The first time I had ever heard Nine Inch Nails, my heart was racing before I even put the CD in. Growing up without MTV, my only real source for finding new favorite bands to adore was my older brother’s bedroom and his cd collection-when he wasn’t home. I guess because I was seven years his kid sister, it made sense that he didn’t trust me with all of his music. “Do you know how much oil and dirt is on your fingers?!” he’d snap at me when I touched a CD in front of him. I’d exit his bedroom, staring at my fingers, looking for the said oil and dirt-not ever seeing anything, but washing my hands religiously, nonetheless.

On one middle school afternoon, I saw his new CD that read “The Downward Spiral”. I opened the lyrics and began to read. Being raised in a Christian family, it didn’t take me long to realize that the lyrics were absolutely, thoroughly, ungodly. When I got to the lyrics of “Heresy”, I was floored. I read them with simultaneous shock and excitement: Your god is dead/And no one cares/If there is a Hell/I’ll see you there.

I put the CD in. I loved it. I was 11-years-old then, I am 24 now, and I have been a fan of the band consistently since that day. But I had never seen them live until Wednesday night.

By the good graces of a friend who now works for the band, I was offered a pass to the show and absolutely could not decline. With undeniably the best seat in the house (right next to the lighting guy), I felt like a kid in a candy store with endless cash and no parents around. For 172 minutes straight, Nine Inch Nails dragged me through each and every crevice of emotional intensity that possibly exists in the world of music. The lights blinded and hypnotized me. The heavy anthems made me feel more passionate and more alive than I can remember feeling this entire year.

It’s so nice to see that some music can survive the test of time. It’s so refreshing to know that in the same way that ‘Heresy’ affected me when I was young, it’s still affecting so many other young kids. The tour is still in full swing. If you haven’t missed their stop in your city, make sure you get tickets. Now.

(Image source: Musictimes.com.au)