The reactivated NIN work has two main inspirations. For the music he looked back at his 1994 album The Downward Spiral; and for the festival stage shows he borrowed from Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense.

Regarding The Downward Spiral, Reznor tells the New York Times: "I felt very aware that it's 20 years later. I know that guy and I feel for him. I don't resent him; I don't miss him. But how would things feel on the other side of that now, in a much more stable life place, mentally and physically, and with a new family?"

He describes Hesitation Marks as "sparse" and "minimal," adding: "It's hard for me to do that. I've realised that if I have 100 tracks, I'll use 110 tracks. This was really about economy. It was just a weird puzzle of grooves.