The Downward Spiral

No

Just not my cup of tea. I don't enjoy the industrial sound very much, and the artistic decision to make the lyrics almost indecipherable didn't land with me. I'm sure it's an important album, and well loved by people who enjoy this genre, but I found it hard work.

I don't get Nine Inch Nails. Their music is abrasive, noisy, angry, industrial rock, built on layers of noise and textured sounds that feels both violent and dark, yet Trent Reznor played in a couple synth-pop bands before forming NIN.. Because of this list, I've been exposed to NIN more than I would have have, as the band is both fascinating and highly overrated. Some of the slower songs are accessible and shows that the band has some range and variety and maybe they mask over any sensitivity with the loud sounds to be more angsty. To me, The Downward Spiral is crass, boring "music" and challenging to wade through, it's not edgy is irritating.

Sorry, gillar inte nine inch nails. Shoot me

Hardcore elements Mixed with eerie techno sounds Odd cacophony

Tiring

Not really my thing

Interesting album. A couple songs I was familiar with. Not really a fan of industrial type music. 2/5 Probably won’t listen again

2 out of 5. Going into this I was not a NIN fan and I'm still not. Hurt is a good track and Closer was played on the radio a ton but those were really the only songs I resonated with. This album, and Industrial as a whole, doesn't float my boat.

Meh album. I wasn't really into this as a whole. It's a little abrasive. There's some cool aspects and nice moments on certain songs, but I just don't vibe with it. **

Hurt is a masterpiece of a song, but unfortunately it can not carry this album

vocals too rough and shouty for me

Overly bombastic, overproduced, unnecessarily long, miserable. I think it’s the screaming ear rape vocals and screeching distorted guitars that I despise the most. There's a few good songs, 'Closer', 'Hurt', 'March Of The Pigs', a couple of others. But mostly, this is a drag after the first half an hour.

No

Legit Lärm kann Rhythmen z. T. ganz gut aber die Zusammenhänge sind mehr.

too long and didnt really clicked with it... felt like a watered washed down version of deftones tbh

The fact that I was given this the day after 'Songs in the Key of Life's is a hilarious contrast. Sixty-five minutes; too long! I can picture the exact type of person this is made for, and knew a few of them myself. I don't want to be scared to turn the volume up for the quiet bits for fear of my ears. Occasionally enjoyed listening; and of course 'Hurt' alone is enough to add a star.

No.

Pretty Hate Machine was a phenomenal album for its time, but by time Closer arrived I had lost interest in Trent Reznor. Closer was overplayed in clubs and the industrial sound of NIN wasn’t anything special.

Had to skip some songs.

I respect the art but I just can’t get into it Edit: Ok, Hurt is a fantastic record!

This album should realistically be a 5/5 based on my music taste. I just don’t like it though, I‘m sorryyyy…

Paar gute Lieder. Aber insgesamt zu metal

Mr. Self Destruct 2 Piggy 1.8 Heresy 1.5 March of the Pigs 1.6 Closer 3.4 Ruiner 2.8 The Becoming 1.7 I Do Not Want This 1.4 Big Man with a Gun 1.5 A Warm Place 2 Eraser 1.8 Reptile 2 The Downward Spiral 1.8 Hurt 3 Score: 2.021428571

In every photo of Trent Reznor he has to be looking tortured haha. I can appreciate that NIN is expressive and captures a particular mood, but I can't help but feel like it's kinda corny since he was almost in his 30s.

the industrial rock is alright, but i feel like lyrically this album is really disconcerting and not in a clever or creative way but just in a crude and thoughtless one.

Very industrial Why is this album over an hour long Techno and pianos were crazy Wayyy too long for what it is

Heresy Closer I’m bored. Looped lyrics on top of weird beats. Not a fan

So, two women that broke my heart in seemingly irreparable ways were both big NIN fans. Tried approaching this without that bias, as I do like some industrial, mainly Ministry and Killing Joke. This is fine. For as batshit as the opener goes, the second track hits the E-brake and just changes the mood entirely. Then stretch that out a bit. Really, remove the bias, I'd probably skip this anyhow. Love the Johnny Cash cover at the end though.

dislike the genre so doomed from the start

It was ok not especially musical. Enjoyed it more as it went on

While well made and I'm grateful that this album gave us the song Hurt that was covered even better by Johnny Cash, much of it is just far too vulgar, nihilistic etc. for its' own good. I regret hearing songs such as Closer and Big Man With A Gun and would warn people against listening to most of this album. The NIN album Fragile is a much better balanced reflection on darkness in my opinion.

If you're into this genre, I'm sure this is great. I'm not though, and I don't want listen all the way through this. Too much screaming and loudness. 4/10 (2/5)

not the type of song I will listen to but its ok

2/5, nie podobało mi się, ale nie na tyle, żeby wyłączyć

NIN have never really grabbed me, but not really listened to them properly before so glad this came up. I didn't enjoy it particularly, that industrial sound and the jarring noises just doesn't do it for me. There's barely any melody to cling to in any songs. Don't think I get it. Know it's highly thought of, but not for me

It’s ok but would not have made it on my list of 1000 albums.

Don't feel his voice, but nonetheless the album excited me. Those intense sounds and extreme and aprupt changes between hard and soft made it a crazy ride.

⭐️ Heresy, Hurt 🫤 Mr Self Destruct, Closer Thoughts after 43 seconds: I hate this. Wasn’t as bad in the end. Would have probably loved this at 16. Alas, not really for me anymore.

Closer is a great track! The rest is a bit meh

Although the album has some interesting and creative parts, it is not really for me. Too dark and not really a fan of the vocals.

Not my thing and rather listen to Johnny Cash’s cover of hurt than this original

Nope

I thought I liked Nine Inch Nails. I had Pretty Hate Machine in heavy rotation when it came out. I just can’t get into this as an album. It’s too depressing and heavy at times without a melody. The exceptions of course, are Closer and Hurt. Those are classics from this album but cant save the entire thing.

The album has a lot of momentum as well as moments of contemplation, but it's a bit too edgy for me. The subject matter... Yeah, sometimes I don't get down with it.

Ugh, so much cringy lyrics in this, I think Closer takes the cake. Didn't really enjoy it but something they find a cool beat and it's just ruined by cringy lyrics (using the word fuck is cool right?). Angry but in a teenage way. I liked the industrial aspects and some riffs but that's all. At least "Hurt" got a redo with "Johnny Cash" to a much better song.

Good lyrics but bad music. Pretentious shit that RYM loves to suck off.

fuck noise, do better. or dont idc. i listened to the free bird solo instead.

This album is a little out there for me, but seems very ahead of its time (or prime for its time because this was 1994 and things were shifting?). 2* 'The becoming' gives Doom vibes. 'I do not want this' was too much angry white man rock (not that I'm against it, but meh). I think I'd need many listens to follow the concept, I'm too tired today. Highlights: closer

Turns out I just don’t like NIN all that much. Stopped short when there was a loop of people screaming.

There were parts of the album I would randomly love, the music was also technically very impressive. For me though, it was just to hard on the ears. I'm not the right audience.

edgy

The first time I listened to NIN, I really didn’t care for him/them. I’ve grown more interested in industrial music since then though, but it’s interesting that this wasn’t really my gateway, considering how The Downward Spiral is one of the most accessible industrial albums I’ve heard. I can’t really pinpoint why, but it doesn’t really appeal to me. Maybe it’s because of the alternating whispered and screeched vocals of Reznor or the weird cuts from very quiet to very loud or ending the song at an odd spot. But the instrumentals are brilliant, and I’m surprised I don’t like Reznor’s origins better considering how much I love what he’s done more recently composing film soundtracks. Hell, it’s crazy that the guy who wrote lyrics like “I wanna fuck you like an animal / I wanna feel you from the inside” composed the soundtrack to a Pixar movie (Soul, which is brilliant).

Hurt is obviously very good and I probably prefer the original but the rest was a bit messy for me

Kasvoin yli tästä jo 15+ vuotta sitten.

Obviously a very heavy record. I heard Closer and Hurt often when this was current and always thought they were cool. Older (cynical?) me now sees Closer and many of the other lyrical ideas (“you don’t know just how I feel!!!!!”) adolescent and amped up to 11 for effect (shock?), perhaps rather than true artistic purpose. But, who knows, maybe that’s the art of it. But, generally, I liked the music beds and tunes with longer instrumental sections much more than the vocals and lyrics. Hurt is truly an amazing song, still.

Das Album grenzt teilweise an konzeptlosen Krach als sogenannten Industrial Rock. Dank einiger ordentlicher Stücke und Passage „A warm Place“ wurde der Platz annder roten Laterne vermieden.

Industrial rockalternative rockindustrial metal.

both the music and the edginess are boring. a Hollywoodized version of what was happening in industrial music, depoliticizing & taking out any depth from the connection to transgressive art, complete with changing the creation narrative from collaborative projects to lone genius in a mansion. perfect soundtrack for a movie where somebody goes to a vampire nightclub. the vampires are torturing and eating humans right in plain sight!! doesn't the evil decadence have so much to say about the decay of the modern world? no. it's a fuckin vampire movie. do some kinda meta analysis of edgelord culture if you want but this itself has got nothing to say. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

At least it gave us Hurt

I am certain there were radio releases by this band that I liked. Apparently none of them were from this album. This is mostly junk.

Metal

Dissonant, hard techno sound

Unfortunately, this came out during my high school years and will never not sound like angsty suburban teens. I was excited to give it another try as an adult, but just remembered sad alternative teens shout-singing “God is dead and no one cares” and it made me feel sort of embarrassed for everyone involved.

All I remember from nine inch nails as a kid was a creepy video for closer. Only ever listened to a couple of their songs. This album is all over the place, and you can tell Trent had some issues going on in his life at the time. Not the best but was and experience

I can only listen to this in small doses. A little frenetic for me

Interesting and angry

I should appreciate Trent Reznor more than I do. On every album, there are a couple of good songs, but listening to the full thing sort of beats me up.

Downward spiral is correct.

https://youtu.be/vwKSN8pSq8g?si=Q5k2hvgcFxLrG1MM

I understand its groundbreaking nature and importance to the decade, but it’s not for me

This is like the third or forth time I've tried to listen to this album. I really wanted to like it but I just don't. Reminds me of some edgy kid that just says the weirdest shit to get a reaction and thinks that makes him cool. Obviously Trent is a talented musician and lyricists sometimes but it just doesn't do it for me.

NIN just has never been my thing. Some interesting industrial sounds but everything is too drawn out and overly dramatic for my taste. Too much screaming. The sexual lyrics are just flat-out cringey and did not age well. The only song that seems introspective as opposed to masturbatory is Hurt.

2 good songs. The rest weird and too grungy.

Didn't like this.

meh, its ok

Not very into this

Industrial angst.

Interesting album. More noise pop sound than I generally prefer. The album was best from "closer" on, prior to that it struggled to capture my attention.

Twas okay…some songs hurt my brain

too negative for "every day" consumption

Not a fan of industrial rock

Awesome

I found this better than I expected. There were parts that were quite entrancing. Was it good? Unsure. Did I want to seek it out again? Kinda. I re-listened to it after realising I had finished the album without remembering it, and that happened a second time. So, its background music that I barely remember. I think I would prefer to remember it than to find it forgettable. So, what to do now, is that a 3 star or a 2 star? Let's try 2 stars for now.

Still listening to it. Pretty meh

laut, langeweilig

Too heavy, too manic

Too much distortion on a lot of the songs for my tastes. The outro of Ruiner is pretty cool. The best songs are Closer and Hurt.

I can see how alt white people love this music. I wasn't drawn to most of it, but it wasn't TOO readily skippable. Although, if I wasn't working while listening to this, it probably would have been a different story.

it’s a good thing Reznor and Ross got into movie scoring because this shit SUCKED. 2 stars because at least it was cool at times

Stoked to see this come up, never really gave this a listen before. Anthems for grumpy incels. Or, should be the soundtrack to Fight Club -- which isn't a compliment.

Know the album from growing up. It grates on me and it's not enjoyable to listen to--it wasn't back then, it definitely isn't now!

Not fun, boring.

I listened to this near the end of my 11 hour flight to Honolulu when I kind of had a headache, and that was probably not the right decision. My note from the flight was that this is "Heavy metal meets alien invasion meets video game soundtrack. The sound only parts can actually be pretty interesting though". It has moments where I get it. "Hurt" is actually a really strong closer, it's legit a great song (though it drones on a bit long at the end). It's generally pretty abrasive though, and it's a bit of a tough full listen without really being in a bit of a angsty mood. "Closer" is the most famous song on the album, and I've added it to my playlist because I feel like I have to, but frankly it's a bit much. Apparently the music video is in the permanent collection at MoMA, will have to look for it next time I'm there. On partial re-listen I also just can't quite shake the "video-game-ness" of the sound. I don't know if it's necessarily a bad thing, but something just feels a little off to me. My rating on the plane was a 2, and while I'm tempted to bump it to a 3 I think I'm going to stick with my initial reaction. I can see the appeal, and it has some strong moments, but 65 minutes of this is a bit much overall for me. I do like it more than a lot of the very hard rock that I've gotten so far though. I'm also very glad I heard "Hurt", so there's definitely a positive from this one still. Favorite song: Hurt Other: Piggy, Heresy, Closer, A Warm Place 1/4/24

Not for me. I didn’t like it in the 90s but legitimately gave it another shot. I’ll give it a start for creating this vibe of music but it sure did inspire a lot of really terrible music in its wake. This album makes me uncomfortable, much like the kids who listened it in my junior high.

It's OK not my favourite Trent Reznor work, and I doubt I'll listen to it again, but the craft is to be respected

Ik had dus echt een ziek uitgebreidde review geschreven, maar die is niet opgeslagen. Samenvatting is als volgt: Veel herrie Lang geen fan van alles. Closer is mn favo maar verder is het erg depri en boos enzo. Vond de mixing op de eerste nummers meh en ook best wel vaak dat ze eerst fluisteren en dan schreeuwen. Iets wat ik na 1 keer al gezien heb. Hurt is een goed nummer, maar ze hebben echt de pech dat ik de Johnny Cash versie best goed ken. Dat is niet een eerlijke vergelijking, die verliezen ze keihard. FAVO: Closer

Sorry. Not my music…

Someone sleep w this man and put him out of us misery

It's just totally fine. Nothing I'll return to, but I didn't hate it, so

Noisy and irritating. Some familiarity with Closer and Hurt but I wasn't touched by any others.

Tô ligado que influenciou várias bandas e pa sei o que lá mas é sofrível de ouvir, com alguns raros lampejos

jo wtf wieso so lut jo wtf wieso so lieslig wtf isch dynamik vo brickwall zu noise level zu brickwall wa lauft mit eu, sind mini chopfhörer kabut?? Also, ich bin kein fan vo Mr. Self Destruct sein Mixing. Piggy fangt gad nomol mit z lislige vocals ah. Die lislig synth (?) melodie gfallt mir, de rest inkl. de Schlagzügstuff nöd sehr. Heresy: Vocals am afang wieder weird gmixt, wenns luut wird, wirds besser. Tönt nice. Aber alles isch so lut! Die nögste Lieder gfallet mir au, aber de mix verstohni immerno nöd. Closer goht recht hert solangs nur es paar luuti instrument sind. Geg de schluss wirds chli kabutter, aber au weniger schön für mich. De Jack Stratton het gfroget: Does mixing matter? jo mega i wött das nöd lose

Not my jam

Very industrial sounding. heavy use of distorting sounds. can be unpleasant for many to listen to. Not unlike Death Grips.

It's weird how much of my musical life has been Nine Inch Nails adjacent while not really listening to them. I'm intrigued and will listen to more, but immediate impression was "yeah, I know why I didn't gravitate towards Nine Inch Nails".

Closer is very good, but the industrial noise is in the rear view mirror for me.

Maaaaan. I wish I liked this album. I’m just not an industrial fan. The sound really ruined it for me. Lyrics/vocals were decent but I was honestly glad when it was over. Please forgive me for this rating.

There were some bits that I liked, Piggy was great. But I often found it too abrasive, and found myself hoping songs would be over soon. Great soundtrack for a serial killer.

I might've just not been in the right mood for this, but it was just way too noisy and chaotic for me. I do recognize why this album is so respected though as there were a LOT of cool sounds annd production throughout the entire thing. Doesn't seem like my thing now, I do want to give it another listen in the future though.

Not my style, never really was. I tried but just couldn’t get into it. It’s not terrible though & Hurt is iconic so.. 2/5

NIN never does it for me. Album did not age well.

I do not like industrial metal. I hear the brilliant songwriting, but I did not enjoy the brilliant songwriting.

I don’t like them

Ok New sound to me Liked the first song quite alot Rest not as much Too long

- industrial rock really is what it sounds like - a little too edgy for me - “god is dead” song - I can see why social conservatives didn’t like the lyrics lol - I’m not against some of it sonically but it’s not my cup of tea lyrically or the voice - it’s basically repeated whispering over a decent electronic rock beat - the becoming is the most decent song - why is the best instrumental muffled - didn’t realize Johnny cash was covering hurt in the previous album

I did not care for this album there was more screaming than I remember with Nine Inch Nails may comeback and try it again not first thing in the morning

Good industrial rock, the lyrics were lacking for me though. Favorite song was Ruiner

"Industrial" rock. Heavy, distorted sounds with big, echoey beats.

1. Mr. Self Destruct - very loud and heavy production, not loving it. 2. Piggy - i don't mind this one as much, it's less loud and i like the vocals. 3. Heresy - it's an ok sound 4. March of the Pigs - this one is a little less industrial. 5. Closer - i do not like the lyrics very much at all, so I skipped. 6. Ruiner - I like the sound of this one more. 7. The Becoming - didn't really like this one. 8. I Do Not Want This - don't mind this one, but a little long 9. Big Man with a Gun - again i dislike the lyrics and sound 10. A Warm Place - this was a nice break from the aggressive sound and it did well to break it up. 11. Eraser - skipped 12. Reptile - skipped 13. The Downward Spiral - skipped 14. Hurt - i didnt mind this one. Overall, it's an interesting sound but not my style, it's a little too loud and aggressive for me (which I know industrial sounds are) but some of them were ok and definitely very influential. the lyrics also don't resonate with me at all. towards the end i got sick of it, not for me.

Too much screaming for my taste.

Not really a fan of how screamy it gets, nor am I particularly fond of the emo sad vibe. However, it does kind of go crazy in some select moments and I like most of the instrumental parts, so I give it a 1.5, leaning towards 2.

I like the music more than the vocals. But overall, this is not really for me. Much as with RATM, I'm not saying this is bad, just not my thing.

Honest answer? Some interesting stuff but not my thing.

They do their thing and do it well. I just dont like it. Cover of "hurt" was most listentoable

2. I might have liked this had I first listened to it some years ago, but for now, it's just too angry-sounding for my taste. Turned it off after a few songs.

did not connect

Just ok on this album. I tried to like NIN when their first album came out. For industrial metal I'd rather listen to Ministry any day.

Not my fav

Just not my style

noise but not the good kind

Industrial rockalternative rockindustrial metal.

Solid, but I've never found NIN remotely enjoyable to listen to.

Tja, wat moet een mens hier nou weer mee? Een brij ruwe klanken, van ver weg over een oude telefoon ingezongen teksten, ik lees dat dit 'industrial rock' is, en inderdaad heeft het dat gruizige van een verlaten fabriekshal. Maar er is een reden dat de fabriek verlaten is, vrees ik.

Muzikaal misschien zo gek nog niet. Maar er wordt wel overdreven vaak gebruik gemaakt van ruis. Het is het ruige rock equivalent van bijvoorbeeld PJ Harvey, vooral bedoeld om artiest en luisteraar te helpen aan een kunstimago.

Sounds like Trent wrote the lyrics for these songs after getting stood up at the freshmen high school dance, sat on them for 15 years and said "Nah, this is perfect" and then made this album.

Nö

Wurde gegen später besser aber bis dahin Ohrenschmerzen. Mix wieder für die Tonne

Music for skinheads to do speed to while they consider their music taste to be peculiar.

Seemed a lot cooler and more transgressive when it came out. Really hard to tell what’s going on lyrically. The hi hat, on “closer” in particular, is grating.

Not really my thing

Much respect to the art and craft of this but it’s not my particular flavor of aggression. I'm sure its raw power is cathartic for a lot of fans but it’s a little exhausting for me. The album is mostly industrial beats, feedback-heavy guitar and screamed vocals about being horny and doubting the existence of god. Sure, hell yeah, man, go for it. But I’ll personally pass on this. “Closer” is a classic though and the one track I need off this album.

Never been a fan of NIN for some reason, could never seen to get into them.

Someone on Reddit recommended these guys to me (and it got 160 upvotes): "Also based on those same bands plus liking Yes and Kansas, I bet you'd dig the Nine Inch Nails discography. Spans the gamut of musical styles of rock and was often placed side-by-side with Radiohead in 90s music articles discussing bands that could "flirt with mainstream success while being groundbreaking and unique". Still a relevant band today, since the two main members recently won an Oscar and a Grammy for their soundtrack work on movies like The Social Network and Pixar's Soul. Don't ignore the second release, Broken, just because it's an EP. Ditto the three most recent releases, the "EP trilogy". The discography spans from 1989-Present and has 11 albums/EPs you'd want to hit." After this album, I'm not sure he's right that I'd like them. But I'm down to give another try one day

I can’t lie I don’t really understand nine inch nails. I listened to this album and felt like it was trying to sound super dark and edgy but it was just kind of goofy and even made me laugh a little. Not an album that I’ll come back to (maybe because it’s so long) but I know a lot of people consider it a masterpiece.

mmm un po' deprimente, mmmmm un po' inquietante, pure Hurt, finché non l'ha rifatta Johnny Cash non era niente di che

Not for me

Ewwww

Too angry for me

There were a couple times during this album I could feel myself getting into the chaos that NIN was slinging, but for the most part it's not my cuppa tea. Reminds me of Twisted Metal. Is this Math Rock?

Bunch of noise which I was hoping would turn into something epic but that never came

I don’t really like this. I strongly disliked the first 3 tracks, but somehow enjoyed the next two tracks (March of pigs & closer) quite a bit. The tracks afterward were either a miss or just unremarkable to me, with the exception of “hurt” which was another one of the songs that I actually enjoyed. The album has this interesting cyberpunk vibe to it & is super experimental, which I respect & when it hit, it hit. It just didn’t hit often enough for me.

Not my thing

I have always respected NIN for what they did for Pop culture, but I could never quite grasp their style. On paper it has all of the elements of music I like but put together it is always disappointing or disjointed. This is an album that I'll always want to listen to and want to enjoy but I don't see it being an album that I love. 2.5

I don’t know who the audience is for this but it sure ain’t me. Hurt is of course a classic but doesn’t make up for the aimless cacophony of the first hour.

I understand why they call this genre so industrial. Sounds like you’re in a factory and not wearing ear protection. Too much noise and not enough melody for me.

First time I had pretty hate machine I really liked it. I bought the album. I listened to it a lot. I've not listened to it for ages, but I'm assuming I'd still like it. This is far more industrial and not particularly appealing, to me. Was enjoying eraser and then halfway through it just stops and turns into something completely different, like someone messing around on garage band. Struggling with the first listen, don't think I'll be returning for a second listen. No redeeming features.

Weird

Bit too eclectic to really draw me in tbh. If it was given it more time it may have climbed to a 3. Johnny Cash version of Hurt is maybe 5x better than the original

Metal heads get bored of metal. Interesting enough, can see why people think it’s great, but not entirely for me. 2.5/5

Interesting at times but 65 minutes of harshness is too much.

When I was getting into metal and rock, I thought synth was the enemy and poo-poo’d NIN. By the time I got over my biases, they were a little too mainstreamy for my liking and I struggled to get into them. I… still don’t get it. It’s like Trent Reznor wants Skinny Puppy’s credit but also wants to be as big as a new wave act, and the sounds don’t work for me. Also, “Hurt” has really embarrassing lyrics and only works with a Johnny Cash to class it up. D

I was never a fan of Nine Inch Nails, however, my music tastes have changed since I last gave them a chance, so maybe there's hope? Nope, I still can't stand Trent Reznor's angst ridden wailing. You hear of people talking about albums that have a "wall of sound" effect to them. This record has a "wall of distortion and noise" effect which is so bad, it washes everything else out. No idea what Trent was wailing about throughout most of the album. The production value on this record is super low. Some parts are so low that you have to turn your stereo up to hear what's going on, then all of a sudden they kick everything into overdrive and you go deaf for 5-6 minutes (I'd take being deaf over listening to this horseshit any day). Why does Trent find it important to whisper into the microphone, and then immediately afterwards shout into it? You're a singer, so sing ffs. This whole album goes through spells of sounding like it was recorded underwater. Also, when they are finished a song, it just ends....like running into a brick wall....no fade out, no nothing, just DONE!! I spent the 6 minute runtime of the song Hurt wishing I was listening to the Johnny Cash cover version. This version sucks ass. Industrial Rock is basically just electronica, but heavier, which explains why I was never a fan of the genre, because I hate electronica too. Overall, a difficult listen today. Trent needs to cheer the fuck up. Will I ever listen again? No. Does it belong on this list? Probably. Favorite songs: Closer, Heresy, Hurt Least favorite songs: Eraser, A Warm Place, and most of the rest of this depressing dumpster fire. 2/5

“She spreads herself wide open To let the insects in She leaves a trail of honey To show me where she’s been She has the blood of a reptile Just underneath her skin Seeds from a thousand others Drip down from within Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure” “Got me a big old dick and I, I like to have fun Held against your forehead, well, I’ll make you suck it Maybe I’ll put a hole in your head, you know, just for the fuck of it Well I can reduce you if I want, I can devour I’m hard as fucking steel, I’ve got the power I’m every inch a man and I’ll show you somehow Me and my fucking gun, nothing can stop me now Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, I’m gonna come all over you” This came out before I was born and I’d never heard any of Nine Inch Nails’ stuff before though I had heard of the band. So no nostalgic influence here. Honestly I quite like the sound of the songs on this (I like loud wall of sound music most of the time) but the lyrics were either ridiculous or disgusting 90% of the time. Like “poetry” written by a angsty teenage incel who thinks objectifying women and hating the world is super edgy and makes them superior to everyone else. It even ruins their hit song “Closer”. Was unsurprised to discover this album and this artist are linked to some truly horrible individuals. It just doesn’t really hold up lyrically in this day and age. There’s nothing subversive or edgy about misogyny or male sexual violence, guys. Best tracks: Hurt (excellent), Closer (despite the lyrics), Reptile (despite the lyrics), A Warm Place (fortunately no lyrics) Worst tracks: I Do Not Want This, Big Man With A Gun 2.5 rounded down, could have been a 4 with different lyrics!

I hate industrial metal

I forgot I experienced this album. Based on the opening track, I thought, "F this sh*t bro why do I still do this to myself." As much as I wanted to give this a 1, I wasn't cringing at every moment. It basically means I affirm that banging on undisclosed, non-conventional-instrumental objects and shrieking fervently is considered valid music. That's pretty pathetic.

I thought my speaker was broken. They’d be whispering to the point where I understand none of it, then I turn the volume up slightly and they’re screaming at me 3 seconds later. I felt slightly violated, like that time with Father John. I actually thought I would like this album at first but it disappointed me much more than words can describe. Industrial rock is not a genre, it’s just screaming over leaky pipes. I can go to any low income housing complex to hear that.

they tried really hard to make me not like this music. “You did please me some of the time.”

Dissapointed

This was a tough one to get through for me. I tend to avoid “noisy” music that provokes visceral reactions. Where would I see myself listening to this? The future, after society has collapsed and I’m battered and torn and in my welding shop crafting weapons to stave off bandits. For that reason, and also because there’s no other music left and I have no choice.

It feels..... It feels like I'm in a garbage can that's on fire and being beaten by chains and hammers in the middle of an iron ore refinery in a prison colony on a moon of Jupiter. Was that the intent? The grunge and distortion on that guitar are grating - I'm just not that angry. Closer is a weird song(watch the music video), but I do like it I think you have to be in the mood to listen to NIN and I'm rarely there anymore.

- Mr. Self Destruct: Loud but I guess is the point of the song. 5/10 - Piggy: Very good listen. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Bass is really catchy. 8.5/10 - Heresy: Pretty good song. Kinda like the distortion sound of it 7/10. - March Of The Pigs: Liked the parts where the influence came down. 6/10 - Closer: Verses sound good. Very groovy song. Like the industrial sound of it. 8/10 - Ruiner: 80 vibes. Okay overall. 6/10 - The Becoming: Instrumentals are nice. 5/10 - I Do Not Want This: Not feeling this one. Okay. 4/10 - Big Man With A Gun: Okay. Instrumentals are nice. 5/10 - A Warm Place: Nice instrumental track. 6/10 - Eraser: Okay. 5/10 - Reptile: Okay. 5/10 - The Downward Spiral: Liked the first half. 5/10 - Hurt: A good song. I like Johnny's cover more however. I still appreciate the original. 7/10 Final thoughts: Not a bad album overall. Not my personal taste however. Felt some parts dragged on a bit and some was too loud for my taste. I liked the theme (?) of the album and could really sense this person's downward spiral and felt they did a good job in conveying that feeling especially through the instrumentals and lyrics.

sick

I like the one song; but who doesn’t?

Perustasoltaan noin kakkosta. Jahkailusta ja kuiskalusta miinusta yksi tähti. Hurtista plus yksi tähti.

p748. 1994. 2 stars. Unpleasantly, shouty noise with the occasional whimpering. There is not much to like here. Bonus point for Hurt. Oh, and Johnny Cash's cover is the definitive version, Trent.

This sub-genre of rock is just dreadful. It sounds so bad, there is no concept to the songwriting other than a deliberate attempt to sound unconventional which just irritates me.

While the concept album conveyed the angst and dreary feeling of the story very well, the music itself was just not for me. Heavily distorted, at times hard to even understand the lyrics and songs that were long and often without highlights

3+

Som sandpapir mot ørene.

I didn't really vibe with it

Can do without this in my life, although the songs and music got better over the length of the album.

Dokladnie jak mowi tytul ta plyta to istna spirala w czelusci industrialnej muzyki, wiec jednego z moich ulubionych gatunkow, ktory dokonal syntezy elektronicznego klikania i wyjcowania rodem z metalowych krazkow, ale spirala jest na tyle dluga, ze znajdzie sie kilka sluchalnych trakow, jak chocby piggy, albo nawet nie trakow tylko fragmentow utworow, bo sa to kompozycje mocno chaotyczne, ale tez roznorodne jednoczesnie, bo otwieranie ostra gitara, przejscie elektronikowe zeby skonczyc spokojnym woklaem w akompaniamencie akustyka, wiec zdecydowanie udalo sie uchwycic motyw rozpadu czlowieka i kontemplementacje autodestrukcji, bo jest to album konceptowy, a koncept jest zawarty juz w samym tytule, wiec 65 minut grania na 14 kawalkach, pomysl ciekawy, ale raczej nie puscilbym sobie tego drugi raz, bo industraialne brzmienie nadal nie jest moja bajka, a najlepiej brzmi wlasnie w bajkach lub gierkach jesli tak sobie pomysle, na plejke dodam wspomniany utwor piggy, chyba klawiaturka odmawia wspolpracy, wiec prjekt pojdzie na mrozenie do czasu wyczyszczenia

Trent Rezner is an incredible writer, performer and arranger. This album I'm not a big fan of. I do enjoy plenty of his other stuff. There's a big difference in this album from his other stuff.

Rock industrial. Una mierda bastante gorda.

Unnecessary.

DNF

I'm guessing a good chunk of the world believes that Johnny Cash wrote "Hurt". We shouldn't correct them. The Man In Black, in his dying days, didn't just take Trent Reznor's song and make it his own. It's the equivalent of sleeping with another man's wife - with his blessing, no leas - and developing such a deep love that she ultimately forgets her first husband even existed. And it's not like Reznor's version is horrible. It's just not what Rick Rubin and Johnny Cash found in the song. Don't cry for Trent Reznor though. He still "owns" Closer until he lets someone else sleep with that wife, too. Besides, Nine Inch Nails are overrated.

Hurt, as done by Johnny Cash, makes me wanna cry. The arrangement and voice know how to evoke emotion. It is beautiful. The original also makes me wanna cry. But for the reason that it just does not have that same impact. The only song that I can say I liked on here was A warm place. There was no singing on it which perhaps says it all. I still love the song Hurt but as sometimes happens, the cover surpasses the original and makes you never want to revisit the progenitors. There were some nice background tunes but they lost me when Trent Reznor started singing. But for the fact that Hurt exists at all I give it a 2.

Boring, juvenile and quite irritating

If power tools started a band. Sounded like what would play at the Zoolander Derelicte fashion show. Too chaotic for me

The epitome of "this just isn't for me". Too dark, too raw, too intense... I could go on and on. Definitely creative and unlike anything I have heard before, but mostly in a bad way from my perspective. It just came across as mostly noise as tracks such as 'Mr. Self Destruct' and 'Ruiner' were nearly unlistenable. I'd describe it all as hardcore, industrial, emo dubstep grunge (too accurate IMO). I can respect it for taking chances, but I don't see it being a positive influence to the genre overall as it's just too weird. The best moments on the album were when it slowed down a bit: 'A Warm Place' was a highlight in terms of how it felt more grounded/mature. I found that this song definitely showed the potential that Trent Reznor had for doing soundtracks that he would excel at in the future. This was also my first time hearing the original version of 'Hurt'; while it is an amazingly written song, the version on here has terrible production and pales in comparison to what Johnny Cash did with it a few years later. Overall, I just don't relate to this one and have no need to come back to it despite how well the band/album is regarded. 2/5.

Not my thing.

really not my thing

Mostly industrial, noisy and abrasive, but there are several synth pop and more conventional songs that aren’t too bad (notably Closer and the original of Hurt that Johnny Cash later made his own). Far far better than Ministry or Marylyn Manson. Still not sure about all the praise - one of the important albums of the 1990s? No!

Spurði @kalliogidilo fyrifram hvað ég myndi gefa þessari plötu. Vorum sammála um tvist (sorrý, Bowie). Sumar útsetningar töff, en það er of mikið öskrað í filter og ekkert gleður, kannski ekki tilgangurinn, en ég vil þetta ekki.

c'était le moment de passer l'aspirateur

Don't understand why this was so popular. Kinda trash

I appreciate some NIN but this album wasn’t for me.

Unremarkable

I dig the industrial sound of the album but I don't care for lyrics. They are repetitive and edgy, in a way that 14 year old me would probably relate to.

Bit too intense for me

I've tried listening to this album before, never could get into it. Closer is a great track. Not a fan of the screaming or abrasiveness for some reason, especiallt attached to self loathing or sad boy lyrics.

I'm not a fan of industrial or metal, but this is more melodic than I thought it would be, with some ambient tracks thrown in as well. I guess he was lining up his soundtrack career. Still not a fan.

i really couldnt get into this. i think the mixing is weird enough that it just didnt work for me, i didnt enjoy it

Not for me, Clive. A couple of good moments - more towards the end of the album than the beginning - but not my cup of tea. It mostly fits well together (although there are a couple of jarring moments), and there's a bit of variety in there, but it's a bit too grim. There are a couple of tracks on there which are really unpleasantly sexual, and the guy needs to pick and choose where to swear better. I imagine NIN don't get compared to Ice Cube much, but I felt similarly after listening to his album - a bit gross. 2/5. Did like Ruiner though.

ik noget fedt

I really dislike NIN.

Just not my jam. The songs I like are great, and several hit hard and are memorable, but overall I'm just not one for the industrial music vibe, at least not yet. The songs that I did like were "Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)", "Closer", "Ruiner", "Eraser", "The Downward Spiral", and "Hurt".

This was all just a bit nothing.

nah, shouldn't be on this list

Caught between the push-pull of the harder industrial tones and attempts at enveloping melody, this LP ends up feeling disjointed and a bit unpolished. There could have been great synergy between these two goals, but each song tends to lean so hard one way or the other it's hard to find this a cohesive product rather than a grab bag of ideas thrown together. Throw a 14-year old's version of "edgy" lyrics on top and this one just feels misguided and half-baked.

A big NO from the first track. 2 minutes are already too much. The album cover is intereting tho.

Absolutely not my type of music. I really struggled to listened to this. At least it inspired a good Weird Al song. 1.5/5

Boumboum du numetal avec des bruits ambiant

Really wasn't in the mood for this. Mostly just boring edgelord music that I couldn't connect with. Johnny Cash did "Hurt" better, but I think even Trent Reznor agrees with that. Still can't believe they named the Mario rhino that spits fire after that guy. Seriously, the rhino from Super Mario World that spins on a windmill and spits fire at you is officially called Reznor in the Mario canon. I get naming the turtle with Beethoven hair "Ludwig", but who in the Nintendo localization team looked at a fire rhino and said "This gives me Trent Reznor vibes".

Heavy. This album is so heavy. Not really my style, but Hurt is a great song. 3/10

Two really great songs, the rest are ok. 2/5.

I've come round a bit on NIN but still just not for me

Прикольно но не для меня.

hard screamo in some songs kinda liked 3 songs for the drums, rest is not quite my taste. It is one to have listened though Some fun sound experiments

- A bit dark and dreary for my liking - The types of sounds they use is kind of interesting, not just the guitar/drum instruments (e.g. screams in backgrounds in "the becoming", some wind or synth sounds in "the downward spiral")

This is not my thing.

I really want to like NIN but they've always been too inaccessible for me and I don't feel like I have the time to immerse myself through multiple listens. I'll get there one day... Maybe. For now, rating on my personal enjoyment, I'll give it 2 stars. But 2 of those are earned purely by the brilliance of Hurt.

I suspect that full appreciation of The Downward Spiral requires an ability to access your inner enraged thirteen old. For me, Trent Reznor's carefully cultivated bleakness seems a bit on the nose. I tend to appreciate more what's going on in the margins, i.e. the ambient industrial textures, which are often masterful, rather than the songs themselves, which combine jackhammer dance beats with agro posturing recorded deep in the red. Unfortunately, the ambient pleasures of The Downward Spiral are incidental. The overriding vibe of this album is, as Rolling Stone would have it, "tortured death disco howl." Sorry to plagiarize, but I couldn't possibly improve on that description. Anyway, this is the sort of thing they use to abuse political prisoners at Guantanamo. Pass. Okay, I actually did kind of like Closer, but I prefer Rezner's soundtrack work, especially on Se7en.

Full disclosure: there was no point in the last 72 hours to fully listen to this album. I was busy, but not too busy. There was free time in the early morning, or between meetings, or in the relaxing evening, or casually tinkering around on projects on the weekend, but there's no goddamn way I'm playing NIN in any of those times. I'm sure this album is great, and with a careful listen could be considered a masterpiece. I've been surprised to see Trent Reznor's name pop up on a few good film scores as well. A proper review would use describe NIN "uncomprimising" and that's inspiring to me - I can't comprimise any free time with this album. C https://open.spotify.com/track/2b73Q6Kl8Gh6Brb40lpLcr?si=46d6aa6d5a5c47e9

Not for me - I don't need this level of angst in my life right now.

Turns out I dont care Nine Inch Nails. One well known song. I don't feel the need to listen to this album again.

Industralistische/elektronische metal wat mij te edgy is en niet aanspreekt

Не для меня жанр, но не так плохо.

UFF ya vi que es un disco doble y me da un poco de paja. No esta mal, sonido mega industrial. Me cuesta un poco igual dejar los temas completos ya que se tornan bastante repetitivos en algun punto. Un puntito mas porque tiene el tema de la peli Natural Born Killers. Pero sinceramente no pude escuchar ni un tema entero. Not for me

i like trent and atticus but. no

Not for me...noisy

Too depressing

LOUD NOISES - Cash did Hurt better

Meh. Didn't like 'em in the 90s. Have not changed my mind

I used to love NIN as a teenager. I think it is good in place and time, but at this time in my life, I'm not a huge fan, but can appreciate the influence this album has had on the history of music in general.

I'm sad I judged this album by it's name and cover. It had some decent tracks. Still not my thing, but not the worst thing I've listened to by a long shot.

Was ok. Closer and Hurt are absolute classics, but I'd probably skip the other tracks if I heard them come on.

I enjoyed more of this than I expected. There are some rather well put together industrial rock songs that are high energy and have a good melody. I don't really like the dramatic shifts in quiet moments to brutally loud moments though. Favorite song: Mr. Self Destruct

Forrest Gump

nicht meine Musik

Too hard for me but I like two of the songs.

Yeah different but no depth to this

idk- the mixing of this album drives me nuts. Can't really hear anything without pumping the volume. unless... that's the point? feels like I need to explore this one again later

A bit difficult to use as background music during a workday

Pretty unpleasant but I did hear some interesting/cool stuff. Did not finish :/

Kinda painful to listen to, but not downright awful?

5

The classic noisiy and dirty sound that NiN. Contains the original "Hurt", which later world famous because of the cover that Johnny Cash made

I absolutely love Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' scores for the social network, mid90s and soul. I put it on as background music when I read. This album, not so much.

Gotta be honest, didn’t really dig this one. There were some good moments, but really not my style. Favorite tracks: “Piggy” and “Hurt”

Meh. It's an iconic sound, of this era. Don't find it very appealing overall.

französische the rasmus - 2

Disappointed

Hard to listen to at times. Not really my cup of tea.

I'm so sorry Andrew. I listen to this album and think "Oh I should be liking this" but for some reason I don't. It makes me feel empty inside because I don't think I felt anything listening to this. The ideas are good, and if someone were to describe this music, I would probably be interested in listening to it. But for some reason I can't get into it at all. Overall, I'd give this album 3.5 inches / 9

I liked 2 songs on this album, the rest was pretty much noise to me.

Meh

I’m not gonna lie I started and wasn’t feeling it rip

perhaps more industrial than I had bargained on. few bangers, but not really my cuppa - C

Do you enjoy the sound of someone scratching their fingernails on a holographic placemat? What about someone screaming loudly into a cheap toy megaphone? If so this album is for you. Unfortunately it's not for me,this album gave me a headache. Fav songs are Hurt and Heresy Perfect music to annoy anyone around

Have always liked Hurt but Johnny Cash's cover is legendary. Otherwise not too big a fan.

I would never intentionally listen to this again.

Innovative to be sure, but a lot of the songs i just dont like, Closer and Hurt are great (Johnny Cash's version is better)

Not a fan. Industrial music has never been my forte

Not my cup of joe

troche za potezne dla mnie pozdro

Some cool moments in there. Like the sounds of some of the songs. The pigs one is the best so far. Difficult to keep listening to though. Didn't finish lol

Basically a good album but sometimes it's too much noise for me.

Edgelord electro-rammstein

Didn’t listen this go ‘round, but I remember looking some of it

Känner att det passar mer som atmosfärisk soundtrack till en film än något man sätter på för att lyssna på några bra låtar. Men blev inspirerad att lyssna på lite system of a down iaf!

Not my cup of tea

Did not finish. Only giving 2 stars for interesting industrial-electronic sounds.

Listened before

Could possibly grow on me.

This is not how I wanted my return to this project after a two month break to sound like.

Can you make a negative star review?

Not my music taste at all so didn't get it, just seems like music for people in a dark place First album I've had to skip, and that was after 3 tunes, shite

This album angsty as hell bro. Made me anxious just sitting at my desk at work. Hurt was aight, J Cash did it better tho. 1.5/5

first immediate skip. not for me (how can a song make you feel queasy)

Heard it before and I've never been a fan of NIN. This is not even good industrial music, it's just noise and Trent either screaming his ass off in an unpleasant way or mumbling something to a softer instrumental. And the synth in Ruiner sounds just like Hot on the Heels of Love by Throbbing Gristle? I could never get why people love NIN so much. American industrial music is never good, this type of music has to come from a place like Germany to sound authentic. And fuck Trent for recording this album at Cielo Drive and being weird about it. Getting this album a day before the anniversary of the murders is a joke 1/5

Horrible, anxiety-inducing noise. It's like sandpaper in my ears. Why so angry?

Very bad

Hated it

Жуть какая-то, с большим трудом можно назвать это музыкой, лишь благодаря паре-тройке песен.

I had heard so much praise about this album for years, so I went in with high expectations. Man, what a disappointment. To me, this is pure shit — genuinely unlistenable. While listening I felt mostly annoyed and bored. The sound is noisy, repetitive, and miserable in the most unpleasant way. The production tries to be dark and intense but just ends up being exhausting and empty. Even the famous song “Hurt” couldn’t save it for me. The only good thing about that track are the lyrics, and even then, thank God Johnny Cash came along and made the real masterpiece version. Trent Reznor’s original feels weak in comparison. His songwriting skills feel very overrated to me. This album is the kind of thing I might have liked when I was 10 years old and thought being “dark” was automatically cool. Now, in more conscious years, I regret every second I spent listening to this garbage. If you want the real emotional power of “Hurt,” just go straight to Johnny Cash’s version and skip this entirely.

this is not for me

Wow! What a happy chap…not for me musically. Too aggressive and negative.

Not for me, too chaotic and, for me, elements of non musical noise.

nope

not my thing

Not for me, glad others can appreciate it.

Tää oli hirveetä paskaa jo nuorempana ja ei oo parantunu siitä yhtään, ehkä jopa päinvastoin. Ei pystyny ees kuuntelee biisejä kokonaan.

No olihan ihan sietämätöntä paskaa. Mä en löytänyt tästä mitään tarttumapintaa.

I like some of Trent Reznor's other projects, but this is just bullshit. You hate everyone and everything including yourself? This album is for you.

It's Fucking noise

wow this was just not up my alley at all. The only saving grace I can think of for this album was that it wasn’t any longer than hour

Not for me. There were moments, but overall, not my jam