Nine Inch Nails was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, United States in 1988 by
Trent Reznor, the only constant member of the band. He is generally credited for popularizing the genre known as "
industrial rock". Born Michael Trent Reznor, he was raised by his maternal grandparents in Mercer, Pennsylvania, USA. Reznor took up piano at the age of five and in high school took up the tuba and saxophone. During the early to mid 80s Trent played with various
synthpop and
new wave groups such as
Exotic Birds and
Option 30 before beginning his solo project.