Nine Inch Nails Produces the Soundtrack for Upcoming Sci-fi Movie Tron: Ares -

By Kyrien Keeton

Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails (NIN) just released their first album since 2020: the soundtrack for the long-awaited addition to the science fiction franchise Tron. The album features NIN’s classic harsh beats with an intoxicating mesh of synthetic melody, tastefully complementing the sleek, futuristic aesthetic of the upcoming movie, Tron: Ares.

The first official Tron: Ares trailer premiered in July, showcasing a visually stunning combination of lasers and shiny black metal. The trailer presents a not-so-distant futuristic world where artificial intelligence has developed beyond the confines of a computer realm called ‘the Grid.’ AI superhuman Ares (played by Jared Leto) escapes the Grid to serve as a soldier in the real world. Whether or not the film is centered around the moral implications of artificial intelligence in our lives today remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the ethically ambiguous nature of the film and visually stunning special effects only stand to benefit from Nine Inch Nails’ exhilarating soundtrack!

There is no question whether or not Nine Inch Nails has the perfect sound to complement the Tron aesthetic. “As Alive As You Need Me To Be,” the first released single from the new album, appears in the Tron: Ares trailer. Striking dystopian visuals flash across the screen—a car split in half on a road of light, Ares smashing through glass in shining black armor—as the vicious, punching NIN rhythm guides the narrative forward. Still, the band had an important challenge to overcome when taking on Tron: Ares: producing a soundtrack on par with the musicians of the previous Tron movies.

Back in 2010, the techno duo Daft Punk produced the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy. Daft Punk, with the benefit of having already been primarily known for their futuristic sound, composed a thrilling, evocative soundtrack with ambient-electronic highlights like, “End of Line,” and “Derezzed.”

While lead singer Trent Reznor and NIN member Atticus Ross have both formerly worked on soundtracks for movies like Challengers (2024) and Soul (2020), this is the first soundtrack undertaken by the Nine Inch Nails label, encapsulating the band’s specific sound.

Despite not sharing a prominent EDM background, the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack holds up beautifully even compared to their techno predecessors. The sound maintains a nostalgic reminiscence of the band’s earlier albums, without compromising the need for a more futuristic sound. Older NIN songs such as “The Hand that Feeds” easily resemble songs on the new album like, “I Know You Can Feel It.” Whereas Daft Punk took a non-vocal approach to the soundtrack in favor of a purely electronic feel, four of the songs on the new album feature Trent Reznor’s classic gritty vocals. The euphoric beats and synthetic melodies appeal to the surreal Tron universe, while the iconic industrial aura forms a unique sense of ferocity that only Nine Inch Nails can provide.

The Tron: Ares soundtrack is now available to listen to on every major streaming platform, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. Tron: Ares is set to hit theaters on October 10th, continuing the franchise fifteen years after the release of Tron: Legacy. After its theater release, the film will be available to stream on Disney+, alongside Tron: Legacy, and the original 1982 film Tron.