Editing Gary Numan (section)

=== 1994–2001: New musical direction and critical acclaim ===
[[File:MrGaryNuman.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Numan performing in 2007]]

By 1994, Numan decided to stop attempting to crack the pop market and concentrate instead on exploring more personal themes, including his vocal [[atheism]].<ref name="SonicBoom">{{cite web|title=Interview: Gary Numan – 5/16/98|url=https://sonic-boom.com/interview/gary.numan.interview.html|website=Sonic-Boom Magazine|access-date=15 December 2020|archive-date=3 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203180710/https://sonic-boom.com/interview/gary.numan.interview.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His future wife Gemma encouraged him to strip away the influences of the more recent years. Numan thus sought a grittier, more [[Industrial music|industrial]] tone for his songwriting on the album ''[[Sacrifice (Gary Numan album)|Sacrifice]],'' on which, for the first time, he played almost all the instruments himself. [[Nine Inch Nails]] (NIN), who were influenced by Numan's music, and other bands with industrial tendencies were contemporaneously becoming famous, and ''Sacrifice'' received critical acclaim.<ref name="NumanOnReznor" /> According to Numan, the influence was mutual.<ref name="NumanOnReznor">{{cite news|last1=Numan|first1=Gary|title=Gary Numan on Trent Reznor|url=https://www.electronicbeats.net/mr-style-icon-gary-numan-on-trent-reznor/|access-date=15 December 2020|work=Electronic Beats|publisher=Telekom|date=April 2012|archive-date=2 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202092513/https://www.electronicbeats.net/mr-style-icon-gary-numan-on-trent-reznor/|url-status=live}}</ref> He cites "[[Closer (Nine Inch Nails song)|Closer]]" as his favourite Nine Inch Nails song,<ref name="PostPunk2018Interview">{{cite web|last1=Blackmarquis|first1=Phil|title=Brave New World – An Interview with Gary Numan|url=https://post-punk.com/brave-new-world-an-interview-with-gary-numan/|website=Post-Punk.com|date=9 March 2018|access-date=15 December 2020|archive-date=22 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622045824/https://post-punk.com/brave-new-world-an-interview-with-gary-numan/|url-status=live}}</ref> and has said "[[Head Like a Hole]]" has "the best chorus ever".<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Gary Numan|date=8 October 2013|title=Gary Numan – What's in My Bag?|format=MP4|language=English|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxuIOC0LJVY&ab_channel=Amoeba|access-date=26 January 2023|time=07:42|location=Hollywood, CA, USA|publisher=[[Amoeba Music|Amoeba Records]]|id=cxuIOC0LJVY|quote='...the best chorus ever.'}}</ref> [[Depeche Mode]]'s album ''[[Songs of Faith and Devotion]]'' that came out during the recording of ''Sacrifice'' became a massive influence on Numan that both musically and lyrically inspired his new, darker direction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/interviews/bakers-dozen/gary-numan-favourite-albums/8/|title=Music for a Chameleon: Gary Numan's 13 Favourite Albums. Depeche Mode Songs of Faith and Devotion|author=Marszalek, Julian|publisher=The Quietus|date=6 December 2012}}</ref>

''Sacrifice'' was the final studio album that Numan made before shutting down Numa Records permanently. His next two studio albums, ''[[Exile (Gary Numan album)|Exile]]'' (1997) and ''[[Pure (Gary Numan album)|Pure]]'' (2000), were well received and significantly helped to restore his critical reputation, as did a [[tribute album]] dedicated to Numan, ''[[Random (album)|Random]]''. ''Random'' was released shortly before ''Exile'' and featured artists, such as [[Damon Albarn]] and [[Jesus Jones]], who had been influenced by Numan. Numan toured the US in support of ''Exile'', his first stateside concerts since the early 1980s.<ref name="Lester" />