Will the next Nine Inch Nails effort be suffused with collaborations between frontman Trent Reznor and a slew of disparate artists? That's what the musician hinted toward in a recent interview.

Perhaps the rocker's successful involvement with rapper Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" rubbed Reznor the right way. Or maybe the musician's scoring work with fellow Nine Inch Nails member Atticus Ross has pushed Reznor in the collaborative direction. Whatever the case, it seems highly likely that an upcoming NIN release will feature an atmosphere of musical cooperation previously unheard of from the foremost influencers in industrial rock.

That's how Reznor made it seem this month when pressed for details on upcoming Nine Inch Nails. The musician, with his creative cohort Ross close-by, was paid a visit to his Los Angeles studio to discuss his next moves.

"We have a template for the next Nine Inch Nails thing we want to do," Reznor explained to Revolver in the interview published Monday (Dec. 23). Initially hesitant to divulge further, the musician relented with other details.

And it looks like it is indeed film scoring that's made the rocker feel more cooperative.

"I'll give it away: collaboration," Reznor continued. "We've got a list of people we like. And we thought, kind of playing on the newfound spirit of collaboration that scoring has forced us into, seeing what happens when we mix our DNA with some other people, with a no-pressure environment."

The Nine Inch Nails mastermind also mentioned that the band would be "doing some shows next year, maybe." But listeners hoping for a collaborative NIN album might want to keep their fingers crossed. If those collaborations don't end up working out, it's no sweat off Reznor's brow.

"Let's see what happens," he added. "If something good happens, then maybe the world can hear it. But if it doesn't, we put it in the pile with the other[s]."

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