The Fragile, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor produced this album. Once again, Alan Moulder has been in charge of the mixing. According to a statement on the official NIN website, Reznor stated that world-famous producer Rick Rubin was Reznor's "mentor" and "source of inspiration" throughout the planning and writing process of this album. Making a guest appearance on drums is former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.
The album's first single, "The Hand That Feeds," began radio play on March 14. A leaked copy of the song was broadcast on radio in February, and a leaked copy of "The Line Begins to Blur" appeared on the Internet soon afterward. On February 27, 2005, "Getting Smaller" was also leaked onto the Internet. "Right Where It Belongs" was also later leaked onto the Internet, and mere days afterwards, the entire album was leaked on filesharing networks 18 days before its official release.