GENRE: Rock
LABEL: Interscope
REVIEWED: 21st September, 2025
Music rating: 7.6/10 — highly recommended for NIN fans, synth-score lovers, and anyone who appreciates cinematic electronics.
Nine Inch Nails’ TRON: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a moody, meticulously produced return to the dark electronic textures that have defined Trent Reznor’s career — but reframed for the neon-colored grid of a modern sci-fi blockbuster. Across twenty-one tracks and roughly 70 minutes, the album balances propulsive, industrial rhythms with moments of lullaby-like melancholy; it’s at once cinematic and unmistakably NIN. The record opens with the cold, circuitry-stamped “INIT” before unfurling into more anthemic moments and subtle ambient passages.
Production here is immaculate: layered synths, granular textures, and the tactile friction of analog electronics give each cue depth without overwhelming the film’s needs. Reznor and Atticus Ross — credited under the Nine Inch Nails name for this project — demonstrate their film-scoring instincts, composing pieces that heighten tension and secretly reward repeated listens as standalone works. Critics have noted this synthesis of band identity and cinematic scoring, praising the album’s ability to feel personal even as it serves the movie’s narrative.
Where the soundtrack falters is its occasional deference to the picture: several interstitial cues are evocative but brief, leaving the listener wanting more melodic payoff when heard out of context. Still, the three full songs sprinkled through the score act as emotional centers, and the best instrumentals — like “100% Expendable” and “Infiltrator” — showcase haunting motifs that linger. Fan reaction online has been enthusiastic, with many calling it a worthy successor to TRON: Legacy while others wish for a slightly more danceable, cyberpunk edge in places.
Standout vocal moment “Who Wants to Live Forever?” pairs Reznor with Judeline and provides an unexpected, human counterpoint to the album’s mechanized textures.
In short, TRON: Ares is a thoughtful, expertly crafted soundtrack that marries Nine Inch Nails’ abrasive beauty with the lush needs of a big-budget sci-fi film. It won’t replace the band’s most aggressive studio records, but as a focused, emotionally resonant score it largely succeeds. Highly recommended.
