For the first time in about three years, Nine Inch Nails are out on the road. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have a busy film-score schedule these days, but it must be nice to be able to remind the world, whenever you want, that you’re one of the greatest rock bands of the last 40 years or so. Back in January, Nine Inch Nails announced plans for their Peel It Back tour. On Sunday night, that tour kicked off at Dublin’s 3Arena, and it featured a bunch of tracks that NIN haven’t performed live in a long time.

Nine Inch Nails Dublin tour started with Trent Reznor alone on a smaller second stage, singing a solo-piano version of their With Teeth song “Right Where It Belongs.” It was the first time that Reznor performed that one since 2009, and it turned into a medley with “Somewhat Damaged,” from The Fragile. As bandmates joined Reznor onstage, he went into reworked versions of two more tracks, “Ruiner” and “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)” (the Further Down The Spiral remix) that haven’t been in the NIN setlist in 16 years. The show then moved to a bigger stage, where the band played some of the arena anthems that you’d expect, like “Wish” and “March Of The Pigs.” Later in the show, though, they returned to that smaller stage to do some more rarities.

Back on the B-stage, NIN were joined by Boys Noize, the German dance producer who remixed Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Challengers score and who’s opening the entire Peel It Back tour. With Boys Noize, they did the Year Zero track “Vessel” and the Hesitation Marks single “Came Back Haunted,” as well as “Parasite,” a song from their side project How To Destroy Angels. For all three of those songs, it was NIN’s first time performing them in years. Then it was back to the big stage for the songs you expect — “Closer,” “Head Like A Hole,” their version of David Bowie’s ‘I’m Afraid Of Americans.” The whole thing looks unbelievably sick, and I can’t wait until I get to witness it firsthand. (In writing this post, I spoiled the entire experience for myself, but that’s the job.) Below, check out some live videos, as well as last night’s setlist, via Setlist.fm.

SETLIST:

Act 1 (B-stage):
01 “Right Where It Belongs (first live performance since 2009, turns into “Somewhat Damaged” medley)
02 “Ruiner” (first live performance since 2009, partially acoustic)
03 “Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)” (first live performance since 2009)

Act 2 (Main stage):
04 “Wish”
05 “March Of The Pigs”
06 “The Frail”
07 “The Wretched”
08 “Reptile”
09 “Copy Of A”
10 “Gave Up”

Act 3 (B-stage):
11 “Vessel” (with Boys Noize, first live performance since 2014)
12 “Parasite” (How To Destroy Angels song, with Boys Noize, first live performance since 2018)
13 “Came Back Haunted” (with Boys Noize, first live performance since 2018)

Act 4 (Main stage):
14 “Mr. Self Destruct”
15 “Heresy”
16 “Closer” (with “The Only Time” interpolation)
17 “I’m Afraid Of Americans” (David Bowie cover)
18 “The Hand That Feeds
19 “Head Like A Hole”
20 “Hurt”

The Peel It Back tour continues tomorrow night at Manchester’s Co-Op Live.