Reznor's work was described by "People" magazine in 1995 as "self-loathing, sexual obsession, torture and suicide over a thick sludge of gnashing guitars and computer-synthesized beats". The magazine also said that "like Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne before him, has built his name on theatrics and nihilism". Nine Inch Nails concerts were often picketed by fundamentalist Christians. Despite the gloomy public image that surrounded Reznor from then on, his former high school band director considered him to be "very upbeat and friendly" in reality and theorized that "all that 'dark avenging angel' stuff is marketing". Conversely, the owner of the recording studio where Reznor recorded the first Nine Inch Nails album said of Reznor's "pain-driven" stage act, "It's planned, but it is not contrived. He's pulling that stuff out from inside somewhere. You cannot fake that delivery." Pain and sorrow came to be regarded as such defining elements of Reznor's music that a group of fans once responded to the news that his dog had died with comments like "it's good for his music when he is depressed" and that "it's good to see [Reznor back in Hell, where he belongs".