Back in January, Trent Reznor confirmed that he and regular collaborator Atticus Ross would be scoring David Fincher’s latest film, an adaptation of the thriller novel Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. Reznor and Ross have yet to share a full piece of the upcoming project — though we did get a glimpse via a trailer that debuted in April — but they have offered some details on the writing and recording process. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Reznor explains that Fincher asked him to “‘think about the really terrible music you hear in massage parlors.'”

Fincher interjects, saying, “I said a spa, not a massage parlor!” That does make the score seem a little less seedy, but either way, Reznor says he and Ross were told to focus on the way that music played at a spa “artificially tries to make you feel like everything’s OK. And then imagine that sound starting to curdle and unravel.”

Elaborating further, Fincher said, “The movie is about the facade of the good neighbor, the good Christian, the good wife. So the notion was to start with music that’s attempting to give you a hug.” Trying to acheive that warmth translated into a first for Reznor: The Nine Inch Nails mastermind recorded with a live orchestra.

We’ll have to wait until October 3 to hear the full results, when Gone Girl opens in theaters. But for now, sample the new score — which is the third that Reznor and Ross have done for Fincher, following their Oscar-winning work on The Social Network and Golden Globe-nominated compositions for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — by watching the trailer below. And check out our list of the 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994 to see where NIN ranked.

Play