Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor Feels ‘Fresh Start’

Trent Reznor says he feels “a fresh new start” for Nine Inch Nails after the band’s latest album and world tour.

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Trent Reznor at the Vive Latino music festival in Mexico City, Mexico.

Reznor released Hesitation Marks in September after his long, self-imposed hiatus. In the five years since the industrial rockers’ last offering, he won an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on “The Social Network,” married musician Mariqueen Maandig and became a father to two young boys.

“In these few years, I kind of accidentally got into scoring films. I started a new band: How to Destroy Angels; we put two records out. I tried writing a TV show for HBO, which failed. I started a family, and surprisingly, I found myself inspired by that,” Reznor told The Associated Press before playing over the weekend at the festival in Chile.

And he felt like writing some Nine Inch Nails songs.

At first Reznor was hesitant about embarking on tour. “But we started rehearsing and it was fun, it felt fresh. I’ve been looking at things through finite eyes,” he said. “Life feels different at 48 than it did at 24. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this, or people will care … it’s not as endless as it once seemed, so I treat it more preciously.”

While on tour, Reznor is also working on scoring director David Fincher’s upcoming film “Gone Girl.”

“The main thing that I’m concerned about is putting myself in positions and places that are often uncomfortable, to force myself to grow as an artist,” Reznor said. “I don’t think I’ve written the best songs I can write. I don’t think I know how to write songs very well yet. I’m not saying that to be humble, but I’ve got a long ways to go.”