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GREENSBORO - Nine Inch Nails brought its high-tech, high-energy show to the Greensboro Coliseum Monday night. The audience of roughly 4,000 NIN fans - clad in black, almost to a person - didn't come close to filling the arena, but they made more noise than many sellout crowds I've seen.

NIN got them jacked to the max from the slamming beats of "999,999" and "1,000,000" and they never sat down - not even during the more atmospheric series of "Ghost" compositions about midway through.

That's because if you blinked or relaxed for even a second, you might miss some detail in the stunning series of visuals that accompanied the equally overwhelming onslaught of music.

Trent Reznor, the emotionally forceful leader of NIN, has reasserted himself in the second half of his career with some of his most clear-eyed, laser-focused work - especially last year's remarkable "Year Zero."

As strong as the discs have been, NIN is best experienced in concert, where the group dynamic results in a more explosive and visceral experience. The concert drew broadly from NIN's career, including such hardcore ravers as "March of the Pigs" and "Closer."

Reznor's tour band included guitarist Robin Finck (late of Guns 'n' Roses) and drummer Josh Freese (Vandals, A Perfect Circle). Freese hit hard, providing a powerful, unrelenting beat, while Finck wrangled howling riffs and controlled caterwauling from his guitar.

Reznor cut through it all with his lacerating vocals, screaming as if caught in an emotional maelstrom from which there is no escape. He did a lot of singing standing up, sat at a keyboard a few times and strapped on an electric guitar for some of the later numbers.

Reznor and NIN also had a few stylistic changeups to offer - four atmospheric instrumentals, drawn from an album of experimental soundscapes entitled "Ghosts I-IV." It recalled the collaborative work of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno but also added such unique touches as a malleted instrument - either a marimba or an African baliphone - and standup bass.

These pieces were illustrated with abstract images beamed onto a metal grate that had materialized onstage, creating an actual "fourth wall" that one hears so much about in the performing arts.

Back in full raging mode, Reznor introduced "The Hand That Feeds," a song about the sitting president and the enabling American public by saying, "I hope this is the last time we'll ever play this song."

As the song progressed, a large picture of Bush slowly morphed into that of John McCain. When it was all over, a big red-and-black image of the NIN logo illuminated the stage.

It was the state-of-the-art union of sound and image that made Nine Inch Nails so memorable. While the music was loud, it wasn't painfully so.

This was the only concert I've ever attended where a band technician walked through the arena with some high-tech gizmo, taking decibel readings that presumably allowed them to fine-tune the sound. Very impressive.

Parke Puterbaugh is a freelance contributor.