Trent Reznor Disses Marilyn Manson

Trent Reznor

Trent Reznor just might be the new Liam Gallagher. As if to prove that love and an impending marriage haven't softened this rusty nail, Reznor has been taking aim at all areas of the music industry recently. First it was Weezer and Prince. And now, in an interview in U.K. music magazine MOJO, Reznor opens up about his fallout with onetime protégé Marilyn Manson.

"He is a malicious guy and will step on anybody's face to succeed and cross any line of decency," Reznor said [via Spinner.com]. "Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he's become a dopey clown."

Which, as Reznor tells it, is not the way he was back when NIN was vouching for him. Back then Manson only faked being into alcohol and drugs: "During the Spiral tour we propped [Manson's band] up to get our audience turned on to them and at that time a lot of the people in my circle were pretty far down the road as alcoholics. Not Manson. His drive for success and self-preservation was so high, he pretended to be fucked up a lot when he wasn't."

But Reznor is ready to accept his share of responsibility for the fallout… sort of: "Things got shitty between us and I'm not blameless. The majority of it though was coming from a resentment guy who finally got out from under the master's umbrella and was able to stab him in the back," the NIN frontman said.

Reznor, however, ended on a more optimistic note: "He used to be the smartest guy in the room," he mourned. "And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together."