Surprise! Nine Inch Nails have a new album that they're putting out on Columbia later this year.
Trent Reznor admitted that he hasn't exactly been upfront about NIN's plans. "I've been less than honest about what I've really been up to lately," he said in a press release sent out by the label. "For the last year I've been secretly working non-stop with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder on a new, full-length Nine Inch Nails record, which I am happy to say is finished and frankly f--king great. This is the real impetus and motivation behind the decision to assemble a new band and tour again. My forays into film, How to Destroy Angels and other projects really stimulated me creatively and I decided to focus that energy on taking Nine Inch Nails to a new place. Here we go!"
Notice anything ... different? Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder aren't members of Nine Inch Nails -- Ross worked with Reznor on the music for "The Social Network" and "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and on Reznor's side projet, How to Destroy Angels. Moulder is a producer who has worked with the band in the past.
Rob Stringer, Columbia's chairman, also offered his thoughts: "We are thrilled at Columbia to work with a true renaissance artist like Trent Reznor on the return of Nine Inch Nails and an exciting new chapter of innovative music from them." Columbia's already had some fun with album releases this year, as it helped orchestrate the massive information drip that had Daft Punk fans in a frenzy by the time "Random Access Memories" was released (er, leaked).
The band has a string of upcoming festival dates and recently posted their 1997 documentary "Closure" online for their fans' enjoyment.
Nine Inch Nails last released an album in 2008, when they dropped both "Ghosts I-IV" and "The Slip," both of which charted reasonably well around the world. Since then, Reznor announced some line-up changes and a tour. They have not had a Billboard No. 1 album since 2005's "With Teeth." The album which preceded "Teeth," "The Fragile," came out in 1999 and also reached No. 1, so perhaps the five years between this album and "The Slip" is a good sign.
