Trent Reznor too fearful for more releases

Trent Reznor said Nine Inch Nails didn’t release more albums because he was crippled with fear.

The singer, songwriter and producer was the sole member of the influential industrial rock group - which he put on hiatus in 2009 – and said the reason they had a slow work rate, producing only eight albums in twenty years was because of his lack of self confidence.

He said: “If I look back I can see the big gaps between records were just fear. I didn’t feel confident. I thought the act of writing was terrifying.

“Self-examination with a close-up mirror in an antiseptic environment is what Nine Inch Nails is based on. I found myself dreading it and constantly questioning if I was good enough to do it.

“It took a long time for me to get my act together. When fame presented itself to me I was not at a point in my life where I was equipped to deal with it. I had a built-in sense of not being good enough.”

Since disbanding Nine Inch Nails, Trent has formed a new band, How To Destroy Angels, with his wife Mariqueen Maandig and producer Atticus Ross and says that, and the fact he is sober, makes him more confident about releasing material.

He added: “It took a long time to get my act together. But I got sober and I worked on myself. I can put out more material now because I feel better about it and it doesn’t come with baggage.

“I go into projects now thinking, ‘I’m going to give it my best and see what comes out’. That’s opposed to staring at a blank page and saying, ‘I have to write the best thing ever’ – which is a guaranteed way to make sure the page stays blank.

“I’ve done work this year that I felt is good and I’m back to the planets have aligned.”

Trent also worked with Atticus on the soundtrack to the film ‘The Social Network’, which is available now.