Nine Inch Nails have been a staple of industrial metal for years. Trent Reznor has long since proved he has the skills to hop genres, styles, and formats, from writing “Closer” to scoring the Disney movie Soul. In the ensuing years, Nine Inch Nails has influenced so many new bands and artists in the industrial-goth-metal-art-rock scene, continuing to blur the lines of genre. These three bands are must-listens for any diehard NIN fan.
Model/Actriz
Model/Actriz released their debut LP, Dogsbody, in 2023, with their second album, Pirouette, dropping in 2025. They earned high praise for their debut, which gained them significant traction as up-and-comers despite already establishing themselves as a charismatic live act around 2019. Notably, vocalist Cole Haden possesses an on-stage persona that captured audience attention immediately. Meanwhile, their sound is a unique blend of alt-rock, industrial noise, and post-punk. With Nine Inch Nails-esque innovation, Model/Actriz floods the industrial-post-punk-noise scene with explosive homoeroticism and raw, unleashed power.
3TEETH
3TEETH released their debut self-titled album in 2014 and, since then, have mastered a dark, glitchy sound to rival Nine Inch Nails at its most industrial. They essentially sound like a computer virus set to music, especially their 2019 cover of “Pumped Up Kicks”. Appearing on their third album, Metawar, it sounds like it was sculpted out of electronic sludge specifically to infect an important hard drive. Notably, vocalist Alexis Mincolla has cited Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral as a significant influence on 3TEETH. They lean into the dark, industrial-goth image with intimidating, menacing visuals, further cementing them as a major player in the genre.
Pixel Grip
Pixel Grip released their debut LP, Heavy Handed, in 2019, and most recently dropped their latest album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality, in 2025. The trio has a distinct industrial-electronic sound that can lean goth or club-ready at the drop of a hat. Inspired by the queer club scene of the past several decades, Pixel Grip creates deeply aggressive, tenderly raw, sore, throbbing music. It thumps in your chest like being punched. They tend to stay firmly in the electronic camp, where Nine Inch Nails often dabbled with industrial metal, rock, and guitar-based elements over the years. But Pixel Grip is innovative with what they do. They harness sexuality, eroticism, BDSM, identity, anger, violence, and so much more to create a sensual smorgasbord for the ears.
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