downward Spiral

Yeah, like the guy who got his user name from a song on this album wasn't going to make it number 1.

Sometimes the obvious answer is still the right answer. The Downward Spiral was, and remains, absolutely...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

2: The Fragile

Following up a massively successful album (The Downward Spiral) while dealing with depression and substance abuse is a very difficult task, which is of course exactly what Trent Reznor found himself doing with The...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

3: Broken

How would Trent Reznor follow up his successful debut? Thanks to a difficult situation with TVT Records, Broken would wind up as NIN's heaviest, angriest release, as pure an expression of unbridled rage as Reznor was...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

4: Pretty Hate Machine

Right, from here on it it's all killer, no filler. Going into this list, there was a lot of uncertainty past the top four, but I knew all along how this list would conclude. While I had heard a few NIN tracks..

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

5: Year Zero

I know it's only number 5, but goddamn, Year Zero holds a special place in my heart.

You have to understand, this wasn't just an album, it was a fucking Experience, thanks to the massive ARG (that's an Alternate...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

6: With Teeth

It's funny how the passage of time can change your mind about an album. With Teeth was the first NIN album I bought at the time of its release, having gotten into the band after the release of The Fragile, and as...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

7: The Slip

2008 was a busy time for Trent Reznor and found him experimenting with and pushing the limits of digital music production and distribution. Earlier in the year was the release of Ghosts I-IV, and with a very short...

Things I listened to in the past week. #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

1. Fair to Midland — Arrows & Anchors
2. Nine Inch Nails — The Fragile [2017 Definitive Edition]
3. Nine Inch Nails — TRON: ARES
4. Till Lindemann — Zunge [2025 Edition]
5. Hellripper — Coronach
6. Nine Inch Nails — Year Zero

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

8: TRON: Ares

Yeah, we all know that despite the Nine Inch Nails name on this, this one is another Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross film score. Still, it's got the NIN name, and thus, on the list it goes. And honestly, this one is...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

9: Add Violence

The midsection of the 2016-2018 trilogy of releases is my favorite of the three, but it feels thematically appropriate to rank it alongside its bookends. A big part of the reason that it's my favorite of the three...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

10: Bad Witch

Renee #3 of NIN's recent trilogy, Bad Witch is the one most disconnected from the others in terms of both music and presentation. Where Add Violence was clearly connected to the story of Year Zero (more on this in..

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

11: Not The Actual Events

I don't usually include EPs in my rankings, but with NIN the EPs are all pretty noteworthy, so I'm including them. Not The Actual Events is the first in a trilogy of EPs released one-per-year from 2016...

Ruiner Ranks: Nine Inch Nails #musicsky #metalsky #industrialsky

12: Hesitation Marks

Imagine that it's the year 2013. Nine Inch Nails have been on a bit of a hiatus, it's been 5 years since the last album, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been busy making film scores and music with How To...

Things I listened to in the past week. #musicsky #grindcoresky #industrialsky #metalsky

1. Nine Inch Nails — Ghosts I-IV
2. Aberrant Extermination Impulsion — grindcore is dead... long live grindcore
3. Lamb of God — Into Oblivion
4. マキシマム ザ ホルモン — 予襲復讐
5. Nine Inch Nails — Ghosts VI: Locusts

Things I listened to in the past week. #musicsky #metalsky #cyberpunksky #industrialsky

1. Metallica — Garage Inc.
2. Carpenter Brut — Leather Temple
3. Metallica — Garage Inc.
4. Leprous — An Evening of Atonement
5. Nine Inch Nails — TRON Ares: Divergence
6. Sage Francis — Human The Death Dance

Aggrotech, industrial...whatever...you wish to call it. The breakdown at 2:51 should be the entrance song to a muscle car.

#industrialsky

youtu.be/xZEl6Z71zns?...

Look who the president was when Ministry released "AmeriKKKant" and this gem in 2018.

#metalsky
#industrialsky

youtu.be/c1iBiqnAbcc?...

One of my top 10 bands of all time. Killing Joke were in a category of their own whose music influenced so many bands.

#postpunksky
#metalsky
#industrialsky

youtu.be/oj-_3RkZJzM?...

In 1992, Ministry dropped Psalm 69 on the world. Ministry always seems to record their best material when a Republican is the president of the United States.

#metalsky
#industrialsky

youtu.be/imqvLToWH7k?...

Ayyyyyyyy new KMFDM! #musicsky #industrialsky

GOTDAMN this new Carpenter Brut track goes hard! Video has some serious Cyberpunk vibes and ties in the Leather Trilogy in style! Reminds me a little of what Perturbator has done on recent releases! #musicsky #metalsky #cyberpunksky #industrialsky

Ruiner Ranks: The Best Of 2025 #musicsky #industrialsky

19- Angelspit - Red End

I've been a fan of Angelspit’s dark cyberpunk ever since I saw their album Hideous And Perfect mentioned on a list by the late, great Corey Mitchell back in 2009. I've been adding their albums to my year-end lists...

Ruiner Ranks: The Best Of 2025 #musicsky #metalsky #hiphopsky #industrialsky #punksky #grindcoresky #rocksky

20(ish): The Honorable Mentions

Now that I'm back from vacation, it's time for some ranking! To close out the year, more or less, I'm going to count down my top twenty albums of 2025.

Things I listened to in the past week.

1. Nine Inch Nails — TRON: ARES
2. Leprous — An Evening of Atonement
3. Danny Brown — Stardust
4. Netherwalker — Odyssey of Respair
5. Doomtree — All Hands
6. Aesop Rock — I Heard It's A Mess There Too

#musicsky #industrialsky #metalsky #hiphopsky

Things I listened to in the past week. #clipping #DespisedIcon #AesopRock #NineInchNails #SageFrancis #Angelspit #hiphopsky #metalsky #industrialsky #cyberpunksky #musicsky

Things I listened to in the past week. #AesopRock #Angelspit #GalacticEmpire #TheBouncingSouls #Leprous #Flagman #hiphopsky #industrialsky #metalsku #punksky #musicsky

I love Celldweller. Excited for the new EP! #industrialsky #cyberpunksky #musicsky

Things I listened to in the past week. #clipping #Amorphis #NineInchNails #DeadHeat #AesopRock #RiseAgainst #hiphopsky #metalsky #industrialsky #punksky #musicsky

Things I listened to in the past week. #clipping #Amorphis #NineInchNails #Igorrr #Perturbator #BetweenTheBuriedAndMe #hiphopsky #metalsky #industrialsky #musicsky