The Falcon   |   Volume 83, Issue 51

Published 5/15/13   |   Log In

One man, two bands, and much more to come

By JOSH FLYNN, Features Editor

Published: February 27, 2013

Despite placing his band in hiatus, Trent Reznor has been a very busy man. And he is also about to get a little busier.

On Monday, Trent Reznor announced news via Pitchfork Media that his fans have been waiting almost four years to hear: This summer Nine Inch Nails will finally be returning to the stage.

“Calls were made to some friends, lots of new ideas were discussed, and a show was booked – which led to another, which somehow led to a lot of shows,” he told Pitchfork.

But this is just the start.

While NIN was on hold, he started a band called How To Destroy Angels, which includes his wife Mariqueen Maandig, collaborator Atticus Ross and creative partner Rob Sheridan.

Next Tuesday will mark the release of their first LP, Welcome Oblivion.

The band debuted its self-titled EP for free in the summer of 2010 and, after an almost three-year wait, finally began releasing new material starting with an EP in September. An Omen contains several songs that will be appear on the LP. Four music videos were also released, all within less than four months of each other.

The band is slated to make its live debut at the Coachella festival come April, followed by a brief North American tour.

Ever since NIN’s departure in the fall of 2009, Reznor has put a multitude of projects on his plate.

He covered “Zoo Station” in honor of U2’s album Achtung Baby’s 20th anniversary.

He penned the main theme for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. He scored two movies for David Fincher, with work on The Social Network earning him and Ross an Academy Award for Best Score.

His soundtrack for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo came to nearly three hours of music, including a cover of Brian Ferry’s song “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” and a collaborative cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” with vocalist Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Outside of those professional responsibilities, he also got married and became a father.

Beside his two bands, he recently partnered with Beats By Dre on a new music-streaming project called Daisy that is set to begin this summer. According to The New Yorker, what will make Daisy different than other music streaming services is that it will not rely on mathematics to offer suggestions to listeners. Instead, it will present choices based partly on suggestions by music connoisseurs. The idea is for listeners to stumble upon more new music.

Recently, he appeared in David Grohl’s documentary, Sound City. On screen was a grinning man sitting behind a keyboard and a laptop; quite different from the way many would recall him in the ‘90s – a longhaired, spidery young man covered in cornstarch (or mud) in a fit of rage on stage, hurling microphone stands and shattering keyboards.

Reznor moved towards the mainstream with the release of his 1994 concept album The Downward Spiral. Following a tour, Reznor reportedly delayed a follow-up record and busied himself with other projects in the meantime.

Finally, in 1999, he released The Fragile, a double LP that after one week slipped off the charts. The album nonetheless propelled the band on a tour that lasted eight months.

All the while, Reznor had been struggling with substance abuse and depression. It wasn’t until 2001 when he had turned things around.

It was around this time that Johnny Cash covered his song “Hurt.” Rolling Stone listed it the second best cover of all time next to Jimi Hendrix’ cover of “Along The Watchtower.”

In 2005, Reznor returned with a new album considered by some to be his comeback. Since then, he had been on a four-year, seemingly nonstop cycle that included four different tours and three albums, two of which were released in 2008, less than five months apart from each other (the last available for free).

While there is already quite a bit announced for the near future, fans are still left wondering about a few other projects that had been previously mentioned. Work has already been done on a reissue of The Fragile, and there had also been talk about a miniseries based on his 2007 concept album Year Zero.

While fans anticipate NIN’s return to the stage, what is still uncertain is how it will manifest itself this time.

“The band is reinventing itself from the ground up,” Reznor told Pitchfork.

The new lineup will include Adrian Belew of King Crimson, Eric Avery of Jane’s Addiction and Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, as well as former NIN band members Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin.

How To Destroy Angels’ Welcome Oblivion is available March 5 on disc, vinyl and digital download.

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