Nine Inch Nails Perform ‘Tron: Ares’ Tracks Live for the First Time at Film’s Premiere: Concert Recap

The upcoming big-screen threequel Tron: Ares features a bold-faced formed including Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson and Jeff Bridges, but 2 of the biggest stars successful the movie are heard alternatively than seen: Oscar-winning composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, credited nether their Nine Inch Nails moniker connected a movie people for the archetypal time.

The duo (who served arsenic enforcement producers connected the movie and bash really look onscreen, briefly, arsenic combatant pilots) was connected manus astatine the film’s satellite premiere successful Hollywood connected Monday nighttime (Oct. 6). They appeared some successful the theatre — lasting alongside the formed and manager Joachim Rønning up of the screening — and extracurricular of it, erstwhile they played a three-song acceptable for premiere guests, marking the archetypal clip they performed songs from the soundtrack medium live.

Prior to Reznor and Ross’ entranceway connected the signifier erected extracurricular the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s Chinese), their predominant collaborator, Boys Noize, played a throbbing, astir 30-minute acceptable that wove successful euphony from the Ares soundtrack, overmuch of which helium helped produce. Bathed successful heavy fume that served arsenic a benignant of perpetually shifting canvas for the reddish laser airy amusement that beamed retired from down the stage, the German DJ — who, astatine slightest from afar, presents arsenic a doppelganger of Ross and Reznor with his jet-black hairsbreadth and matching all-black outfit— enraptured the premiere attendees, immoderate of whom were dressed successful vaguely futuristic covering (think tons of achromatic and silver), per the premiere invite’s suggested “On the Grid Chic” attire.

Notably, Boys Noize opened for Nine Inch Nails connected its recently-concluded Peel It Back circuit and besides joined Reznor and Ross onstage for the EDM-influenced portions of those shows (he’s besides slated to execute with Reznor and Ross astatine adjacent year’s Coachella nether the sanction Nine Inch Noize). As the DJ/producer got deeper into his set, the abstraction astatine the beforehand of the signifier began filling successful arsenic anticipation grew for NIN’s promised appearance. And then, arsenic if conjured, Reznor and Ross materialized retired of the fume to an enthusiastic reception.

Immediately, NIN launched into “As Alive arsenic You Need Me to Be,”  the soundtrack’s bass- and vocoder-heavy pb single. As they did, the assemblage grew visibly much animated, with countless iPhones held aloft to seizure the moment. From the song’s opening lyric (“The mode it makes maine feel, infection/It’s astir similar a lingua connected the backmost of my neck”), the now-60-year-old Reznor sounded remarkably akin to the twentysomething antheral who archetypal deed the mainstream successful the precocious ‘80s, erstwhile the set broke done with its triple-platinum debut album, Pretty Hate Machine.

Next connected the setlist was “The Warning,” a way from the band’s 2007 medium Year Zero. Interestingly, that medium ties successful somewhat with the themes of Tron: Ares — successful which a nihilistic tech scion (Peters), successful contention with a rival (Lee), becomes hell-bent connected u...