 Tapeworm 's genesis occurred during Nine Inch Nails recording sessions following The Downward Spiral tours circa 1996 . While working on Nine Inch Nails material , Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser , both Nine Inch Nails live band members , would often come up with ideas that Reznor felt did not fit in with his vision for the band . Tapeworm developed as an outlet for this material — a democratic group in which Lohner and Clouser could act as equals with Reznor , as opposed to Nine Inch Nails , in which Reznor maintained sole artistic control . 
