Trent Reznor is a hot topic right now, having scored the much anticipated ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’ with musical partner Atticus Ross. Reznor and Ross, along with Reznor’s wife Mariqueen Maandig, are readying the full-length debut of their How to Destroy Angels project.

“[We are] finishing our full-length record, which has fully matured our sound into something that is very unique,” Reznor revealed to Rolling Stone. “I can’t wait for that record to come out, actually probably [in the] first quarter of next year.”

The band previously issued an EP and then went a bit quiet. Reznor acknowledged, “When we did the first EP, it was the result of six weeks in the studio, just kind of seeing what happened. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore that much and figure out what our sound is. It felt very close to other projects I’ve been involved in or direct influences, let’s say. [This] sounds like How to Destroy Angels now, instead of sounding like other stuff, so I’m proud of that and I’m excited to unleash it into the wild here.”

Reznor spoke about the density of and commitment to his work with Ross, with whom he nabbed an Oscar for their score of ‘The Social Network,’ saying, “We’d do three weeks of ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ and need a break from the heaviness and ugliness of that and switch over to How to Destroy Angels,” says Reznor. “That became much more rhythmic and not any happier, but it really started to take on its own identity. We were influenced by early Cabaret Voltaire – it’s very deconstructed rhythmically and more textural. Mariqueen found her place; we used her in a quite interesting way, I think.”

Music isn’t the only project that Reznor and Maandig are working on. They are expanding their family, as Maandig is expecting the couple’s second child. Reznor has switched into full on dad mode, saying, “At the moment, I’ve got a baby due in a couple of weeks and that’s my main priority, to have that show come off without a hitch.”

Once the latest little Reznor arrives, HTDA may tour, and that’s a very big “may,” as Reznor is not exactly dying to get back on the road for an extended period of time. Instead, he would like to get back to performing in some way, shape or form. “We’ve been discussing the idea of playing some live shows. I can’t tell you that I’m dying to go on a year-long tour right now, but I am feeling the itch of performing live in some capacity,” he said.

Reznor is also enthralled and excited about introducing a full album’s worth of How to Destroy Angels material to fans on record and in the live setting, since many are so extremely dedicated to his work in Nine Inch Nails. He said, “It’s scary and the possibility of failure exists, so that’s exciting to me.” Somehow, that doesn’t surprise us.

‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ lands at multiplexes on Dec. 21.

More From 96.3 The Blaze