Album
The Fragile
The Fragile is the third studio album by Nine Inch Nails, released on 21 September 1999 through Nothing and Interscope. Trent Reznor produced it with Alan Moulder, a regular collaborator, and the pair recorded it in New Orleans between 1997 and 1999. It arrived as a triple album, following The Downward Spiral by five years.
Where that record was abrasive, this one leans into ambient and electronic textures, with several fully instrumental tracks. Depression and drug abuse still run through the lyrics. Critics admired its ambition but found it long and thin on lyrical substance; many now count it among the band's best work. It went straight to number one in the US, the band's first chart-topper, and later went double platinum. Singles included "The Day the World Went Away" and "We're in This Together".
The Fragile: tracklist, credits and charts
23 tracks · 1:43:48Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Somewhat DamagedDanny Lohner and Trent Reznor4:32
- 2The Day the World Went AwayTrent Reznor4:34
- 3The FrailTrent Reznor1:54
- 4The WretchedTrent Reznor5:26
- 5We’re in This TogetherTrent Reznor7:16
- 6The FragileTrent Reznor4:35
- 7Just Like You ImaginedTrent Reznor3:50
- 8Even DeeperDanny Lohner and Trent Reznor5:48
- 9PilgrimageTrent Reznor3:32
- 10No, You Don’tTrent Reznor3:36
- 11La MerTrent Reznor4:38
- 12The Great BelowTrent Reznor5:17
- Disc 2
- 1The Way Out Is ThroughClouser, Hillebrandt, Reznor4:17
- 2Into the VoidTrent Reznor4:49
- 3Where Is Everybody?Trent Reznor5:40
- 4The Mark Has Been MadeTrent Reznor5:15
- 5PleaseTrent Reznor3:31
- 6Starfuckers, Inc.Charlie Clouser and Trent Reznor5:00
- 7ComplicationTrent Reznor2:31
- 8I’m Looking Forward to Joining You, FinallyTrent Reznor4:13
- 9The Big Come DownTrent Reznor4:13
- 10Underneath It AllTrent Reznor2:46
- 11Ripe (With Decay)Trent Reznor6:34
- Produced by
- Alan Moulder, Trent Reznor, Steve Duda, Dr. Dre, Bob Ezrin, Keith Hillebrandt
- Recorded at
- Nothing, New Orleans
- Recorded
- January 1997 – July 1999
- Mixed by
- Alan Moulder, Dr. Dre
- Engineered by
- Alan Moulder
- Label
- Interscope Records
- Length
- 1:43:48
Line-up
- Danny Lohner · guitar, synthesizer · guest
- Trent Reznor · vocals
- The Buddha Debutante Choir · choir vocals · guest
- Kim Prevost · vocals, background vocals · guest
- Jerome Dillon · drums (drum set) · guest
- Adrian Belew · guitar · guest
- Mike Garson · piano · guest
- Di Coleman · background vocals · guest
- Tracy Hardin · background vocals · guest
- Gary L. Neal · background vocals · guest
- Traci Nelson · background vocals · guest
- Elquine L. Rice · background vocals · guest
- Terry L. Rice · background vocals · guest
- Rodney Sulton · background vocals · guest
- Stefani Taylor · background vocals · guest
- Barbara Wilson · background vocals · guest
- Leslie Wilson · background vocals · guest
- Steve Duda · percussion, violin · guest
- Cherry Holly · trumpet · guest
- The Buddha Boys Choir · choir vocals · guest
- Bill Rieflin · drums (drum set) · guest
- Willie · cello · guest
- Denise Milfort · vocals · guest
- Charlie Clouser · sampler · guest
Singles
- “The Day the World Went Away” · 20 July 1999
- “We're in This Together” · 27 September 1999
- “Into the Void” · 10 January 2000
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1999 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1999 | 10 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1999 | 2 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 1999 | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1999 | 9 |
| Finnish Albums · 1999 | 10 |
| Austrian Albums · 1999 | 14 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1999 | 15 |
| European Albums (Music & Media) · 1999 | 17 |
| German Albums · 1999 | 17 |
All 15 charts
| Swedish Albums · 1999 | 18 |
| Scottish Albums · 1999 | 19 |
| French Albums · 1999 | 27 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1999 | 28 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1999 | 36 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Silver |
| United States | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
76.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
150k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
28k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 September
Every year →
More from Nine Inch Nails
Full discography →
Pretty Hate Machine
1989
Broken
1992
Fixed
1992
The Downward Spiral
1994
Further Down the Spiral
1995
Quake
1996
Things Falling Apart
2000
Still
2002
And All That Could Have Been
2002
With Teeth
2005
Year Zero
2007
Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D
2007
Ghosts I–IV
2008
The Slip
2008
Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler
2008
NIN|JA 2009 Tour Sampler
2009
Hesitation Marks
2013
Live 2013
2013
Remix 2014
2014
Recoiled
2014
Halo I–IV
2015
Not the Actual Events
2016
Add Violence
2017
Bad Witch
2018
Ghosts V: Together
2020
Ghosts VI: Locusts
2020
TRON: Ares: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2025
TRON Ares: Divergence
2026
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More on Interscope Records
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1999-09-20 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 20 September 1999 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 September 1999 | |
| Wikidata | 21 September 1999 | |
| US release | 21 September 1999 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 20 September 1999 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | XE | Interscope Records | 606949047320 | other |
| 1999 | KR | Universal | 606949047344 | other |
| 20 September 1999 | AU | Nothing Records | 606949047320 | original |
| 20 September 1999 | XE | Nothing Records | 606949047320 | original |
| 20 September 1999 | GB | Nothing Records | 606949047320 | original |
| 21 September 1999 | US | Interscope Records | 606949047344 | other |
| 21 September 1999 | US | Nothing Records | other | |
| 21 September 1999 | US | Nothing Records | 606949047320 | other |
| 21 September 1999 | US | Nothing Records | 606949047313 | other |
| 22 September 1999 | JP | Interscope Records | 4988067039507 | other |
| 27 September 1999 | GB | Nothing Records | 606949047313 | other |
| 17 May 2006 | JP | Universal International | 4988005429667 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Island | 606949047320 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Interscope Records | 00602547599926 | other |
| 30 June 2015 | XW | — | other | |
| 23 December 2016 | XW | The Null Corporation | 4142570897439 | other |
| 2017 | US | Interscope Records | 602557142778 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×530 | rejected |