Nine Inch Nails To Release New Album, Trent Reznor Secretly Works On New Material With Atticus Ross

Nine Inch Nails have been busy as of late - getting back together, hiring a new bassist and announcing a list of summer festivals and new tour.

But there was no mention of a new album, until now. Frontman Trent Reznor's mysteriousness may have shielded the creative process but now, the official word is out. Just three months after announcing their reunion, Nine Inch Nails have signed on with Columbia Records for a new record deal. According to Billboard, material is scheduled to be unleashed by the end of the year.

With all of Reznor's other projects, he admits 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 Columbia Records, according to Billboard. "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!"

The binding of Reznor and Ross is a collaborative formula that intelligently enough, has not been broken. The two worked together on "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" soundtrack, earning the industrial metal singer a Grammy Award. Prior to that, the duo earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award for the "Social Network" soundtrack.

Reznor has also kept busy with his wife's band How To Destroy Angels, who is also signed to Columbia Records. He performed with the group at Coachella in April after Nine Inch Nails' reunion had just been announced in February. The lineup of of Eric Avery, Alessandro Cortini, Josh Eustis and Ilan Rubin was said to be embarking on a beginning this summer and leading into 2014. Avery later bailed and was replaced by bassist Robin Finck.

Nine Inch Nails are set to perform Lollapalooza, Made In America and Voodoo Festival this year.