"We're in This Together" is a song by

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...

band

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

released in 1999. It is the 15th official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album ''

The Fragile ''The Fragile'' is the third studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as a double album by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Rezn ...

''. It was released as a three-disc

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(also known as a "triple single").

Background

According to ''The Fragile'' contributor Keith Hillebrandt, "the whole song started from something eznoractually played at the end of another track ... he wrote it up into an entirely new song". The lyrics seem to be inspired by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's song "

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

" from the same-named 1977 album, such as with the line "You're the queen and I'm the king" and describing two people trying to fight against an ominous and seemingly unstoppable force. Bowie, who is recognized as one of Reznor's greatest influences, is given a special thanks credit in the liner notes of ''The Fragile''.

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's Gil Kaufman described the song as "a seven-minute-plus cathartic pop song with somewhat hopeful lyrics over a plodding hip-hop beat, walls of distorted guitars and an eerie slasher-film cricket sound". Both "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" originally appeared on the vinyl version of ''The Fragile''. The song was featured in the first official teaser trailer for

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

film ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

''. * * * The song peaked at #21 on the US

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

Billboard. Despite being one of the band's most popular songs, the band has only played it live five times, all during the

Performance 2007 Tour Two months before the release of their fifth full-length album, '' Year Zero'', industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails began a new tour, officially called Performance 2007. The tour initially started off as a 'best-of' tour (since no songs from ''Y ...

Music video

The song's music video was directed by

Mark Pellington Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer. Life and career Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played American Football, football with t ...

and released on August 27, 1999. An extended version of the video has since surfaced.

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...

and a large group of black-clothed men are seen running down empty streets, onto a train, and into a field. There are also shots of several elderly people, and a brief scene with a young woman. The video was filmed in

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, maki ...

and in the dry lake of Sayula.

Release and reception

"We're in This Together" was released on a three-part single, which was only available in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

; it was not released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Two radio promos (the first with the album mix and radio edit of the song, the second with just a unique short edit of the song) were released in America as ''Halo 15'' as well.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Christian Huey has reviewed the single release, describing the title track as a "strong song" and "different turn for him emotionally" while stating that "this adrenaline-infused, white noise territory was mined to even better effect on "

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. Sociology Several cu ...

." Huey also criticized the three part single release, particularly referring to the orange disk as "the least substantial and the most redundant of the bunch" and "a tired repackaging of material." ''Spin'' reviewer

Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and popular music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also written for other publicat ...

referred to the song as "a sweet pop tune encased within the armor of industrial rock." The track was listed as number 19 on ''Spin''s list of "The 69 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1999." Critic Christopher R. Weingarten has stated: "Though the anthemic chorus borders on “

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

,” the song still grinds with crunchy noise, whining guitars and a trash-can-sounding

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

Track listing

Personnel

– writing, performance, and production *

Jerome Dillon Jerome Dillon (born July 16, 1969) is an American musician, best known for his tenure as drummer with industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails from 1999–2005. History After his departure from Nine Inch Nails, his own project, Nearly, releas ...

- chorus drums *

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...

– production, engineering, mixing *

Porter Ricks Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

– remixing *

Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Ni ...

– remixing on "Complications of the Flesh" * David Carson – design and photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

*
Single "We're in This Together"
at the NinWiki
Song "We're in This Together"
at the NinWiki * at NINCollector.com
discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 1) (CD5")discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 2) (CD5")discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 3) (CD5")
{{DEFAULTSORT:We're In This Together Nine Inch Nails songs 1999 singles Nothing Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor Songs written by Trent Reznor Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Black-and-white music videos