Fifteen years ago, Trent Reznor had a hissy fit.

Nine Inch Nails don't play many shows in New Zealand. When they do, they don't always go to plan.

What happened?

Where did they go?

Where the fuck is our encore?

What did we do?!?

They were the questions fans were left grappling with when Nine Inch Nails paid New Zealand a rare visit 15 years ago.

“Something exciting is going to happen,” Trent Reznor promised at the time. He kept his word: there’s no denying that show, at Vector (now Spark) Arena on February 17, 2009, was a complete and utter scorcher.

With exposed rigs and twisted metal, Nine Inch Nails’ set design seemed inspired by a nuclear bomb factory staffed entirely by droids.

Think pounding pistons, blow torches, hissing vents, and light stands surrounding and suffocating the stage, with so much smoke you could barely see the band.

The way Reznor and co played that night – loud, frantic, agitated and intense – it felt like the whole thing could implode at any moment.

By the end, it kind of did.