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It would be the mud-soaked [[Woodstock '94]] performance that thrust Reznor into the national consciouness. Broadcast on Pay-Per-View, the visceral performace would make Reznor a superstar among the many bands and musicians who were active at the time. However, the sudden national fame and recognition only accelerated Reznor's increasing problems.
By the end of the touring cycle (known as the [[Self-Destruct]] tour), Reznor was miserable. He had sunked sunk into addiction, and pressure from the label to begin work on a follow-up to ''The Downward Spiral'' took its toll. He stepped back for a little while and took time to sort things out.
===Fragile===
The time between the end of the Self-Destruct tour and the release of ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' was one of reflection and realization for Reznor. He checked into a Florida rehabilitation center to deal with the drug and alcohol problems that plagues plagued him throughout the last tour. Shortly after completing the program, he received word that his maternal grandmother had died. Reznor was completely devastated by this news and went into counseling counselling to help him deal with his loss. Through this event he managed to write a song that conveyed his emotions and thoughts ("[[I Am Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally]]"). He was back in the studio working on the follow-up to ''The Downward Spiral,'' which would turn out to be an ambitious, 2-disc epic of soundscapes.
''The Fragile'' was released in September 1999 and debuted at the top of the ''Billboard'' album charts. It soon fell off the charts due to a number of factors. Among them were a lack of marketing from the record label and the sheer length of the album. Reznor decided to celebrate the album's chart debut with a drink, which led to a relapse into drugs and alcohol.
In summer of 2002, [[Rick Rubin]] called Reznor in regards to country music legend [[Johnny Cash]] recording a cover of the song "[[Hurt]]." Reznor was honored and okayed the recording, since Rubin has done great work with Cash, and it wasn't very likely that "Hurt" would make the cut. In November 2002 Reznor received a CD containing Cash's cover and wasn't sure what to think of it. About four months later he received a DVD containing a music video for the song. Reznor was flattered, honored, and moved to tears by the results.
In 2003, Malm presented Reznor with some startling news about his assets. It was revealed that he didn't ahve have as much money as he thought he did, with his net worth estimated to be somewhere between US$400,000 and $3,000,000. Malm also presented Reznor with a bill asking for US$3,000,000 in payment. Shocked by this, Reznor looked back at the contracts he had signed with Malm and found some errors. Malm sued to collect on the money he claimed he was owed. Reznor countered, claiming that Malm had been holding back earnings. Both suits were combined into one lawsuit by a federal judge in 2004, naming Reznor as the plaintiff, with the case going to trial in New York City in 2005. Malm was fired as a result and Reznor signed with manager Jim Guerinot at Rebel Waltz. As a result, Nothing Records folded in 2004, being absorbed into Nothing's parent company, Interscope Records.
Reznor spent much of 2003 working on his other projects, which never went anywhere. Nobody in Tapeworm was pleased with the results of their recordings, and Reznor felt that de la Rocha wasn't ready to be a solo artist. The time out of the spotlight helped his psyche and got him to a better place. In addition to finding himself more mentally clear, Reznor was taking better care of himself physically, replacing the addictions that nearly killed him with addictions that would aid in his overall well-being. By January of 2004, Reznor was ready to write and record a new Nine Inch Nails album.
Reznor encountered a problem in the writing process immediately: he wasn't sure if he could still write music. So he set goals for himself early on: two songs written and demoed every ten days. It was a back-to-basics approach to help him decide if he could write music while clean and sober. The demo process was very stripped-down, consisting of a drum machine, a piano, a microphone, and a computer. From those demos, Reznor would determine what worked and what didn't. He found that the piano element in the demos provided an interesting contrast to the drums, and it would remain in many of the songs.
Initially, the plan was to create a concept album called ''Bleedthrough.'' As the recording process progressed, the concept was scrapped and became ''[[With Teeth (halo)|With Teeth]],'' a more song-oriented rock album. It was recorded at Reznor's New Orleans studio, and would be the last music to be recorded there. Reznor had has since relocated to Los Angeles, partly to be closer to those in the music industry, but also as a way to avoid a temptation that could send him into another relapse. During the production process, Reznor invited [[Dave Grohl]] to play drums on some of the songs, at Dillon's suggestion. Recording was delayed for a few days that Spetember September when the city was evacuated due to Hurricane Ivan, which took a more easterly track at the last minute. Production ended in late 2004 and post-production began in early 2005.
March 2005 was the beginning of the press junket for ''With Teeth.'' Reznor talked about his addictions and sobriety, his reaction to Cash's cover of "Hurt," his impending 40th birthday, and the upcoming tour cycle. A new touring line-up had been assembled and Reznor was confident in their ablilities. Five concerts had been scheduled with small venue dates throughout April and May of that year. The smaller venues were chosen because Reznor wasn't yet sure if he could still play to crowds as large as in the past. The tour sold out immediately, a sign that NIN's comeback was sorely needed.
After the success of the club tour, Nine Inch Nails travelled the world, playing at festivals and large venues. Reznor found that he could write music sober and began working on a follow-up to ''With Teeth,'' setting up makeshift studios on his tour bus, in his dressing room, and in his hotel room. It was one way that he remained sober while on the road, and was one of many safety nets he established to help himself stay sober. No longer interested in the backstage partying, he now found enjoyment in making music, which he once saw as a chore or job.
Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on August 28, 2005. Reznor was at first concerned about his studio there, but at first it looked like the city was spared from the storm. The next day, when the city's levee and pump system failed, Reznor was devastated. In the following days, his sadness became anger at the lack of responce response to the disaster, as he became even more vocal about his disdain with the US government. He was invited to perform on ReactNOW!, a telethon organized by Viacom with proceeds going to the American Red Cross to help those affected by the storm. Reznor performed "Hurt" with Cash's lyrical change, and premiered a new song, "[[Non-Entity]]," an internet-exclusive performance that would later be made into an MP3 file available for purchase. Proceeds from the MP3 went to the American Red Cross. Reznor decided that guitars used on the upcoming concerts would be sold on eBay with proceeds going to the Red Cross. It was one of many nonprofits that Reznor would go on to publicly support. In January 2006, he joined People for the Etical Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA's) campaign against the Chinese fur industry, narrating a video documenting the abuse of cats and dogs used in that nation's fur trade.
When the [[Live: With Teeth]] tour ended in July 2006, Reznor rented a house in a wooded area outside of Malibu to begin turning the sounds created on the tour into a new album.
In January of 2007, Reznor announced that the forthcoming album would be called ''[[Year Zero]]'' and that it could be about the end of the world. Mixing had begun on the album and would finish on February 5. Shortly after the European tour began, as did what Reznor called the "Year Zero experience." He did very few interviews this time, not wanting to spoil the surprise. He would become more vocal about Interscope and the RIAA during this time, expressing his disdain for what he felt was the wrong approach to dealing with MP3 sharing and leaking songs.
The Year Zero experience was Reznor's vision of the world in 15 years if civil liberties and an endless war on terror continued. People are drugged to keep them complacent and have GPS chips implanted under their skin. Separation of Church and State are a thing of the past and the government can now can spy on everyone at every waking moment, even in their own homes. Most significantly, Reznor seems to be asking his fans to take action and prevent this vision of the future from happening, providing sites with downloadable stencils, flayersflyers, and patterns to spread a message against censorship and the decline of civil liberties.
''Year Zero'' was released on April 17, 2007 and debuted at the Number 2 position on the ''Billboard'' charts.