Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Tron: Ares digital artwork

Standard CD/vinyl artwork

nin.com exclusive CD/vinyl artwork

Target/indie retailer exclusive vinyl artwork

White vinyl artwork

nin.com exclusive cassette

Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was scored by Nine Inch Nails for the Joachim Rønning film of the same name. It was released on September 19, 2025. This release bears both a Halo number and a Null number, with the numbers being 36 and 22, respectively.

The album has additional production and programming contributions from repeat collaborators Boys Noize, Hudson Mohawke (WitchGang), and BJ Burton ("Vaster Than Empires"). The hype sticker on the physical releases states that the album contains "over 70 minutes of music", but the runtime is actually less than 67 minutes. It is not known if this was a typo or if something was cut from the album at the last minute. There are several score cues in the film that did not make it onto the soundtrack.

The idea of the soundtrack being released under the NIN moniker, rather than under Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, came from President of Walt Disney Music, Tom MacDougall, who approached them after their work on Soul.[1] Reznor and Ross are also credited as executive producers on the film, as well as having on-screen cameos as the two fighter pilots.

Track Listing

CD/Digital

"Init" - 2:07
"Forked Reality" - 1:50
"As Alive as You Need Me To Be" - 3:57
"Echoes" - 3:46
"This Changes Everything" - 2:59
"In the Image Of" - 1:33
"I Know You Can Feel It" - 5:21
"Permanence" - 1:29
"Infiltrator" - 2:47
"100% Expendable" - 3:54
"Still Remains" - 1:54
"Who Wants To Live Forever?" - 5:50
"Building Better Worlds" - 2:11
"Target Identified" - 3:24
"Daemonize" - 5:09
"Empathetic Response" - 2:09
"What Have You Done?" - 2:14
"A Question of Trust" - 1:20
"Ghost in the Machine" - 1:29
"No Going Back" - 1:55
"Nemesis" - 1:45
"New Directive" - 2:45
"Out in the World" - 1:05
"Shadow Over Me" - 3:55

Vinyl

     A1 "Init"
     A2 "Forked Reality"
     A3 "As Alive as You Need Me To Be"
     A4 "Echoes"
     A5 "This Changes Everything"

     B1 "In the Image Of"
     B2 "I Know You Can Feel It"
     B3 "Permanence"
     B4 "Infiltrator"
     B5 "100% Expendable"
     B6 "Still Remains"

     C1 "Who Wants To Live Forever?"
     C2 "Building Better Worlds"
     C3 "Target Identified"
     C4 "Daemonize"
     C5 "Empathetic Response"

     D1 "What Have You Done?"
     D2 "A Question of Trust"
     D3 "Ghost in the Machine"
     D4 "No Going Back"
     D5 "Nemesis"
     D6 "New Directive"
     D7 "Out in the World"
     D8 "Shadow Over Me"

Physical formats

The physical soundtrack was issued in multiple formats and variants:

Standard CD
Alternate cover CD (exclusive to nin.com in the US/UK and indie shops in the EU)
Japanese CD (exclusive floppy disk packaging)
Standard vinyl
Alternate cover, red swirl vinyl (exclusive to nin.com in the US/UK and indie shops in the EU)
Limited edition white vinyl
Red translucent vinyl (exclusive to Target in the US and indie shops in the UK/EU)
Cassette (exclusive to nin.com in the US/UK and indie shops in the EU)

Promotion

The soundtrack featured heavily in the marketing and promotion of the movie, with Nine Inch Nails participating directly in some of the events.

On October 2, 2025, the Tron: Ares Immersive Experience at The Venue in Piccadilly Circus in London featured laser lights, props, photo ops, with the Tron: Ares soundtrack being played throughout the space, as well as other NIN songs.
On October 2, 2025, Club ElecTRONica was held at the Bellwether in Los Angeles, California. There were props, photo ops, a laser light show by Arius, and DJ sets by Avalon and Boys Noize.
On October 6, 2025, Nine Inch Nails with Boys Noize performed at the Tron: Ares world premiere in Hollywood, California.
On October 7, 2025, Nine Inch Nails and Jeff Bridges participated in a Q&A screening of Tron: Ares at AMC Century City.
On Dancing with the Stars Season 34, Episode 4, the in-house dance troupe performed a routine to "As Alive as You Need Me To Be", complete with laser lights, costumes, and light cycle prop.
During the premiere week, screenings of Tron: Ares at the El Capitan Theatre included a laser and light pre-show, with photo ops, featuring the soundtrack.

Credits

Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Original music by Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
All songs written, arranged, produced, performed, and programmed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Additional production: Boys Noize
Additional programming: Hudson Mohawke, Ian Kirkpatrick, BJ Burton
Score producer: Jacob Moreno
Score engineer: Jacob Moreno, Dustin Mosley

Score mixed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Songs mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA, Engineer Bryce Bordone
Mastering by Randy Merril and Idania Valencia at Sterling Sound, Mike Marsh at the Exchange

Creative direction: John Crawford
Gatefold photography: John Crawford
Additional design and layout: Dina Hovsepian

Management: Sara Newkirk Simon
Legal: Zia Modabber, Ross Rosen & Doug Mark
Booking: Kirk Sommer & Rob Markus
Business management: William Harper

"As Alive as You Need Me To Be"

Performed by Nine Inch Nails
Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Produced by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Boys Noize
Additional production by Ian Kirkpatrick, Hudson Mohawke, BJ Burton
Engineer: Hudson Mohawke, Jacob Moreno

"I Know You Can Feel It"

Performed by Nine Inch Nails
Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Produced by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Additional production by Jack Dangers
Engineer: Jacob Moreno

"Who Wants To Live Forever?"

Performed by Nine Inch Nails, Judeline
Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Produced by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Hudson Mohawke
Judeline vocals produced by Ian Kirkpatrick
Engineer: Jacob Moreno

"Shadow Over Me"

Performed by Nine Inch Nails
Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Produced by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Boys Noize
Additional production by Ian Kirkpatrick
Engineer: Jacob Moreno

Live Representation

"As Alive as You Need Me To Be" was the first song from the soundtrack to be performed live, being played throughout the North American leg of the Peel It Back Tour. Additionally, "Forked Reality" and "Shadow Over Me" were performed at the premiere of Tron: Ares in October 2025.

External Links

Discography

Previous release - "As Alive As You Need Me To Be"

Halo number: 36

Next release - "TBD"