Reviews (page 2 of 13)
Moody, intricate, complex, with underlying dance synth vibes. NIN captures the dark turn from 80s flair so perfectly, and it endures.
J'étais persuadé que ce groupe c'était du métal, j'avais jamais écouté et j'ai vraiment bien apprécié. Un sacré mélange de sonorités entre electro, hardcore, même phonk !? Vraiment à la limite du 5
This has its ups and downs but I will say, every song has at least a piece of it that makes it interesting and worth a listen. You have to like industrial and darker toned music to really appreciate this. Just the video for Hurt is enough to make this album better than mediocre. I’ve heard it a million times but why not listen with a critical ear for once. Choice cut: Hurt
What an out the gate album. Abrasive, jarring, fucking creepy record. Teenage me would’ve loved this album. There’s a strange energy to this record which reminds me of the museum of death in Los Angeles. There’s this culture I’ve experienced, and I’ve felt it mostly during my times in LA- that seems to almost glorify or be morbidly fascinated with the violent, dark, degrading side of humanity and turns it into a cultural aesthetic. This album feels like that to me. This focus on the darkest and scariest side of a human. Philosophically I can get down with that. But overindulging in that space, for me, puts me in a weird frame of mind and isn’t a place I like to visit often. That being said, there’s value in confronting the uncomfortably morbid parts of yourself and life, it’s why people get obsessed with serial killers. This record seems to indulge in, and is inspired by those aspects of humanity/culture. Using it to create edge. Because of that spiel, I find it hard to rate this album. As a piece of art, or a one off experience I find it confronting, uncomfortable, cathartic, creative in its production and sound, but it’s certainly not pleasant. In terms of relistenability, I likely wouldn’t touch it for enjoyment, more maybe for fascination, craft or technique, kinda like how one can appreciate Francis bacons paintings but wouldn’t hang it in the living room. That’s how I feel about this record. I can hear this records influence onwards in many later records. But yeah a viscerally uncomfortable, unsettling and morbid album- that has creative innovation and depth, but who’s lense focuses in on the dark. There’s a feeling of morbid mystique to this record. A cult like, cult album. But not something I’d chuck on whilst I’m at the beach. Hurt is probably one of my favourite songs of all time. Gorgeous song. So gets some extra points for that.
It's fun to listen to an album that had an explicit purpose that nails it. This isn't something I'd listen to regularly (I'm not in that phase of my life anymore, thankfully) but there was a time that it would've been on loop. Hurt hits a lot harder within the context of a full listen.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS- # 3 How was this created by the same brain child as the kid that provided backing keyboards to Slam Bamboo? Trent must have stumbled across some Skinny Puppy…and thank God he did for us to be gifted this astounding musical achievement! 🎧 Classic Track- Closer 🎧 Hidden Gem- A Warm Place 🎧 Personal Favorite- Hurt For a non metal head, this album was much more accessible than anticipated to keep my full attention throughout the layers complex arrangements of emotional depth in Trent’s lyrical overarching conceptual theme. However dark and unsettling the subject matter is, the messages resonate strongly. 🖼️ Album Artwork: Top marks! 💿 Definitely add to your vinyl collection! Click the thumbs up icon below if you enjoyed my take on the album :)
Listening to this record in 2024, I’m struck by the thought that I may have been dealing with some kind of undiagnosed depression as a 13 year old in 1994. I was obsessed with this back then. Or maybe it was just that I had never heard anything else like it and I was just the right age to tune into its bleak and nihilistic aggression. Either way, the first half of The Downward Spiral is decidedly stronger than the back half and I recall listening to those first 6 or 7 songs a lot back then and skipping around songs at the end of this album. 4 stars because of nostalgia, but this record is probably a little longer than it really needs to be - It kind of starts grating on you after a while.
Having an industrial noise rock tune from a depressive album like this become a sex anthem is a pretty good job.
I guarantee that there are very few people in this world who could recall (let alone quote) this, but once upon a time, I actually said to someone, "I used to listen to NIN - Pretty Hate Machine was the best. But Trent sold out, man. The Downward Spiral Sucks." I look back upon those days and I simply wish there had been a wiser man around who could have caned me for my ignorance. I have to admit that of all the things that shame me in my life (and there are quite a few), this was one of the big ones. However, as usual, I am going off track.
4 Not the first album to chronicle a nervous breakdown - Pink Floyd’s The Wall had done so 15 years prior (and 20 spots ago on this list) - but the first to do so so viscerally and aggressively. If you weren’t prone to a breakdown before listening, you probably are now. This album is violent, and it was created in a setting of violence. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote and recorded this entire album at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, CA - also known as the home that actress Sharon Tate and three of her friends were brutally murdered in by members of the Manson Family. And while those violent themes may be off-putting for some, somehow they’re blended with a cross-genre fusion of industrial music and introspective lyrics in such a way that, regardless of your typical musical taste, it’s hard not to find the album compelling, or even borderline catchy at times. While crude, lines like “God is dead/And no one cares/If there is a Hell/I’ll see you there” and “I wanna fuck you like an animal/I wanna feel you from the inside/I wanna fuck you like an animal/My whole existence is flawed/You get me closer to God” are about as catchy as the industrial genre can get. Speaking of the latter, despite its outright vulgarity (or maybe because of it), Closer is one of the best and most enjoyable songs here, second probably only to Hurt. However, because of the song’s success as a single, many see it as a glorification of primal sex and completely miss the contextual emphasis on self-loathing and mutilative tendencies. Honestly, I’m not sure which is better. On a slightly lighter note, I wrote this song in as a submission for my high school’s graduating class song. It didn’t win. The back half isn’t quite as strong as the first, though it does a great job of maintaining the palpably hopeless atmosphere throughout, ultimately culminating into one of the single best and most painful closings of an album of all-time in Hurt. And I’m sorry, but I have to say it - the original is better than Johnny Cash’s. Johnny Cash’s version is excellent and especially impactful when paired with the music video, but there's a well-crafted feeling of isolation in Nine Inch Nails’ version that evokes a sense of utter despair so well. I know Cash’s version isn’t necessarily meant to convey the same message or feeling, so maybe it’s not fair to compare the two, but ultimately the NIN version is the one I found myself coming back to more frequently. Great album, but not the kind you return to often (or at least I hope you don’t). Happy birthday, Dad!!
I didn't properly appreciate Nine Inch Nails until a few years ago but I now think they/he are excellent. The sound design is always first rate. There's a lot of noise but that's usually underpinned by a strong groove or melody. Definitely music to get lost in. And obviously it's bleak AF, so there's points for that... I'll give it a 4 or 4.5. I don't think it maintains the same quality over the whole 65 minutes, but then it isn't easy to match classics like Closer and Hurt.
Noisy, dissonant, complex yet captivating, explosive, aggressive, beautifully discordant, dark and powerful
This album is a doozie! Overall I appreciate the minimal/maximal approach they take, ebbing in and out of quiet understatement and overblown soundscapes. At a few moments some of the sexual aggression felt disturbing. Some excellent songs here though including some classics (Hurt, Closer), and a very good album.
I learned a lot of things about this album today: that it was recorded in the Sharon Tate house, that it's more than Hurt and the "fuck you like an animal" song, and that you can hear shades of Reznor's future film soundtrack work in it. A lot more complex than I gave it credit for. Best track: Hurt
Heard Before? Many times when it came out, but not in the last 25 years. Notes: - many tricks are employed to make the best use of very limited vocal ability. i can relate. - maybe the most dynamic mainstream album of the 90s. - unlike most industrial acts, these songs are structured like rock songs, rather than dance music, and are so much the better for it. not only that but the songs mutate constantly, with no two verses ever sounding the same, and choruses that stretch and grow. lots of other cool sections, too, without ever sounding proggy or overcomposed. - production production production. he's the best sound designer of the whole industrial scene. synth patches and drum sounds are different on every song, there is shockingly creative use of samples, and a gear list that would make Hans Zimmer blush. the mix is deep, wide and wonderfully varied. wow. - the only production mistake is the use of shitty electric guitar tones, but all the great industrial acts made the same mistake around this time. - the biggest flaw by far, and it can't be overstated, is the lyrics. i get that he's playing an unsympathetic character, but i have zero interest in anything this character has to say. yuck. we just don't need another portrayal of permanent adolescent toxic masculinity, no matter how accurate. Verdict: I don't like this album at all, yet my admiration for it is boundless. Best leave it to the incel audio engineers. Listen Again? Maybe as a production study piece. It did remind me that I should give The Fragile another chance.
It had been a long while since I last sat down with some NIN. I've always been a bit torn on them (him?), somewhat colored by having dated someone who was really into them for a while. On one hand, I like a lot of what they have going on sonically. Super creative sounds, innovative production techniques, off kilter time signatures, harsh effects. I can dig it. On the other hand are the vocals and lyrics, which still strike me at times as edgy for the sake of being edgy, and just too full of twisty ego whining delivered in a whisper-scream cadence that just bounces off my ears. I've seen them live, great show, I own Pretty Hate Machine on vinyl, which to be honest has been sitting on the shelf for years at this point. Downward Spiral is a classic, I'll go 3.5/5. Not totally my thing, but I get it.
Overrated and a bit boring. Overall, however, it's acceptable.
hearing closer takes me back to being 7 or 8 in my dads car, stale camel blue cigarette smoke smell lining the seats, after market stereo with flashing blue lights playing a burned CD, beautiful wretched nostalgia rest of the album is pretty good though
Good but hard to work on spreadsheets to.
Edgy, so edgy! The album is a bit of a mess, not just in terms of the mixing (I can barely make out the vocals on most tracks), but the way it generally all comes together without feeling purposefully dynamic. I can appreciate the ambition of bringing together so many different styles and sounds, but it often ends up feeling more like a jagged collage than a beautiful painting. The upside is that I've never heard an album quite like this before, though I do see it as something of a precursor to acts like Linkin Park. Highlights: March of the Pigs, Closer, Ruiner, The Becoming, Hurt
I know I'm supposed to love this, but I don't. Innovative? Yes. Great sound design? Yes. Too noisy to enjoy? Yes. For an album so dark, it is sure mixed very bright. "Piggy" is the best track on the first half of the disc, while there is a great run of tunes from "Eraser" until the end. "Hurt" is a masterpiece of cohesion in songwriting, sound design, and lyrical content. Ultimately, the noise is a bit much and while there are some great songs on here, the ones that aren't detract from this being a great album. At this point in my life, the themes are too heavy and depressing to enjoy, more encouraging of suicide than just wallowing in the sadness of consideration.
I didn't like the album very much but I know that most of the music I liked and listened to growing up was influenced by it. Giving it 3 stars doesn't mean the album is boring, it means I am.
It was good, but I had to stop after four tracks. So. Much. Existential. Misery. Man needs a cup of tea and a Hob Nob.
Very industrial. Unique sound. Lyrics are cringe AF at times.
Trent Reznor certainly has a unique and original sound. And this is probably his strongest album. I used to own this album and a couple NIN Eps back when I was a teenager but ended up trading them back to get something else cause there was just never a time/place to play them. I give him big points for his sonic inventiveness in incorporating samples and noise and all that texture/atmosphere but I find the relentlessly dark/heavy mood and lyrics to be absolutely exhausting/draining by the end. I'd probably enjoy this much more as an instrumental album. Amazing that "closer" was a hit single. That post "Nevermind" era was incredible the way it opened the floodgates for things like this to at least temporarily become part of the mainstream.
I wanted to like this album, but man, it was too tough. The depressive needlessly-violent industrial pill was too much to swallow. 3/10
Too dark and angry for me. But cool to see early Trent and hear nuggets of what he gets to years later.
Tbh, it was a pretty hard listen for me. sounded more like 9inch nails on a chalkboard TO ME. i’ve listened to obscure artists/bands so i’m willing to give them another shot but it was rough.
I'm sorry I know a lot of you guys fw Trent but I'm gonna be honest I don't really get it. Most of this stuff is barely listenable.
I thought I liked Nine Inch Nails more than this. I didn't listen to them much outside of their hits. Most of this is just muddied with too much going on and poor mixing. The production sucks. I thought my headphones were fucked up when I put this on. Hey, let's have 23 "instruments", and crank them all to 11. Then we'll turn the vocals down to 5. That was probably smart actually because most of the lyrics sound like a 14 year old wrote them. I still can't help but get nostalgic when Closer comes on. A Warm Place was by far the best track. Beautiful ambient piece without any vocals to ruin it. 9/10 for that track. Obviously, Hurt is another one to pull from the wreckage here. I can't for the life of me figure out why this album is so beloved by anyone outside of depressed teens. It's not unlistenable, but it's also not good. I was pretty relieved when it was over. 5/10
Everything about this album, even the chaos, feels like a purposeful choice with a specific point of view. It's emotional and demands attention. That being said, a lot of this album makes me feel a little ill. The opening lyrics of Closer make me deeply uncomfortable. The whole album is about self-destruction but that song and Big Man with a Gun very explicitly detail how that self-destruction violently drag others down too and the glorification of those darker thoughts have always left me on edge.
Ehh interesting enough. Just not my style
Not my cup of tea. Some smart transitions, but it didn't make itself an enjoyable and memorable experience given my music taste
Too indistinguishable from noise, but Closer
Not good. I hate the songs that talk about sex because I know from Hurt that he knows how to write songs, he just chooses to be shitty.
I felt like an old man wanting to say to turn that noise off.
insoutenable
I know I'm supposed to like this but I just don't. It's very noisy, to the point where you can barely hear the vocals at times. Mix is pretty bright for an album with such a dark theme. 1/5
NiN: fueling depressive suicidal angst ridden people since 1988.
I didn't like this at all. It was like a whole record of a CSI theme song
Another juvenile fit-thrower from the 90s, like Marilyn Manson and later Eminem. DNF
I’d rather cut off a finger with my kitchen shears than listen to this shit again
1/5. If you enjoy listening to rhythmic static over the course of an hour, then this is the album for you!
I don't really get it. Not my sort of thing.
A bit too heavy for me, i don’t really enjoy the vocals on most tracks, I prefer more melodic music. Though I can appreciate the industrial drum sounds. I really love “Closer”, it feels so funky and I can hear the influence of that song on bands like AWOLNATION.
So I’ve actually heard this one before and remembered hating it. There were moments where the drums made me feel like I was almost listening to music but.. no I still really don’t like it. Still can’t believe Johnny Cash was like - yea I could cover this.
Lots of nope - I gave it a shot
Terrible punk stuff
I think this album would make a great soundtrack for a Fast and Furious movie but I did not enjoy listening to it.
Oh dear! The Becoming was the first track to play on my shuffle. Don't know if I will be able to listen to the whole album? A Warm Place was ok, but like every other track it featured a lot of industrial noise. Difference between noise and music? Mainly 'listened' to this whilst drying my hair, so hairdryer drowned out most of it.
Just typical Trent Reznor/NIN music. Never my thing. Closer was the best song on this. Hurt was also on this. 3/10.
Couldn't stomach it. Too noisy, too much of an assault. Life's too short and there's too much good music to bother persevering!
Bad, can’t understand anything
I know there is a lot of love for trent and nine inch nails but I didnt enjoy the album.
Sorry, just not my cup of tea. I don't enjoy the screaming and dissonant tones and explicit content.
This album had an absolutely diabolical vibe but unfortunately I loved it.
Rate: 9/10.
Man this is a formative album for me. I've been listening to Trent for 35 years now and A Downward Spiral is just so fucking good. It hits that mid 90s industrial and just kicks it in your chest. Mr Self District martial arts intro just lets you know the count early. Closer is a the obvious radio banger with the insane three minute outro, then to follow it with Ruiner. I Do Not Want This through Reptile just have that equal depression mixed with anger, only to close things out with Hurt. It feels like someone going through the stages of grief. Exquisite.
harsh, intense, sexy, visceral, pressurized, noise, despair, alluring, industrial, tortured, obsessive, vulnerable, unforgiving concept album. march of the pigs, big man with a gun, a warm place, reptile.
The most abrasive top-40 album in history. A gloriously unparalleled aesthetic achievement.
wow. not usually my thing, in the sense im not usually dark feelings for darkness' sake. with the exception of the 'hurt' cover, though, this was just an impeccable listen from start to finish. peak industrial sound?
i luv nine inch nails of course i’ve listened to this
Undeniable. Whether this is the best NIN album is debatable, but this album certainly displays the balance of loud toughness and quiet reflection that NIN does better than anyone, all with driving riffs and rhythms.
Yes, Trent Reznor is a massive edgelord but my god does he have the tunes to back it up.
Oon yksinkertainen otus. Kun Trent Reznor ähisee, sähisee ja rähisee mun korvaan että I wanna fuck you like an animal, niin mun aivot tuumaa, ettei tästä musiikki parane. Aivoissa tapahtuu valtava :3, n_n ja ^^. Sen lisäksi, että NIN on tullut vuosien aikana tutuksi ylipäätään, oon oppinu myös arvostamaan sitä konemaisuutta, mikä varsinkin tästä levystä rämisee. Se tuntuu pään sisällä hyvältä ja jotenkin puhdistavalta. Albumilla ei ole yhtäkään huonoa biisiä. Ja onhan se alkuperäinen Hurt hyvä. Ei siitä pääse mihinkään.
aivan järkyttävä bängeri släpperi. ihan vitun hyvä. aivan superhyviä glorbaääniä ja myös vaan yleisesti mun tyylinen noisemähinä. ymmärrän tekopyhyyden boyfriend asmr-valituksesta eilen. mietin syvästi mun tekoja. mutta tää oli ihan vitun hyvä.
I listened to this so many times when it came out. Lots of memories. And puts me into a mood I can't describe well. The industrial mixed with acoustic and electric guitars gets me.
This sounds just as fresh now as it did 32 years ago. An astonishing work of menace and despair. I love Trent Reznor's attention to detail. And he knows that to make electronic/digital music sound good and appealing to human ears, it has to have flaws. Given the cinematic tension in this album, it's no surprise that Reznor is a multi-Oscar winning film composer with Atticus Ross. If THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL was done by 99% of musicians, it would probably not work for me. But Reznor nails it.
I already kinda knew this album but man it really exceeded my expectations. It's dark, purposefully abrasive, and thematically very focused. I love it when an artist just swings for the fences on a crazy idea like this. The lyrics are certainly off-putting at times, but that's kinda the point. It's also incredibly well-produced and Trent Reznor is a damn talented songwriter. Hearing Hurt does make me want to go listen to the Johnny Cash version. Still blows my mind that he agreed to cover a song from this album.
Rating: 10/10 The psychosexual and depressed mind of Trent Reznor. It's perfection. Even after all the years since its release it's still sonically mind-blowing. Perfectly produced it's basically just cinema. It's also one of those albums that you can say is the single best ever made in it's genre and probably nothing will ever top it. So many amazing tracks, and there isn't a single one that's less than great. March-Closer-Ruiner is such a good run and might reperesent the absolute best of the album. Hurt feels like dying, and is pure poetry
Finally, after enough cursory mentions on my album journey, I get to talk about Nine Inch Nails properly. I've been a long-time fan of the brainchild of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor, so I was looking forward to checking out his band's magnum opus, The Downward Spiral. After a listen, I feel I got perhaps a bit more than what I expected going in. In contrast to the synth-pop styling of the band's debut, Pretty Hate Machine, or even the more direct gut-punch of the Broken EP, The Downward Spiral showcased Trent's desire to command atmosphere. Each song builds with dense electronic textures before seamlessly transitioning to the next, across this cinematic depiction of a man working his way down a path of self-destruction. It is uncanny how Trent and the rest of the session personnel worked these catchy melodies with grotesque, industrial sounds. The brooding drop-D tuned guitar line and pummeling drums on "Heresy", the breakneck alternating meters mixed with the piano breakdowns on "March of the Pigs", that pulsating beat sampled from Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing" with the whirring synths and bass squelches on "Closer", the sharply chopped synthwork on "Ruiner", the cavalcade of sampled screams behind the rhythmic clanks of "The Becoming", the quiet-loud dynamics centered around that haunting piano line on "I Do Not Want This", the full-blown stomping rager of "Big Man with a Gun", the menacing buildup of drum loops and synth patches on "Eraser", the slow, agonizing mechanical sounds that form the foundation of "Reptile"; it's amazing how punishing yet alluring these compositions are, even with the hindsight of how industrial metal has evolved over the years. Even the fewest of instrumental reprieves, such as on "Piggy", "A Warm Place", and "Hurt," feature some sinister elements that linger. Plus, it is kind of rewarding to connect multiple songs on this record through the same musical phrase, giving a bizarrely cohesive feel. But getting back to that narrative of the protagonist's self-destruction, no punches are pulled with the lyrics. I understand that this record can get uncomfortable for people, given that Trent drew from his own struggles at the time with isolation, depression, and drug addiction, while touching upon other dark corners of the world. The loss of faith in "Heresy", the pushback against superficiality in "March of the Pigs", the obsession and self-hatred in "Closer", the loss of feeling on "The Becoming", the inner turmoil and anguish on "I Do Not Want This". Probably the most contentious song on the record is "Big Man with a Gun", where the main character has finally caved in to full-on madness. Except this isn't where it ends, as for a moment on "A Warm Place", his fleeting humanity starts to snap back into focus before battling for control on "Ruiner", followed by comprehension of the emotional damage taken on "Reptile". It all culminates in the contemplation of suicide on the title track, with "Hurt" offered as an end-credits song, laying bare that this man went through such excruciating pain but came out on the other side. I get it - this album gets vulgar, and really dark in places, but I feel that's kind of the point. This record is a thorough examination of one's psyche, should they choose to go down a harrowing path. It was never meant to be pretty, and I think that Trent realized that and channeled that darker energy while maintaining strong storytelling and melodic sensibilities. The Downward Spiral is a truly menacing record, and I don't blame someone if they get scared or put off by it. But I do feel it's important, in not only cementing such a generational talent in Trent Reznor, but also in examining what it takes to process one's demons and still pull through at the end.
10/10 - one of the best albums of the 1990s - although The Fragile (1999) would be my top pick for best NIN album and one of the top 5 from that decade. Still, TDS remains a classic for its consistency and execution. Brilliant start to finish (ok BFG isn't great). Pulverising, beautiful, abrasive, vulnerable... its all there
Incredibly important album for me getting into industrial music even if I didn’t realize it at the time. I love Trent’s emphasis on atmosphere on Downward Spiral. The production and composition on this record are captivating and serves the album’s concept well. Truly the only thing that hadn’t aged well for me is some of the lyrics, but then again the whole genre of industrial is built on angsty and over the top lyrics so in that context I don’t think it really hinders the experience. Not everything we listen to needs to try and win a Pulitzer.
Bien.
A rich tapestry of angst and self-loathing. Genuinely powerful and innovative stuff.
This is one of the best albums ever made. It’s a quintessential industrial metal album, one that cannot be surpassed. I love every single song on the album, but the standout to me is “Reptile.” It’s beautiful in its aggression and simplicity, while being layered, technical and complete. I cannot say anything bad about this album at all.
It feels very "of its time", but this remains a classic.
This is a masterclass in crashing out.
Review I wrote a few months ago for this album: There’s nothing harder to watch than a person going insane. A song I’ve praised in the past, Sleep (MCR) revolves around this concept, and it’s one of, if not, THE harshest song I’ve ever heard. Past me wanted more of that. More of that apathy, that hatred, that emptiness. And perhaps exactly what I wanted was somewhere I’d checked before. Plenty of times actually. Heresy and Mr Self Destruct were in rotation pretty often. Closer would get some time in the light too. Then, it was Hurt. Little by little, this thing latched onto me like a leech. Like a tiger slowly stalking its prey. Then, I gave it another listen. It was good, but still not the best thing in the world. And then, I got drawn to it again, and again, and again. Like a moth to a light. Like a junkie to a pill. And soon, the pieces began to fall into place. Nine Inch Nails’ 1994 album is a rough journey. It’s a creak late at night, a monster under the bed. Something that demands to be silenced, yet still keeps your interest. It’s a devastating story about the fall (or the downward spiral?) of a man. It is deep, it is lonely, and it is absolutely disgusting. It’s something that resonates with you, leaving you alone with the skeletons in your closet. Here goes: The Downward Spiral. Mr. Self Destruct - Opening with the sound of BEATING, the album opens up like a book, crashing us into this angry, perverted character. This isn’t the narrator himself, but some compartment of his mind, the inner temptation, lust, desire. He compares himself to a lover in a bed, the first of many sexual lines, but it also pours syrup onto the pancakes: this dude is a weirdo. He’s scary, he’s intimidating, he’s yucky. The track reads as an introduction, and a FIRE one at that. It doesn’t ease you in, it shoves you right into the action, making the next song feel like the true “beginning” of the story. Another album with something like this is American Idiot, in case it’s not clear what I’m trying to get at. This song feels claustrophobic. It almost FEELS like you’re being seduced against your will to do something very bad. And it proves to be very bad indeed with the chorus. The chorus shows you what the album is capable of, what the palette will be like. It is insanely reliant on shock factor. When I spun this album for the first time, I was in complete awe. It is CHAOTIC. Chaotic, it’s loud, it’s insane. Trent’s screaming is a fucking fantastic crux here too, it feels like he himself is rising those distorted chords and then dropping them back. It feels like a roller coaster that’s constantly going up and down. The slingshot into the second verse is done great as well. It’s more shaky, more exposed. What’s the point of being quiet(er) again if you already know this shit isn’t gonna be quiet? Your seatbelt’s already on, your cash has been given away, your kid’s already crying: you’re going down this ride–this spiral–no matter if you want to or not. The second chorus doesn’t open up some secret trapdoor into a dark, quiet place. No no. It grabs wherever you were, and just presses delete. No transition, no special effects, no glitter and confetti. Just sweet, sweet silence. And a whisper. Two actually. One repeating “you let me do this to you” and the other saying “I am an exit.” Both are equally spine-chilling. “It,” AKA Mr. Self Destruct, compares itself to an injected drug. Self-destruction is a dictator upon a throne. Some may see past it and not chase it. Others bow down and worship. Eventually, the glass cracks, and Mr. Kill Yourself is screaming at you again. A nasty instrumental and harrowing vocals drag you towards the chorus just one more time. But he gets too carried away. He repeats it. This time, some strange noise, dissonance, fog, whatever it may be, is covering everything, flooding up like mud. Mr. Do It No Balls himself is caught up in this. Now, connect that to a man with suicidal tendencies. They take up everything. Each brain cell is walking around a mirror maze with a “Mr. Self Destruct” on every reflection there is. It takes over like a virus. It’s terrifying. Just to drop you into some strange noise that obviously represents something very very bad in nature but let’s be real, we’re just waiting for Piggy at this point. Piggy - This track somehow manages to feel like a break while also not being calm. Actually, it’s terrifying too. It’s very hard to dedicate an extensive deep dive to, but it drops us into the world of the ACTUAL narrator: some fucked up dude. He’s talking to some former friend, one who silently fucked him up without him realizing. He’s angrily looking back on everything, basically just saying “hey pig ya fucked me up.” While the… nickname(?) of this douche, Piggy, is very clearly referencing Richard Patrick, “piggy” is a great term here. It’s rude, it makes this dude seem yucky and below the narrator. And that’s the point. The narrator literally opens up with “Hey, pig, yeah, you” and goes on to repeat over and OVER again “nothing can stop me now ‘cause I don’t care anymore.” He’s trying to tell Piggy that he’s superior in every way now, the crashing drums (similar to Trinidad off of Getting Killed btw if you’re looking for not niche recs) implying something. Perhaps the opposite. Perhaps violence. It’s a very menacing song. End rant. Heresy - As much as we respect religion, us atheists need a little something that screams “you’re fucking stupid” every now and then. It feels like I’m being spoonfed fucking Wing Stop right now, everything I want being handed to me like some sort of trophy. “He dreamed a god up and called it Christianity” is a motherfucking bar if I’ve ever heard one, man. Slowly but surely, we’re going down an iceberg. First, you have hatred towards someone. Then, it snowballs to a lack of trust in everyone and everything: including religion. You lose your faith. This may show that the narrator was once a man of God. God being “dead” is strictly an internal battle: the IDEA of God has died to him. If the narrator rejects God’s existence, how can he believe that God is dead? The following line is very strange to me. “If there is a Hell, I’ll see you there.” Feels a little bit edgy, just saying “I suck and I’m going to Hell” but really think about it. What IS he trying to say here? He does not believe in God, and thus he does not believe in Hell. But also he’s saying “them,” AKA everyone, mainly Christians. Perhaps he’s saying the sole belief that there is a god is worthy of eternal suffering. Maybe he’s saying we all fall into this downward spiral, our “Hell.” Maybe “Hell” to him is a placeholder name for the place we go where we die. One dark, miserable. Mental torture. I digress. The instrumental section of the song does not feel like an instrumental section at all. The industrial instruments are going bananas, but it feels like they’re bouncing something off the walls: vocals? Like they’re being drowned by the instrumental, like people burning in the lavas of Hell. Or whatever the fuck Hell is. There is no break after this section. It just shoots you back into the chorus, which is basically the instrumental section with vocals. It feels like Trent being zoomed in on, as he’s burning in this lava. Repeating this sentiment as he drowns. That brings us to another fire line: “drowning in his own hypocrisy.” While, yes, it is related to God, I just thought it was kinda interesting that the narrator would soon follow suit. Following suit would then make him a hypocrite, which would contradict his ideas of hypocrisy, thus making him a… hypocrite. The egg and the chick. March of the Pigs - Yeah, you know how we called that one filthy motherfucker a pig? Well, now EVERYONE’S PIGS. EVERYONE SUCKS, EVERYONE’S GROSS, I HATE EVERYONE, FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOU TOO. Seriously, though, I’ve never seen anyone compare Piggy to March of the Pigs and it’s like HELLOO??? T H E A T R I C S, guys?? The fastest song on the album and in the band’s discography in general, coming in at a WILD 269 beats per minute. This is also another difficult one to touch on because it is meant to be pure and utter societal hell. There’s 3 main sections which I will call: the coocoo bananas section, the kick drum section, and the piano section. The coocoo bananas section has a lot of screaming, a lot of mocking. It’s basically the narrator saying “ooh boy look at me I’m a person and I suck,” very obviously sarcastically. EVERYONE is ruining the narrator. The kick drum section has the narrator actually retaliating, albeit sarcastic still. He’s “peeled his skin” to feed the pigs’ thirst for blood. The piano section, while being practically nothing, is interesting. The question “doesn’t it make you feel better?” really adds to this sense of repetition. The bottle is never full: nothing is good enough. The song repeats these parts before closing on an extended version of the piano section with added lyrics, namely: “The pigs have won tonight.” Battles are fought day after day between the narrator and the pigs. He’s lost time and time again. And truly, there’s no hope the narrator will EVER win. Just the acceptance that this is the way the night will go, try your best tomorrow. It’s harsh. Closer - WOOOO LETS GET DRUNK AND FUCK BABYYY TAKE YOUR MOTHERFUCKING BRAS OFF TAKEEE YOUR MOTHERFUCKING UNDERWEAR OFF CUZ WE ARE GOING TO TOWNNNNNNN The infamous sexual, explicit, and for lack of a better term: “fonky,” Closer. This song reads like your idea of sex growing up. When you’re young, it’s something dumb. Something for people to have fun with, but not something serious. Certainly not something for me. I’ll never have sex, I’ll never watch porn, I’ll never jerk off. Then, the buttons click. The wires spark. You can still have fun with it, but it’s also something that can be seriously over-abused. Something that feels like it HAS to be. There’s some form of sensation you chase with the idea of it. Ah shit. Now, I HAVE to have sex, watch porn, and jerk off. Constant horniness is a topic that doesn’t get brought up enough when it comes to going down some form of spiral. It’s actually something very prominent. Say you got broken up with. They ain’t there no more, but you got yo mind and yo willie. Go crazy. Bad day? Lay down and rub a lotta bit out. The repetition of “help me” is a bit of a double-entendre. The sex is helping him, yes, but it’s also a plea. “I want to stop, help me.” …But nobody came… Well I mean he did but besides that The vocal performance on literally every single “I want to fuck you like an animalllll 😛😛😛” is fucking PHENOMENAL. It almost sounds like he’s trying to censor the word “fuck.” Perhaps in a playful manner, but to me, it simply just fits. “You get me closer to God” is a bit funny here. First: what God? But also, it could mean two things. Getting closer to “God” like: omg sex is good I think I’m in Heaven. But also he’s literally gonna commit suicide at the end of the album. Foreshadowing. I also just wanted to point out: at this point now, he doesn’t like basically anyone. Whoever the “you” is doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is that there IS a “you.” Sex > people. This ALSO could tie into a future line: “I want to fuck everyone in the world.” No matter who it is, it’s sex, therefore, it’s good. The closing lines to both of the pre-choruses also very clearly showcase that desire for distraction. “Help me get away from myself,” “help me become somebody else.” And when that GROOVY ass synth comes in at the end of the song, and it just builds and builds and builds and builds. It’s like you’re experiencing all of the orgasms people have had while listening to this. Seriously, throw yourself a bone and listen to it again. It’s phenomenal. Ruiner - The flip from Closer to Ruiner is great honestly. Smooth transition that helps the flow of the album immensely. I’m always waiting for that piano to finish just so I can hear the beat of this track start. Strange that Trent doesn’t feel like this song isn’t “right,” it feels like one of the more dense tracks here. The first verse here is very interesting because at first glance, it doesn’t seem to fit in. It’s something said to an audience of the “pigs,” not the Ruiner character(?). But yeah, that’s the point. The pigs and the Ruiner go hand-in-hand. Obviously the Ruiner isn’t a real person, it’s a thought process, and the pigs will very much add fuel to its fire. With that said, it’s still kind of a confusing verse. The first lines seem to address the Ruiner while the last ones are a bit more vague. Perhaps the lies are something like “I’m the goat” which the narrator is denying, key word: DENYING. The Ruiner is in fact the goat in this scenario. The pre-chorus is my favorite section, this garbled mess of screaming, singing, and distortion. The lyrics in this first one are pretty dark shit too. He calls the Ruiner people’s ONLY friend. Something meant to drag you down is your closest ally. He sticks to his title, ruining people’s happy mindsets: “the raping of the innocent.” Very dark imagery but works fantastic here. Trent states he’s “wearing (the Ruiner’s) disease.” Like symptoms. You show them. It’s saying the narrator is clearly not doing too hot. The second pre-chorus has my favorite lines of the song and maybe even the entire album? I dunno: “Maybe it's a part of me you took to a place I hoped it would never go And maybe that fucked me up much more than you'll ever know” Very clear lyrics, but they cut very deep because of that. The mantra chorus is obviously very sexual, but it feels almost astonished. The Ruiner’s got a big ass dick? Obviously it’s a metaphor, representation, whatever. Also ha, there’s a guitar solo in this song?? It’s hard to call it a solo, it feels like it’s not there. The entire section feels like a recording of a recording, it’s not very center-stage, especially with the panning. This transitions into a NASTY build with whispers saying “you didn’t hurt me, nothing can hurt me, nothing can stop me now.” Obviously it brings back the line from Piggy, #1. But it also feels like it can be told from both the narrator and the Ruiner? The narrator could just be in a stage of denial. The Ruiner could literally be saying the narrator’s protests, the whole song, meant obvious jack shit to him. Coin with very interesting sides. The Becoming - Besides the instrumentals, I admittedly visit this one the least. Perhaps I’m biased because of the time signature. Perhaps it just doesn’t leave me becumming as much as the other tracks. I dunno. How do I talk about this one? 😭 The instrumental is very hellish, obviously. It’s literal screaming. There’s also slight builds in tension. After every little section, a little something is added. Sometimes, it’s taken back. Sometimes, it’s left to add to the texture. The lyricism seems to be about drug abuse and how it’s turning him into some form of zombie. He’s slowly but surely growing number and number. He’s “broken and sore,” but he’s not necessarily beaten. Physical scabs (possibly a metaphor too for track marks) lay about, but there’s no reaction to them anymore. The narrator can TRY to get away, but he’s already too deep and he really doesn’t care all too much. He doesn’t necessarily want it to happen, but it already is (“it’s all too clear”). The [WORD] AWAYYYYY part is just very memorable and I like it. I felt like saying that. Ok. Fuck off. An almost cute melody accompanies an acoustic guitar. It doesn’t feel cathartic anymore, but still intimate. And then, of course, you get faked out and now there’s distorted industrial instruments going haywire, literally sounding like they’re being burnt to death. The instruments are almost harmonizing with the screams from earlier (which are still around). The outro mantra is interesting. It could be the narrator fighting off his urges to STOP. He needs the drugs. He thinks no drugs could lead to his death. Perhaps it’s the narrator having a change of heart. The squeakier vocal that comes in could be mocking him. This theory also dips its toes into the next song, so it’s probably the one I’m gonna tag along with. The mocking sound makes sense too, because the next song has kinda two sections. Rough explanation before we get there: Section 1 - I Do Not Want This Section 2 - I Do Want This The “noise” inside his head makes him crave the drugs, the sex, the abuse. This theory is also IRONY, because if the squeaky vocal is the voice inside his head, it is the voice inside his head damning the voice inside his head. I Do Not Want This - Hmm. I have a conspiracy theory about this one. Am I wrong in saying the first half of this track feels cliché? Not the spoken words sections at all honestly. But everything else really really does. “Well, you know how this world can beat you down” “I fear I'm the only one who thinks this way” “You don’t know just how I feel” “There really isn't anything, now, is there?” My little theory is that that’s on purpose? Unlikely, I suppose, but it’s just interesting to me. Because the second half flips the entire concept on its back. This first half is literally him saying “I do not want this pain” and the second half is him saying “I need it.” Four lines. Repeating. Over. And over. And over. And over. He wants to be omniscient. Almost god-like. Also, interestingly enough, he wants to “fuck everyone in the world.” It seems edgy at first but that line’s always stuck with me. He doesn’t say every GIRL, he doesn’t even say every ADULT. He wants to fuck EVERYONE in the world. That is DISGUSTING. And that’s the BEAUTY of it. All of these requests, aimed at no one, begging just to feel something. Anything. To feel like a being, an existing, living, breathing being. To do something that matters. It’s yucky, yes. But the song feels like a necessary pivot. To show how deep the narrator is. Now, he WANTS to stop, but also doesn’t. A contradiction in his mind. Very, very human. Which makes it sadder, of course. Big Man With a Gun - ME AND MY FUCKING GUNNNNN ME AND MY FUCKING GUNNNNN ME AND MY FUCKING GUNNNNN ME AND MY FUCKING GUNNNNN We needed a bit of a party break honestly. And it’s a greatly executed one as well, because this (and I suppose the latter half of the last track) is where the narrator’s mind snaps in half. The ugliest part of a downward spiral. Pure, genuine insanity. He wants to fuck people and kill people. “Just for the fuck of it.” It’s psychotic behavior. The screaming of “shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot” doubles as not only literal shooting, but an ejaculation metaphor. I feel like I’m getting lazy but what the fuck do you want me to add lmao? The outro is definitely my favorite part, it’s just so fucking catchy, no matter how deranged it is. I’ll never not jam out to that shit. Uh End segment I suppose? A Warm Place - “The best thing about life is knowing you put it together” I am not lying when I say that this was my first time ever touching this album. I was listening to some playlist on shuffle with the ENTIRE album on it, and this song popped up. I loved it. It left me looking forward to listening to the full thing. Imagine my surprise. And you know what, it is very pretty. The melody(?) building up just feels so calming, almost hopeful. But at the same time it feels like it’s holding some despair underneath. I could see it being played after a bad dude is defeated by the good dudes, the dust has settled, and the victims are being laid to rest. It also makes me think of that one game. What was it called? The daylight portion of the game No, I'm Not Human. Fantastic game by the way. I’ve only watched it, but I’d recommend playing it. It’s gut-wrenching honestly. Okay enough one-to-one. Let’s get back to the bangers. Eraser - It’s honestly kinda strange this song was put BEFORE Reptile. I don’t think it was a BAD decision, but the song literally ends with the line KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEE repeated and The Downward Spiral is him literally shooting himself. I think Eraser still works with the flow, the beat reeling us in works well, but Reptile conceptually makes more sense to me. This song is insanely underrated honestly. I get it’s mostly instrumental, and sometimes there just isn’t much to talk about with an instrumental. And I’m stuck in that same baby swing, believe me. As much detail as there is in this instrumental section, I don’t exactly know how to put those thoughts into words. It’s mostly just “this part sounds cool.” Okay? Which part? When? I don’t know. How would I pinpoint that with just words? I get it. But that part with the vocals is absolutely mind-blowing. The build beforehand isn’t much, but it drops anyway. There’s ticking sounds on both ears, almost like a bomb about to detonate (worth ittt). He’s talking to a “you,” possibly a girl he’s using for sex. Ok. LOSEEEE MEEEEEE HOLY FUCK This section is insane. It is just genuine terror. It is one of the biggest examples (to me) in music where it feels like they are living this experience while singing the song. The screaming just sounds so fucking troubled, helpless. And the “KILL ME” part doubles down on this. I am not kidding when I say I feel genuine sympathy towards that fucking narrator. That shit is actually terrifying. The screams, once again, just sound so SO tortured. It’s like watching the dude being lifted by a rope in Hell, dragged to a ceiling of lava. The screaming slowly gets drowned out by the instrumental, the man is slowly getting eaten by the liquids. It’s honestly devastating and nearly hard to listen to. With that said, of course I listen to this shit EXTREMELY often, it’s like an addiction. But take my word. Reptile - While Closer was the album dipping its toes into the concept of constant need for sexual gratification, Reptile is the album painting itself in it. There is no more fun, funky instrumental. There is no cheeky lyricism, no facade. This song puts every disgusting bit of sex onto a pedestal. The opening line here is fantastic at setting the mood: “She spreads herself wide open to let the insects in” So many emotions and ideas drip from that line: dominance, sperm, self-destruction, a corpse. The insects feast on her “trail of honey,” female ejaculate. This song is also the narrator getting what he wanted in Closer. In Closer, he wanted to “fuck her like an animal.” Now, she’s calling this girl a reptile, obviously a type of animal. He’s not the only fucked up person in this sex. The girl (referred to as a liar, a whore later) has had sex with countless other people. Maybe she’s a prostitute, maybe she’s just a swinger. Really, who knows? The chorus is near terrifying; it’s something you wouldn’t play for something you’re trying to arouse. It’s TOO inviting, TOO horny to the point where you know something bad is around the corner. The interlude adds a reverb-drowned almost regal sound. It adds to this layer of dominance and territory: do NOT come over here for anything. This song is just a birthday cake of dominance, layer after layer. It is purebred insanity. The second verse claims that their sex is so out of control that spiritual beings–devils and angels–are afraid of it. Angels literally bleed from it, devils highly praise it. It also adds this nasty guitar riff, similar to Rx Queen’s (Deftones) bassline, which I love that bassline so obviously I love this riff. The verse takes a bit of a turn in the latter half, however. “Need to contaminate to alleviate this loneliness” He’s claiming that he now needs this to feel better. There is nothing he can do that will make him feel better than being a grotesque amalgamation of his past-selves. He claims he’s aware the “depths he reaches are limitless,” but he almost can’t change that anymore. He can’t break the cycle, he can’t beat the machine. He is–to him–trapped here, trapped inside of his own lust. Ouch. Another interlude walks in as the second chorus drives home, and this one is definitely the strangest of the two. A sample from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre plays where two characters (one of them is definitely Kirk, the other one comes up as Pam but I don’t know how to fucking fact check without watching the movie) are walking down a tiny hill, and one of them falls down. Very normal scene. It was also a very fitting choice though? Replay the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bkBXMjrQ_0 with no video and for the most part it sounds like sex. I always thought the audio was of sex, maybe not ACTUAL sex, but an orgasmic act. Side note, one of the people in the comments said: “always thought it is sample from some porn,” which would have been insane. Honestly, a good idea too. One day, I’ll make a hit and sample a porn video I’ve been obsessed with and force people to find it. Hopefully, they don’t go down a pornified downward spiral or anything. What was I talking about? Right. That interlude definitely reads as orgasmic. Could also be some form of pain, considering the narrator doesn’t seem to be sure of the difference anymore. But as the interlude goes on, and adds this weirdly calming instrumental, invoking the same feelings as A Warm Place. Honestly, Reptile and A Warm Place feel a little similar to me. It’s hard to pinpoint why. Maybe that means my warm place is somewhere it shouldn’t be and I need to seek therapy or something. A Warm Place is considered by some to be a moment of reflection. Perhaps this part is another one? The tone switch gives you a false sense of hope. I dunno. I don’t really read A Warm Place like that, but to the people that do, is that what y’all think? The third chorus repeats once, moving up a bit higher for two lines and moving back down, adding to the insanity of it all. But there’s also a backing vocal added. I’ve tried tying it into an orgasmic, but really, it is very clear to me he’s rejecting insanity here. He doesn’t want to go, he’s reflecting on everything, he wants to change, but he’s literally a tree stuck in the ground at this point. Nowhere to go. Stuck here, until eventual death. The Downward Spiral - After so, so long, of continuous pain. One single decision. One single moment is the end all, be all. An acoustic guitar takes over the Closer piano leitmotif. While Closer’s wasn’t exactly full either, the rest of the song was. The rest of the song felt fun, so at least the piano section was in the same ballpark. Ruiner is literally Closer if you scraped out all the fun from it like a pumpkin. Ruiner was empty, and now this song is too. There’s one sound on this song that sounds like an eraser, it’s right before the switch. Fitting, but also disturbing. Feels like the end of Communist Daughter (NMH), just the sounds that were hiding in the background without you even registering it. Then, the switch builds to screaming and storytelling. The screaming represents the narrator’s entire life, perhaps flashing before his eyes. The storytelling I feel is obvious: the narrator killed himself. It’s insanely distorted, it feels like a black and white video of every stupid thing the narrator’s done on display for the world to see. The narrator of this song, likely the Ruiner, literally says “bang!” to say that they shot themselves. It’s nihilistic, it’s apathetic. Such a big decision for one person is such a small decision for the rest of the world. You’re really just another number. The Ruiner here almost praises the death, calling it a solution. “A lifetime of fucking things up fixed in one determined flash.” Then, things switch to the narrator of the album. Again, the Ruiner is really just another part of the narrator’s mind. It reads as a bit of a reminder. It also tells us that the narrator regrets nothing he’s done. He doesn’t try to cope, to get out of it. He simply acknowledges: “Everything's blue Everything's blue in this world The deepest shade of mushroom blue All fuzzy, spilling out of my head” Hurt - My favorite cover of Johnny Cash’s “Hurt.” Seriously though, the amount of times I have to tell people Johnny Cash didn’t make this song is almost irritating because he’s always credited for it simply for making a cover. Plenty of people make covers of songs. Is it a good cover? Yes. But why is he being attributed to it? Opening with the lyrics “I hurt myself today to see if I still feel,” this is immediately 100% the saddest track on the album. Most people, including me, view this as a form of suicide note. There is a garbled sound in the background, mixed with a guitar that varies in dynamics, making it feel more real. The guitar works really well with the vocals, it’s almost a call-and-response type of thing. “I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real” When you hurt yourself, everything is in your head. The catharsis. The anger. The only thing that truly exists is that you hurt yourself. A cut, a mark. It’s almost existential and extremely nihilistic. In the narrator’s last moments, he wants to forget his past, the drug abuse, but he can’t. No matter what he does, it already happened, and he can’t get that out of his head. The pre-chorus simply asks “what have I become?” It’s one of those rhetorical devices in songs that just works. Through everything, he ruined his own life. He made himself into this addictive monster. It is entirely his fault. And that shit hurts. The second type this line is said is performed really uncomfortably, which always hits me like a brick. The narrator is accusing himself of everything. No one wants to be with him because he hurts everyone. His life, what once started as a bright grassland, has turned into simply an “empire of dirt.” He’s nothing now. Worthless. Dirt could also be a metaphor for heroin but I personally don’t want to associate this song with drugs too much. Even the needle line, while obviously a drug line on the surface, could be a representation of self-harm. The song chorus adds these pounding instruments. Drums that make this feel like something important. A slight sliver of hope. No one was there with the narrator, but YOU. The listener. YOU stuck with this man this entire time, YOU got to watch him change into this mess. Don’t you feel bad? Don’t you feel emotional? YOU cared for this person, so the album will impact YOU. It’s like someone you know actually committed suicide. The way the album puts this into music? Light years beyond me. The thumping continues, but the vocals hush, reading out what are usually considered THE lines from the album. It’s the centerpiece of the whole thing. The crux, the thesis. Misery and hope shoved into just four lines: “If I could start again A million miles away I would keep myself I would find a way” If there was any way to break time’s back, he would take that chance. It’s a really honest sentiment and feels really personal. Everyone has a time in their life where things begin to fall apart. Where everything falls out of your hands. Perhaps some form of spiral, albeit usually not this hard. But that’s the point of the album: you don’t need to go clinically insane to relate. It shows how people cope and tells a story of the darkest examples of it. That’s what connects to the listener. That’s what makes it feel so deep. The album closes on distorted power chords, simply wiping everything else away. At the end of the day, reading the note aloud doesn’t bring the narrator back. He’s already gone. Emotionally, another story could build off of this. "When one door closes, another opens,” if you must. But at the end of the day, the narrator’s story is just over, and that is it. The Downward Spiral is a tragic album, one that sits in the back of your mind constantly. It serves as a reminder of how easy it is to snap. A protest towards influences such as egocentric people and drugs. And really just a warning. It’s an extremely grand statement, and insane that the band was able to pull it off as well as they did. With that, this review is coming to a close. Thank you for reading mi loves <3 Favs: Mr. Self Destruct, Ruiner, Reptile Least fav: A Warm Place
Hurt alone could make this 5 stars for me, but it even fits well within the story of the album. Still don't fully get into the industrial metal parts
This is a massive album for me. Taught me the idea of a concept album (in the most horrifying way possible) and honestly helped me a lot out in life haha. I love that music has no limits, and the musicians job is to push the limits we're given by past generations. This is a very very harsh example of that. Really good encapsulation of how life can be sometimes. Saw NIN in concert last year and its amazing that Trent still has the exact same energy levels at age.. 60??????
cheverisimo, no soi un tipo metal pero este me atrapo sera reescuchado solido 9de10 lo escucharia en el auto
Best Industrial album of all time
Ground breaking album. Trent starting to really cook
I love this album. I came to listen to it way later in life. I was pretty young when it came out. Later on I saw the footage of them doing 'Reptile' at Woodstock '94 and those kinds of drums were something I had been wanting more off since I heard early Swans. This album has just fantastic drums just somewhere between Swans and Big Black. I think one thing that sets it apart from those other acts is there's some real composition that goes on here and the ability to blend some heavy industrial sounds with synthesizers and be interesting for an hour playtime is really something special. I may not be a morose teenager anymore but I don't have to be to put this on and enjoy it.
р е з н о р саундтрек для похода на зовод
A brilliant concept album. Even though it sounds like peak 90s edgelord music (the first couple of tracks feel like entering an underground club full of leather-clad cyberpunks, coked-out hackers and sexy vampires dancing in slow motion), it has aged well in my opinion. It introduced industrial metal to mainstream music, paving the way for many late 90s trends. Trent Reznor may have relied on some gimmicks, but he was also a true experimenter. The Downward Spiral is often richer and more complex than it appears, with numerous sonic layers, a wall-of-sound approach, unexpected beat changes or weird instrumentals suddenly dropping in the middle of a song. I loved it back then and I still love it today, even though it doesn't blow my mind as hard as the first time. It's harsh, dissonant, sometimes disturbing, but also incredibly varied with a vast array of moods and styles. ''Hurt'' brings perfect closure to the album. It's not something I can listen to everyday - it's so abrasive and noisy that it can indeed feel exhausting. But it's a true classic nonetheless, can't give less than a 5*. 9/10
Forever one of my favorite albums and a genuine lifeline at 14 and 15. One of those records that I'm going to carry with me through my life and whose meaning is going to continuously evolve and shift into new and beautiful things.
How does one review a masterpiece of this caliber. I wont do it the misjustice. Simply put an EASY top 100 album of all time. A top 5 record from '94 and thats saying something since 94 is a top 5 year.
The most illustrative album of the last 30 years of American rage, misery, fear, sexual frustration, and lack of belonging. AKA the sentiments which made school shootings normal, two Trump terms possible, and David Bowie scream "I'm afraid of Americans."
Supreme!
Essential NIN. Aggressive and raw.
Žinau, kad patinka. Įdomu, kaip mano gyvenimas dabar atrodytų, jeigu tik dabar būtų pirmas kartas, kai šitą albumą girdžiu.
Not sure I wanna give it a 5 because, at its most abrasive, it's really abrasive. It sounds a little dated, too, but the whole thing is just this nice total work with enough lightening up from the grinding industrial to let you know that Trent's in full control. I don't love it, but I respect it.
Hell yea
Just an incredibly dark, angry and intense experience that feels even more powerful than it once did.
Awesome. Still sounding 20 years ahead of its time. Goes down nice with a cup of tea and a slice of cake.
Highlights were Closer, Reptiles, Hurt. Love this album although Pretty Hate Machine still beats it to favourite NIN album
When the first track started I thought this could be a challenge but actually I really liked it. The lyrics are very dark but I honestly wasn't taking them too seriously, they were just there to generally match the music's vibe. Definitely more metal (?) and darker than my usual music taste but ike other well made albums, it was structured rather than just a load of songs thrown together and it had rhythm and oomph, it moved forwards, it knew what it was trying to do and did it well. Reminded me of Muse but leaning way more angry. Maybe I liked it because it worked in contrast with the birdsong and countryside as I was walking.
An industrial masterpiece. So much variety, so well sequenced... So depressing. 5/5
They nailed it!
Kan hier niet objectief zijn.
Obvs a best ever album for us genXers
Story is impeccable, very concept heavy (which I love!) and the songs flow nicely from one to another. Hard to complain about this album because... how are you going to?
good good good, 10 inches
Loved this album. Never really a die hard fan of NIN but I’ve always enjoyed their sound. I don’t think I’ve listened to more than a few songs. Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt will always be the best imo. I thought initially that NIN covered Hurt when I was younger. But it was cool to learn it was the other way around. Trent Reznor apparently was a but miffed that Johnny Cash “took” his song. But Trent learned to accept that it is now Johnny Cash’s song since he did such a great job with it recreating it.
Closer - favorite songs indeed
A noisy masterpiece
In my humble opinion, simply one of the best albums ever made. Have heard this album a million times, will not miss any reason to listen again.
Awesome soundscape Probably the best unintentional cyberpunk album Vocals often take more of an intrument focus than solo focus
I wasn’t all that familiar with Nine Inch Nails but damn this was a good listen. I was very entertained and I think every part of my body at some point was feeling something.
I don't even know what to say about this album. So many intense, dark feelings. By far one of the best albums in recent history. From Mr Self-Destruct to Hurt, almost every track is better than the last.
10/10
Masterpiece
i swear i've listened to this before.... no idea when tho. i don't remember it being so pig-themed?? i think with teeth is still my favourite nin album but this ones great too. i'm surprised how much of it i'd forgotten..? especially "a warm place", which is such a good track. i love ambient.... but i also love the super aggressive industrial sound that most of the rest of the album is constructed from too. i especially like the moments where everything is turned up so much the vocals get totally lost, like in "big man with a gun" where reznor's singing is crushed out between the instruments, or the end of "mr. self destruct" where the distortion is cranked to the point of his becoming completely unintelligible noise. he really went balls out on this shit and its awesome. great album. oh, and "march of the pigs" is shadow the hedgehog music, so this was always gonna get a 5.
This is just a concrete 5. Outstandingly unique all while being incredibly layered and varied.
Abrasive, depressing, and exhilarating. One of the best albums of its era. 4.75/5.
I’m actually kind of surprised by the fact that I find this so awesome but…
Such rich beautiful soundscapes. Love the atmosphere. Despite it feeling really heavy, there are hooks everywhere! I thought prince would be far and away the horniest records on this list but I forgot how filthy this is. Awesome stuff though
The absolute peak of industrial music.
I bought the record when it came out. I listened to it all the way through once or twice as it's such a heavily dark album and that's where its brilliance lies.
Najs. V najstniških letih so me nekak zgrešil ampak zadnjih par let se pa počas poglabljam v albume. Tega sm do zdaj, mislim da, enkrat prej. "Heresy" je super. "March of the Pigs" ma insane ritem. Po pa seveda "Closer". Ah. Pa "Ruiner". V glavnem, banger after banger, if you're into this kinda music. "A Warm Place" je dejansko k nek počitek od tematik albuma. Dons mam na žalost dan, k mi ne omogoča, da bi še enkrat takoj poslušala, ampak this is going on my regular roster. O, ja, prelivanje iz enega komada v drugega. <3 Pa na splošno, tud če mogoče nisi najbol pozoren, dojameš, da se kaka melodija ponovno pojavi. Men ljubši primer concept albuma, kot pa rock opere. Za zaključek pa "Hurt". Amazing. (Zj k poslušam originalen komad, si ne morm pomagat, da se ne spomnim na Johnny Cash verzijo & v spominu mam, k da je v njegovi verziji spremenjeno besedilo, da ne reče 'crown of shit' - kar me zdaj preseneča, k na live albumu k smo ga mel od Casha, ni imel nobenga problema večkrat preklinjat - grem preverit- jap, 'crown of thorns'. Why no more swearing, Johnny?)
Super important album for, the most listened one and clearly 5 stars, and despite all of that I forgot to write a damn review!
A masterpiece and one of my favorite albums of all time. This guy was going through some shit when he recorded this.
Better than Coldplay
This is the album that started me down the path towards industrial and more abrasive music in general. It manages to be aggressive, depressing, and ugly, yet still remains beautiful at the same time. I relate to some of their later anti-government themes, like on Year Zero, more than I do the themes of self-destruction on this album, but I still absolutely love it.
Glorious
P. Deep, like 9inches
ever downward until rock bottom (hurt)
Yummy sexy nouses
I have no idea how the current me would objectively rate this if I were hearing it for the first time (or if such objectivity is even possible with something like this). I'm only able to hear this through my angry, angsty teenage ears. And there, you'll find nothing but complete resonance. Or perhaps I should say, complete Reznorance. An aside: it's positively obtuse that 'Pretty Hate Machine' didn't make this list, but we have seven Bob Dylan albums and six each from Elvis Costello and Radiohead. It is what it is, I guess, but what it is is wrong.
Classic, engaging every step of the way
This project hits a bit close to home for a lot of people, myself included, as it dives very deep into the psychological spiral that is depression. It deals with these repressing feelings in a whole spectrum of ways that may feel extremely foreign or all too relatable depending on the listener. Whether it is through the heavily misunderstood Closer or the absolutely soul crushing somberness of Hurt, The Downward Spiral depicts what it feels like going off the deep end mentally and then that final "leap of faith" in a beautifully haunting fashion. I won't ever be able to replicate my first time hearing this project, but I remember going in and having no idea what was happening until the picture became crystal clear at the end of the Reptile going into the title track. This project was maybe not the best thing for me to hear 3 years ago as I was going in and out of some pretty heavy depressive episodes that were honestly pretty crippling. Journaling was my sort of escape from all the awful thoughts and it gave me a purpose, something to do and feel accomplished of. Even still to this very day I try and listen to at least one new project a day so I have something to write about, something to do to keep me motivated. Much like the subject matter of this project, it is hard to stay motivated through the thick and the thin and in the case of the lyrics here, once you start the downward slope it can send you into a total freefall. You go through everything to try and replenish the small slice of happiness you used to have; hobbies, sex, drugs, friends and family, and finally your own psyche. It is insane how in touch with his emotions and truly perfect lyricism Trent Reznor is here as this album is able to spawn some demonic behaviors and thoughts for those not prepared enough. You can feel the intensity ramping up the further into this album you go, even with it being already louder than your typical Rock project. The usage of electronics on Ruiner, light hearted breaks on March of the Pigs, and isolated tones on the title track all feel so weird when writing it out, but in the context of this project fit perfectly in their own unorthodox ways. This album has such a grasp over its' listeners that once you start this cycle of an album, you can't stop looking away until it finally comes to a fiery conclusion. I wouldn't ever call this album sinister, but it does feel evil and unruly even down to how the notes of Trent's synthesizer or how Trent's drumming styles feel like a stomping march towards death itself. Everything here feels so calculated, akin to a ticking time bomb that is aware of its' intentions and end goal. It knows it is going to explode, but just doesn't know when, so it treats everything with little to no respect as it doesn't value itself anymore. When the bomb does finally go off, the first glimmer of light finally hits your eardrums as you know the suffering and chaos is over. The end is somewhat ambiguous depending on who you ask, but my personal take is that the final glimpses of static on Hurt are the finally pieces of life being drained out after the unnamed protagonist takes their own life. For such an energetic project, it is very fitting that this giant burst of energy goes out in a very telling simmer. All in all this is one of the best albums ever made and I don't think there will ever be any denial of that fact. This project is still stunning on just about every level you can think of and it is an honest to god miracle it was even made and put out. This is an album that is next to impossible to want to put on again to start the cycle over, and yet once you get the gears rolling you don't seem to get off the train until you hear the silence of the project ending.
RATING: 10/10 HIGHLIGHT: The Becoming LOWLIGHT: Ruiner
Cannot believe how timely this is (literally just finished listening to Nine Inch Noize album)
Just went to the concert in February and relistened then, what a killer album end to end man
One of the most absorbing and bruising rock records ever made. Blistering and wounded and beautiful.
just astonishingly forward thinking and even such a refreshing delight to listen to now. viscerally exciting
seminal. closer might be the song of all time
Best Song: Hurt Here's another album I bought on CD when it was released. It is really good, and I will give it a 5/5 but, in my opinion, it doesn't hold a candle to Pretty Hate Machine. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great album. It's like having New York and Detroit pizza, is it good - hell yeah, is it Chicago pizza, nope. 5/5.
Closer, Vasoline, and Black Hole Sun dominated radio and Mtv in my summer of '94. NIN's self-destruct tour was my first real concert and I buzzed for days afterwards. I based an rpg campaign on this artist and album tour, and played A Warm Place on a loop during the intense parts. Formative for sure, making me a bit biased, but I still go back to this album these days, and it holds all the power and emotion for me now as it did then.
This is a hard listen, but so, so good. Nine Inch Nails' greatest album, and Trent Reznor's magnum opus. Hurt may be a top 10 song of all time. Some of the sound engineering things on this album are revolutionary. E.g., that hollow sound playing under Hurt is from a machine that measures silence. However the hell that works. We have some hits and some great songs. And while the lyrical subject matter is bleak, it makes you feel it. This is art, it is really good, and there is a ton of innovation. Great album Influence 5. Hits 4. Quality 5. Intangibles 5. So, so good 4.
Amo lindo te amo trent reznor
A grimy, lived in, and bleak record that continues to connect because it was written about a real place by a real person.
Expectation: -> I still remember getting this CD and listening to it often. Still remember the feel of that paper CD case. This album elicits memories for sure. After listening: -> An album unlike any other both then and now. Seems fair to call it groundbreaking. Some difficult/uncomfortable moments listening to some of these songs/sounds. That is surely by intent. The best parts of this album are truly extraordinary. Beautiful yet ugly. Haunting. Was wavering 4-5 here but a full listen pushed this to 5…acknowledging that it is an imperfect album. Track ranking: Closer Reptile Piggy Ruiner Hurt Becoming Do not want March Heresy Mr Eraser Gun Warm Spiral
I think this is my favorite album we have done so far. Banger after banger
Et støjrock/industrialism mesterværk. Men også et mesterværk - der i hvert fald for mig - kræver et ret stort tilløb. Ligger umiddelbart og roder rundt omkring de 4 stykker ud fra et personligt synspunkt, men mere objektivt set kommer den op på 4,5 og så runder vi op
Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Piggy, Closer, Ruiner, Hurt I've been waiting for a NIN album to come up, and I am glad it's one I have less experience with. I'm very familiar with With Teeth and Year Zero, both of which are excellent and have similar themes as The Downward Spiral. I have listened to this album before, several times actually over as many years, but it hasn't ever quite clicked in the same way. This album is more raw and unrefined. Its hyper-aggressive, violent and unforgiving. It pulls no punches in the message its trying to deliver and oh boy does it deliver. The industrial rock-style is in full view here; weird sounds abound, from the heartbeat in Closer, to I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-sound in Ruiner, to the distorted statics on Hurt. This isn't my favorite NIN album, the latter half of the album, besides Hurt drags a bit, but its still incredibly good. A seminal piece for the Industrial Rock genre. This album is mandatory listening and 100% deserving of being on the List.
One of my favorite albums
4/11 Absolute masterpiece of an album. One that is still very relevant and I can identify with today
Yeah i’m going low 5 on NIN, this album is heavy, brutal, despairing in a way that not much i’ve heard achieves so consistently and in such an engaging way.
Amazing! Lovelovelove NIN.
What an album to get on the day my Grampa passed away - turns out he left me his empire of dirt in the will! Favourite track: Heresy
If not a 5, what is
its intense, like a downward spiral into a type of addiction. the album is much more than the one song, closer. he tells a story of a descent of a man down a madness. 10/10
Probably the only metal album I’ll ever like
I was unprepared for just how great this record was going to be. The fusion between electronic and heavy metal is next level on this record. Songs like Eraser and Reptile make you want to run through a brick wall. There are two songs we've all heard on this record. Everyone knows Closer, but it just hits so much harder within the context of this record. And then, we all know the story of Reznor giving this song to Johnny Cash. I have to say, I think this version is better. It's heartbreaking. 65 minutes. Never drags. Genius.
Favourite tracks - March Of The Pigs, Closer, Hurt
As a concept it is whole and coherent. The lyrics are nihilistic and bleak, befitting the concept, but they were probably the hardest part for me to enjoy, simply because I’m in such a season of joy myself. But the music is great.
Awesome album!
Балдеж злобный
10/10
> the Beatles
really difficult listen in the best way possible. confrontational angsty and just wow im unsettled. Fav Song: Heresy Least Fav: Eraser
brilliant
WHAT AN ALBUM. Loved it. From the glitchy start leading into Mr. Self Destruct, the double punch of Closer and Ruiner and the beautiful ending run of Repile, The title track and hurt. I know that the song is now synonymous with Johnny Cash but I think I like this version better. 65 minutes long and every second is worth it. 100% BANGER
Amazing.
In the past I was never a big fan of NIN, mainly because I preferred heavier music, but in a vacuum this is an incredible album. The creativity and production are off the charts. It's grating and very dark without ever losing a sense of melody, and this album was also super innovative and influential. 5.0/5.0: Iconic
this isnt my favorite but its pretty great. the songwriting is fantastic and the production is incredible. its hard not to give this a 5 if you are remotely into this/similar genres
Iconic album of the time, great concept.
The Downward Spiral is one of my favorite albums of all time. Listening again I'm surprised at how modern it still sounds and how club ready songs like closer, terrible lies, and heresy are in particular. The angst really fits the cultural moment we seem to have been going through for the last 30 years.
Phenomenal album. Raw and unhinged in the best way possible. Any time I listen to this, I can't help but go through my own downward spiral along with Trent Reznor, thinking about my own depression, angst, self-destructive behavior, delusions, just the whole thing. I just live through them again in each song. After this session, I did get the thought that it kinda perfectly encapsulates having a manic episode where everything starts to feel unreal towards the end. And of course, what do you do when even your own body does not feel like it's actually there? You harm yourself, and in a twisted way, it helps so much in the moment. The title track hit really hard this time. It's so melancholic and hopeful at the same time, especially considering that "Hurt" comes right after it.
10/10. Quiet likely still my favourite album of all time. I can't understate how influential this album was on my appreciation and discovery of music, and how I processed my feelings in my later teenage years. It's still a job to listen to.
One of the greatest albums of all time in my opinion. The thematic cohesiveness and the production alone make this an incredibly strong standard by which I still measure other albums by.
This is cool, it's definitely not music I would ever choose to put on but I did like it more than I thought I would! Heresy is a banger! Hurt is a beautiful song! There are lots of good songs on here even though this is to me a pistachio ice cream situation. Good job Trent and Friends, have fun making music soundtracks that Doug will listen to forever
I didn't end up finding a 3rd song to really get into, but Inside and Hurt are too good and none of the songs were bad
Fuck yeah
cool record. I really do hate to sound square but I did kind of find myself wondering somewhat offhandedly how we got to a place where Reznor is singing "I want to fuck you like an animal"
Bak met herrie, 5 sterren
Soms heb je van die platen die een tijdsgeest en muziekstijl op zichzelf zijn. The Downward Spiral is zo'n plaat.
I knew of Nine Ninch Nails for their lyrics, this album sure did not dissapoint I enjoyed it alot, There were not Nine nails however.
This is some heavy shit from Reznor
This was so much better than I expected. March of the Pigs, Ruiner, a Warm Place into Eraser? Holy shit. I spent a lot of the time listening to this thinking of a kid in elementary school. Poster child for adhd. Always wearing NIN, White Zombie, or Korn shirts. True madman shit to listen to this as an 8 year old.
The Downward Spiral is strange, creepy, incomparably distinct and oddly comforting. This entire album is filled with eerie instrumentals and lyrics that add to its charm. This is one of my favorite albums of all time and it will always a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece.
lmao another album i've played on my cd player within the past week. kind of magical that an album this nihilistic and abrasive became a hit. it's edgy and juvenile and too brash maybe but fuck. it's just too compelling. i love the Johnny Cash version of Hurt but the original feels much more suicidal and hits harder emotionally to me. deserves to be one of the 1001? of course! toss Pretty Hate Machine and maybe The Fragile on too, honestly
What a singular experience, chaotic and dark throughout and thoroughyl original. It really is an important cultural staple and summary of the mid-90s.
One of the best. Great mix of aggression and softness.
Deze gaat morgen op repeat. Wat een teringvette plaat en een duidelijke voorloper op zaken als Code Orange en daar mag je me altijd voor wakker maken
Just wow
Alright, the absolute grunge goat, the sort of albums emos and goths attempted to make for years afterward. Just insanely good, emotionally devastation, new sound, Reznor is just unbelievable. Hurt just caps an amazing album and stronger legacy. Only problem is that this is a sometimes food if you aren't a depressed 17 year old wearing all black (positive).
Depression and madness are portrayed so well that this piece of music is absolutely terrifying
Great album! one of my favorite bands in the world.
THIS ALBUM IS FIRE! 5/5
Liked these guys from a distance for a long time, and bought this when it first came out, but didn’t spend much time beyond the hits until Trent and Atticus scored The Social Network. That was basically my gateway into going back and exploring NIN. Been a fan ever since. Saw them live a couple of weeks ago, with Josh Freese on drums - fantastic show. So yeah, five stars for this.
Reallygood
shout out drugs!
He seems mad about something. 4.6/5
Trent was well on his way to doing soundtracks for Disney movies.
asi suena el sexo
An album that has undoubtedly influenced a lot of music that I love. A true masterpiece
why would trent reznor ever apologize for making an album as raunchy as this? as nasty as this? favorites: mr. self destruct; march of the pigs; closer
This one is a masterpiece. So many layers to the sound, so many sounds, and of course, Trent’s angry voice. Plus, Hurt is just fantastic.
100% yes!
've listened to this album many, many times. We have it on CD and up until we got rid of our last car that had a CD player in it a year or so ago, it was on regular rotation in the car. Trent Reznor is such a musical genius and this album is a great example of that. The songs are just raw and a look into everything he had going on in his life at the time. If I was picking a personal list of my top albums, this would definitely be on it, so totally worthy that it made this list in my opinion.
Trent Reznor seems to have spent his entire life experimenting with sound, and while Pretty Hate Machine was dominated by synthesizers and Broken by aggressive guitar sounds, this album incorporates the best of both. It's almost an hour of industrial history from a furious lyrical protagonist who hates everything around him, and especially himself, ultimately ending his own life. The lyrics delve into those corners of the brain and soul that you'd rather not think about, and the music sometimes forces you to vent your anger with its thunderous sound, and sometimes simply frightens you; this is aided by periodic rustling, screams, creaks, and other seemingly otherworldly sounds. But there's nothing otherworldly here; this album was written by a living person, based on his feelings, and that fact sends a chill down your spine. I would strongly advise against listening to it in an unstable emotional state.
concept album about someone who is on a journey to self discovery. themes of addiction, religion, sex, and violence. a true masterpiece of an album that made trent reznor a household name in the alternative music genre. highlights: “march of the pigs” “closer” “the becoming” “reptile” “hurt”
This is a key example of how 1994 was peak music. Rolling Stone ranks this album at #2 for that year, right between Dookie and Weezer. This album is epic.
well it's peak
Sheer genius writing from Trent Reznor on this album. I’m a sucker for concept albums and this album is a great example of why people should listen to them front to back. A story of addiction and the decline of one’s sanity til the point of suicide. Now, I will admit the songs on this album, aside from maybe two, are not worth hearing by themselves
Fantastic, I wasn’t allowed to listen to this as a kid but finally came around to it now and wow. This move been mind blowing in the early 90s.
Big NIN fan and love this one; own the remix Further, also love.
Whoa - Incredible. I was a teen in peak NIN time, but I just never got them. None of my friends did either, so I know if them, but never listened to an album. What a shame, but better late than never. There is so much amazing stuff going on. First listen was with a set of ear buds and I was thinking the production felt like it fell a little short. Then I put it on the good headphones. Poduction is amazing! Get past the dark themes (or maybe enjoy them), and it's clearly going to get the religious folk off side, but the whole package works, and it's bloody excellemt.
What a fucking great album, and a wonderful excuse to spin the vinyl.
Una obra maestra para gente enferma (yo)
Wow that hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve only listened to this once before and it's crazy to me that I didn't care for it the first time. The texture is amazing and still sounds so fresh. This goes up there with Loveless for me in that regard. It is full throttle to start, it gets me as amped up as the Holy Bible. I was surprised how well the slow songs worked as well. A couple maybe I wasn't crazy about on the back half but I'm sure I'll grow to appreciate them. The ending is great too, even if Hurt has been improved upon. So many cool effects, interesting backstory, I get the fanaticism now. Rating: 4.9
Hey I know this one
I can assure you this will be a 5. I’m glad it’s inundating us with 1994 albums. So experimental, so fun, scary in the way that like stranger things is scary: not really but it’s interestingly spooky. The mind of Trent reznor is so cool I want to sit down with him and just talk about stuff. March of pigs and piggy best songs other than the hits, personal shout out to the title track ambience, but the whole thing slaps hard. Obviously hurt is a stand out amazing achievement of music; the Johnny cash version as well. I don’t mind the length when the whole thing is this interesting. Just a masterclass in sound design that makes the experimental noise music side of me so happy and inspired. This is probably top ten of everything we’ve rolled so far for me.
I started this generator to expand my musical education. I was already familiar with Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral before embarking on listening again. I first listened to it in the '90s when I was an angry teenager. This album fed my soul, it fed my anger. I became defined by it. I was ANGRY at everything. I knew the chorus to Closer wasn't about sex, it was about violence. Violence I wanted to commit on everyone else. Violence I always just kept to myself. Listening to this album in the dark of my room. Eventually I grew up. Decades later, I revisit this album. With fresh eyes, and the internet to read up on the album. I learn it's about a " misanthropic man who rebels against humanity, and kills God before attempting suicide." To borrow from High Fidelity, "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" I may never know.
exceeded my expectations. raw and real
This thing is brilliant. Overwhelming and brilliant.
Step right up.
Amazing from beginning to end, with my favorite banger that never took off, I Do Not Want This. But half the other songs got radio play and deserved it. Ugh today was a good day for this.
4.5 (75:46, 14 tracks, 2nd album, 1994) American Industrial A concept album detailing the self-destruction of a man from the beginning of his misanthropic "downward spiral" to his suicidal breaking point. The album was a commercial success with its sound being widely imitated, and the band receiving media attention and multiple honors. Trent Reznor, the band's sole member, bought and lived at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, the 1969 site of the murder of actress Sharon Tate by The Manson Family. He transformed it into a studio (he named “Le Pig” after the message that was scrawled on the front door with Tate's blood) for recording the Broken EP (1992) and subsequently The Downward Spiral. The site was demolished shortly after the recording of the album, Reznor met Sharon’s sister and felt remorse using the house. The album features elements of industrial rock, techno, metal and ambient soundscapes, in contrast to the band's synth-pop-influenced debut album Pretty Hate Machine (1989). The Downward Spiral was praised for its abrasive, eclectic nature and dark themes, and it has since been regarded by music critics and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time, although it was sensationalized by social conservatives for some of its lyrics. The album spawned two lead singles, "March of the Pigs" and "Closer", in addition to the promotional singles "Piggy" and "Hurt". The concept, focusing on the life and death of a misanthropic man who rebels against humanity, and kills God before attempting suicide. Reznor frequently struggled with drug addiction and depression, and the themes of the album gradually allegorized his living situation. Reznor collaborated with the Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins, the progressive rock guitarist Adrian Belew, and the Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna. Numerous layers of metaphors are present throughout The Downward Spiral, leaving it open to wide interpretation. The album relays nihilism and is defined by a prominent theme of self-abuse and self-control. It is a semi-autobiographical concept album, in which the overarching plot follows the protagonist's descent into madness in his own inner solipsistic world through a metaphorical "downward spiral", dealing with religion, dehumanization, violence, disease, society, drugs, sex, and finally, suicide. Reznor described the concept as consisting of "someone who sheds everything around them to a potential nothingness, but through career, religion, relationship, belief and so on." "Mr. Self Destruct", a song about a powerful person, follows a build-up sampled from the 1971 film THX 1138 with an "industrial roar" and is accompanied by an audio loop of a pinion rotating. "The Becoming" expresses the state of being dead and the protagonist's transformation into a non-human organism. "Closer" concludes with a chromatic piano motif. The melody is introduced during the second verse of "Piggy" on organ, then reappears in power chords at drop D tuning throughout the chorus of "Heresy", and recurs for the final time on "The Downward Spiral". "March of the Pigs" and "Closer" were released as singles; two other songs, "Hurt" and "Piggy", were issued to radio without a commercial single release. "March of the Pigs" has an unusual meter, alternating three bars of 7/8 time with one of 8/8. The song's music video was directed by Peter Christopherson and was shot twice; the first version scrapped due to Reznor's involvement, and the released second version being a live performance. "Closer" features a heavily modified bass drum sample from the Iggy Pop song "Nightclubbing" from his album The Idiot. Lyrically, it is a meditation on self-hatred and obsession, but to Reznor's dismay, the song was widely misinterpreted as a lust anthem due to its chorus, which included the line "I wanna fuck you like an animal". Reznor later stated: "It’s super negative and super hateful. It’s 'I am a piece of shit and I am declaring that and if you think you want me, here I am.' I didn't think it would become a frat-party anthem or a titty-dancer anthem." The music video for "Closer" was directed by Mark Romanek and received frequent rotation on MTV, though the network heavily censored the original version, which they perceived to be too graphic. The video shows events in a laboratory dealing with religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror; controversial imagery included a nude bald woman with a crucifix mask, a monkey tied to a cross, a pig's head spinning on a machine, a diagram of a vulva, Reznor wearing an S&M mask while swinging in shackles, and of him wearing a ball gag. The video has since been made part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. "Piggy" uses "nothing can stop me now", a line that recurs in "Ruiner" and "Big Man with a Gun". The frantic drumming on the song's outro is Reznor's only attempt at performing drums on the record, and one of the few "live" drum performances on the album. He had stated that the recording was from him testing the microphone setup in studio, but he liked the sound too much not to include it. "Hurt", final track of The Downward Spiral song, includes references to self-harm and heroin addiction; while other people claims that it describes the difficult process of finding a reason to live in spite of depression and pain and does not have much to do with the storyline of The Downward Spiral. Also famously covered by Johnny Cash. Nine Inch Nails embarked on the Self Destruct tour in support of The Downward Spiral. Chris Vrenna and James Woolley performed drums and keyboards respectively, Robin Finck replaced Richard Patrick on guitar, and bassist Danny Lohner was added to the line-up. The stage set-up consisted of dirty curtains which would be pulled down and up for visuals shown during songs such as "Hurt". The back of the stage was littered with darker and standing lights, along with very few actual ones. The tour debuted the band's grungy and messy image in which they would come out in ragged clothes slathered in corn starch. The concerts were violent and chaotic, with band members often injuring themselves. They would frequently destroy their instruments at the end of concerts, attack each other, and stage-dive into the crowd. The tour included a set at Woodstock '94 broadcast on pay-per-view and seen in as many as 24 million homes. Contrary to the widely held belief that it was an attention-grabbing ploy, the band said that being covered in mud was a result of pre-concert backstage play. However, in 2024, backstage home video emerged on YouTube showing Reznor asking the stage manager to give them "5 minutes for mud" when discussing show timings for getting to the stage and debating whether to find a mud pit or bring some into the dressing room in a bucket. The mud made it difficult for Reznor to navigate the stage and saw mud from his hair entering his eyes while performing. Nine Inch Nails were widely proclaimed to have "stolen the show" from their popular contemporaries, mostly classic rock bands, and their fan base expanded. The main leg of the tour featured Marilyn Manson as the supporting act, who featured the bassist Jeordie White (then playing under the pseudonym "Twiggy Ramirez"); White later played bass with Nine Inch Nails from 2005 to 2007. After another tour leg supporting the remix album Further Down the Spiral, Nine Inch Nails contributed to the Alternative Nation Festival in Australia and subsequently embarked on the Dissonance Tour, which included 26 separate performances with co-headliner David Bowie on his Outside Tour. Nine Inch Nails was the opening act for the tour, and its set transitioned into Bowie's set with joint performances of both bands' songs. However, the crowds reportedly did not respond positively to the pairing due to their creative differences. Despite this, in a 2012 Rolling Stone readers' poll, the tour (pairing Nine Inch Nails with Bowie) was named one of the top 10 opening acts in rock history. The tour concluded with "Nights of Nothing", a three-night showcase of performances from Nothing Records bands Marilyn Manson, Prick, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Pop Will Eat Itself, which ended with an 80-minute set from Nine Inch Nails. Kerrang! described the Nine Inch Nails set during the Nights of Nothing showcase as "tight, brash and dramatic", but was disappointed at the lack of new material. On the second of the three nights, Richard Patrick was briefly reunited with the band and contributed guitar to a performance of "Head Like a Hole". After the Self Destruct tour, Chris Vrenna, who had been a member of the live band since 1988 and frequent contributor to Nine Inch Nails studio recordings, left the act permanently to pursue a career in producing and to form Tweaker. The Downward Spiral's release date was delayed at various times to slow down Reznor's intended pace of the album's recording. The first delay caused the process of setting up Le Pig to take longer than he expected, and its release was postponed again as he was educating himself different ways to write songs that did not resemble those on Broken and Pretty Hate Machine. He considered delivering the album to Interscope in early 1993, only to experience a writer's block as he was unable to produce any satisfactory material. Interscope grew impatient and concerned with this progress, but Reznor was not forced by their demands of expediency despite crediting the label for giving him creative freedom. He told the producer Rick Rubin that his motivation for creating the album was to get it finished, thus Rubin responded that Reznor might not do so until he makes music that is allowed to be heard. Reznor realized that he was in the most fortunate situation he imagined when the album was recorded with a normal budget, "cool" equipment, and a studio to work at. The Downward Spiral debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling nearly 119,000 copies in its first week, eventually certified the album quadruple platinum, The album has since sold over four million copies worldwide. "It's all about rage, frustration, fucked-up sexuality, guilt, control, lack of control, things everyone has experienced at one point or another, things Reznor takes to the Nth power, things that make you want to stuff your fingers in your ears so you don't have to hear. But instead you keep going back because of that sick human thing that makes carnage fascinating." In 2003, the album was ranked number 200 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time; It moved up to 122 on the magazine's revised list in 2020. The album was placed 10th on Spin's 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years list; the Spin staff quoted Ann Powers' review that appreciated its bleak, aggressive style. After the release of The Downward Spiral, many bands such as Gravity Kills, Stabbing Westward, Filter, and Mötley Crüe made albums that imitated the sound of Nine Inch Nails. Reznor interpreted The Downward Spiral as an extension of himself that "became the truth fulfilling itself," as he experienced personal and social issues presented in the album after its release. He had already struggled with social anxiety disorder and depression and started his abuse of narcotics including cocaine while he went on an alcohol binge. Richard Patrick, who was Nine Inch Nails' guitarist until partway through The Downward Spiral sessions, has stated in interviews that "Piggy" was his nickname and that he believed the song was aimed at him. He clarified that the songs "Piggy" and "March of the Pigs" were written before his involvement with that location and were not about that tragedy: "I had the song 'Piggy' written long before it was ever known that I would be in that house... 'March of the Pigs' has nothing to do with the Tate murders…". Some critics and fans see the song's themes —betrayal, isolation, defiance ("nothing can stop me now")— as rooted in personal relationships, not broader cultural references. One commentary suggests the lyrics could be about a breakup before Reznor moved to LA, or reflect personal discord rather than the dramatic backdrop of the studio's history. The Downward Spiral's emphasis on transgressive themes drew criticism from American social conservatives. Senator Bob Dole, then the head of the Republican Party, sharply denounced Time Warner, the former owner of Interscope's former parent company Warner Music Group, after a meeting between Michael J. Fuchs (head of WMG), William Bennett, and C. Delores Tucker. During the meeting, Tucker and Bennett demanded that Fuchs recite lyrics from "Big Man with a Gun". Interscope had previously been blamed for releasing gangsta rap albums by rappers such as Dr. Dre, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg that were deemed objectionable. Reznor called Tucker (who erroneously referred to Nine Inch Nails as a gangsta rap act) "such a fucking idiot", and claimed that the song was actually a satire of the gangsta rap genre as a whole and was originally about madness. Reznor conceded The Downward Spiral could be "harmful, through implying and subliminally suggesting things", whereas hardcore hip hop could be "cartoonish". Dylan Klebold (Columbine High School massacre) perpetrator referenced lyrics multiple times in his journal. Klebold heavily identified with the protagonist of The Downward Spiral as a symbol of his own depression. All tracks are written by Trent Reznor. 1. "Mr. Self Destruct" 4:31 2. "Piggy" 4:24 3. "Heresy" 3:54 4. "March of the Pigs" 2:59 5. "Closer" 6:14 6. "Ruiner" 4:58 7. "The Becoming" 5:31 8. "I Do Not Want This" 5:41 9. "Big Man with a Gun" 1:36 10. "A Warm Place" 3:22 11. "Eraser" 4:53 12. "Reptile" 6:52 13. "The Downward Spiral" 3:58 14. "Hurt" 6:16 Total length: 65:02 The opening sounds of "Mr. Self Destruct" are a sample from the film THX 1138 in which a man is being beaten by a prison guard. The drum-beat on "Closer" was sampled from Iggy Pop's song "Nightclubbing". The song also contains a sample from Roxy Music's song "Take a Chance with Me", although it is sped-up and reversed. The sample of screams that plays throughout "The Becoming" is from the film Robot Jox, when a giant robot falls on a crowd of spectators. The sample at the beginning of "Big Man with a Gun" comes from a studio-altered recording of a porn star having an orgasm. According to the album booklet, this "sample" is titled "Steakhouse" and is credited to Tommy Lee. Japanese pressings of the album contain a cover of Joy Division's song "Dead Souls", originally included on the soundtrack to the film The Crow. The track is placed in between "Big Man with a Gun" and "A Warm Place". The break in "Reptile" contains an audio sample (starting at 5:06) of a woman falling down a hill from the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Additionally, the mechanical sounds of the opening (starting at 0:58) are from the cargo loader exosuit from the 1986 film Aliens.
This is a perfect album. It’s been a minute since I listened to it in its entirety, so listening to how purposeful the track listing is that builds you up, brings you down, and embeds the overall theme of the album throughout rather than just a random mix of tones and one off songs is artistry at its finest. I prefer hearing these songs live when you can feel the raw power of the music, but I will be coming back to this one more in any form.
Before I start, I just want to mention that I found funny that this album got recommended right after Johnny Cash's "American IV", the album including the cover of "Hurt". Talk about coincidence. Either way, here's the review: My first experience with Nine Inch Nails was listening to "With Teeth" back in January of 2020 and I loved at first glance. Back then, it was the only material that I liked from the band, as I remember not being able to handle their other stuff. This brings me to the point that, despite the fact "The Downward Spiral" is considered to be Trent Reznor's Magnum Opus, I think it is one of his less accessible albums, unless the person discovering it has already some experience with industrial music or is in a very particular state of mind. I only started listening to this album in 2022, when university was taking the best of me and it started resonating with me. How I rediscover the group was through a version of the meme "Mr. Incredibly becoming uncanny", that consisted in showing more and more disturbing songs from the band as the video progressed, ending with "Leaving Hope". Out of curiosity, I decided to check it out and I end up loving it. Around that time, I used to listen to music through the Youtube Mix playlist, so when it noticed I was listening to "Leaving Hope", it introduced the song with more material from the band to it, and does how I started to like the songs from "The Downward Spiral". The first one I can say I liked was "Reptile". I loved how striking and explicit the lyrics were and how well worked the pleasant voice over the incredibly intense industrial beats. The next song I felt in love with was "March of the Pigs", and I think it might be my favourite. It is the most angry and energetic track of the whole album. It starts with a blood pumping and loud drum which leads to a very explosive entry of screams and super distorted guitars that are super furious. This track is perfect for a person who is incredible anxious, stressed and that has a personal hatred towards some people. I was so obsessed with it that I used to blast it constantly on my headphones (thankfully, I don't do it anymore and I take a lot of care of my ears). With the past of time, I was discovering more songs and slowly developing a deep connection with the whole album, which is one of the main appeals of the record. It is incredibly relatable for people dealing with very difficult times, as it sounds very angry, dark and claustrophobic; with the lyrics narrating the concept of a protagonist who is at their lowest point in their life and dealing with violence, sexual abuse, religion, drugs and suicide; some themes that a lot of people can associate with. On top of the emotional value, this albums happens to also be impeccably produced. The sound quality and details are insane and mind-blowing. In terms of musical styles, this is mainly industrial with some touches of metal, rock, synth pop and even some atmospheric cuts. So while the record comes out in general as very aggressive, it also has some moments were it shows a more catchy and peaceful side. My only real complain about this are the harsh transitions between "I Do Not Want This", "Big Man with a Gun" and "A Warm Place", but these details don't stop the album from being an absolute masterpiece.
I woke up with this recommendation today and my first feelings were of apprehension - a fear of having to experience this record again. Short of the fact that I can confidently say that Closer is the song I have heard the most times in my entire life, my first listening experience of The Downward Spiral was overwhelming. This unrelenting buzz saw of a record recounts the torture of drug addiction and the horrors of mental decline, culminating in the desperate attempts of the protagonist to end their suffering. There is technical wizardry here - Reznor’s skillful brilliance in creating a suffocating listening experience shines in the transition from The Beginning as a soft acoustic guitar fades out of the left channel while the torturous mechanical din of I Do Not Want This oozes it’s way into the right channel with the grace of a dumpster being dropped over and over in your right ear. Sonically, each track is enough to rattle your soul, begging someone to release you. A Warm Place is the short-lived atmospheric reprieve you’ve earned after 40 minutes of suffering - that’s until the flies of Eraser begin and you’re suddenly headed back down into Hell. The real terror and sadness is that this record is someone’s lived experience. To pull it apart into singles or tracks is not appropriate and denies the sufferer the dignity of their suffering. While it’s not nice and it’s not graceful and it’s not pretty, the Downward Spiral is beautiful. Not in a classical, aesthetic way - it’s a masterpiece of hopelessness that must be listened to in its entirety to fully appreciate - because, if nothing else, it’s real.
Powerful!
I did not expect to feel this way after listening to this album. When I saw “nine inch nails”, I initially wrote it off as screamy music in my head. This is felt like a redefinition of an album. You don’t experience this album as individual slices (except for Hurt, maybe), it has to be consumed as a collective experience. It felt like a movie, and I felt moved. The techno-y drills, the atmosphere- I felt sci-fi, dystopian, apocalyptic, introspective, blah bleh bloh. I do not love any of the songs, I didn’t even necessarily enjoy them, but they weighed down on me. I would buy this piece of art. I would never play a song on this album for my friend. I would sit down and listen to this album through. That’s the only way to really do it.
190126 17:28 4.5
Might be my favorite album all time. If not top 3
NINE INCH NAILS IS THE FUCKING BEST 🗣️ top listened artist on my spotify wrapped of 2025. where do i even start w this album? it's so amazing. my favorite song on it is either memorabilia or eraser. i love u trent n atticus 🖤
Loved this one, more alike to what I usually listen to. I think that this album is not about vocal, but about sound effects themselves
Belter. Loved every minute of it. Dark, edgy, moving, intriguing. Some truly amazing lyrics.
This is an amazing album that must be listened to from start to finish to fully enjoy. I probably listened to it dozens of times as a teenager but haven’t revisited it in years. Trent Reznor is a musical genius and this is a peak album of the industrial electronic rock genre. Heavy, loud, often violent, but is able to create a feeling of emptiness, self-loathing, and even desolation. Not a bad track on the album.
An iconic album for its era. It has a lot going for it: a really memorable "industrial alternative" sound (innovative probably?); some really high highs ("Closer" and "Hurt"); I really like Reznor's vocals on it; and it's had a big cultural and artistic impact (including the eventual Cash cover). Had a real struggle trying to decide between a 4 or a 5 here, and I think it's just the bleakness that I'm getting hung up on a little. We'll give it the 5. It's cool that Reznor is still pretty relevant today, 30 years later, mainly now for his film and TV score work (I really enjoyed the "Life on Mars" cover from his Watchmen score a while back).
FK
10/10
One of my favorite album’s on the planet.
Weird that I wasn’t into NIN as a teenager, I would have loved them
I’ve been waiting for this… Full disclosure: I am a HUGE NIN fan, and have been since 1989. The second full length album from Trent Reznor - who wrote and performed the album with a supporting cast of session musicians, recorded (infamously) at Cielo Drive, the site of the Manson Family murders of Sharon Tate and her friends, came out at a time when music was changing once more - Cobain was dead, grunge along with it, and my-metal wasn’t yet a thing. Coming off the back of the breakout hit of Pretty Hate Machine, and a Grammy win for Wish (off the Broken EP), expectations were high from both fans and the music industry. And Reznor didn’t disappoint. From the opening whip cracks of Mr Self Destruct (sampled from THX1138) and its pounding backbeat, Reznor set the tone. The lyrics were uncompromising, nihilistic and bleak, Mr Self Destruct’s theme of internal loathing giving way to the sleaze rock of Piggy, with refrain of ‘hey pig’ evoking the murders literally, ending with ‘nothing can stop me now’ growled threateningly and with conviction. Heresy picks up the beat, declaring the death of religion over a club beat mixed with a military march, , atheism was never so danceable, flowing into the relentless drumbeat of March of the Pigs, the staccato beat just off centre, unbalancing the listener as they can’t help but move to the beat. Then there’s Closer. Ah, the NIN track most non-fans would know, thanks to it becoming a rock club dancefloor stable, the backbeat taken from Iggy Pop’s Nightclubbing slowed to a heartbeat, mixed with a sexually charged groove and lyrics, the refrain ‘I want to fuck you like an animal’ becomes its own form of religious mantra, the poetry whispered by Reznor over the electronic squarks and warbles seduces the listener into a delirious bliss. Ruiner builds on this, reaching a crescendo during the chorus of strings and fanfares, pushing the emotions to the limits, repeating the ‘nothing can stop me now’ refrain, only this time from an confidence born of arrogance rather than a threat. The Becoming evokes a sense of helplessness, of loss of self as the cogs and fears grind down the self into nothing more than a drone, helpless and alone, just another piece in the puzzle. This sense of helplessness deepens in I Do Not Want This, a sense of drowning and loss coming to the front, foreshadowing the second half of the album, giving way to anger and passion, as the song builds to the screams of ‘I want to fuck everyone in the world, I want to do something that matters’, the the serotonin hit at its highest, pushing into Big Man With A Gun, evoking feelings of stardom and excess at its worst, with no regard for anyone but the narrator, until… oblivion. A Warm Place, the lead track to the second half of the album is by contrast, peaceful, a gentle caress, an oasis of calm, the eye of the storm around which the maelstrom uproots and destroys everything around it, until… the disconcerting, menacing ticking and humming begins, heralding the start of Eraser. It starts gentle enough, ‘need you, dream you’ sings Reznor, but that doesn’t last, darkening into feelings of lust and violence ‘fuck you, use you, scar you, break you’ flipping into self hatred and loathing ‘lose me, hate me, smash me, erase me, kill me’, the sense of loss deepening even further. Reptile offers, at first, a sense of relief - here the Madonna as the whore, the object of his desire, yet he knows that to be with her spells his doom. The Downward Spiral lays that doom out - ‘so much blood for such a tiny little hole’, the inevitable happens, oblivion beckons, his thoughts bleed away, the blackness calls to him. Hurt. Ah, beautiful, melancholy Hurt. The paean to heroin, ‘my beautiful friend’, that final respite from the pain he feels, his voice cracking as he cries out ‘if I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself, I would find a way’, knowing that he has truly lost himself. I don’t overstate it when I say I truly think that without TDS, we would never have had the rock music of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, and come to it, the music of Lady Gaga, Halsey, and countless EDM acts, all of whom drank from the well, with TDS becoming part of their musical DNA. It’s a perfect album in so many aspects, and truly deserves it’s place on the list.
Hey, it's my favorite album from when I was 16. I don't carry the angst that I did back then and subsequently have moved on from identifying with the nihilism and despair on display here. It has ben a very long time since I gave this a spin, but the album still lives within me deep down. The themes don't resonate for me, but the album has power and style that can't be denied.
Peak NIN
top 3 greatest albums of all time I've been listening to it almost every fortnight since I was 13 and I'm still finding new things in it. The ambition and layers of melodies, riffs and noises is something I miss dearly in the blockbuster rock album.
Perfect
holy shit. i haven't listened to this in YEARS. almost every song is liked but honorable mention for eraser. the transition from warm place, the moaning, the build up, OMG.
I discovered Nine Inch Nails through the soundtrack to Quake. I've been a fan ever since. This album represents a milestone in the history of NIN and Trent Reznor. Unfortunately, I can't enjoy it in all its glory today. But A Warm Place and Hurt are always good. Nevertheless, this album is one of my favorites. 5/5
The bias that you might assume comes with being a NIN fan just isn't doing anything here - I never really got this album and was far more into With Teeth through Ghosts I - IV - but for some reason, this time, I get it. Fantastic stuff. 5*
Кращий альбом NIN, класика (хоч декілька пісень тут провисають в серединці)
Only listened to NIN in earnest like three years ago & I’m equally bummed I didn’t listen sooner as I am thrilled to have found a new favorite band in my 30s when you tend to just listen to the same things over and over. So now I listen to NIN over and over.
Últimas semanas de diciembre y después de un par de idas y vueltas, retomamos el reto con éste discazo. Álbum crudísimo en comparación al debut de Trent Reznor y que venía a anticipar su forma de hacer música: un catalizador del odio y de la mierda cotidiana. Oscuro, sexi, violento y de a momentos, bailable. Muchas gracias y hasta mañana.
Fantastic album.
incredible album what more can I say...
Great industrial
I keep giving albums five stars but it’s because the generator keeps giving me iconic shit. I mean it’s THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL. Trent famously apologized for the album when he sent it in but the things that were inside him now seem so necessary for the understanding of our world. For scratching that particular itch, this album beats Nirvana or Pumpkins or even Radiohead. Even if it might not rank as high as those folks’ records on favorite lists, I’d argue its sound and style may be even more influential. And it remains so when you hear it today. Weirdly I think the only part of the album that feels dated now is “Hurt” … because as Trent recognized, it’s Johnny Cash’s song now. But that just shows how much it mattered that folks who were still listening to it, still thinking about, still interpreting it.
Rad. Pure 90’s industrial action.
Genius
This band scared the crap out of me as a little kid, but that's kind of the point, right? This album was so interesting to listen to. Spooky sounds, layered effects, differing time signatures. the delay effect on Hurt blew my mind.
It took me a few years to take appreciate this album fully, the surround mix on SACD takes it to another level.
Front to back banger.
51/1001 This thing is a monster. This album and all the following remixes were my life at the time. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before. The production on this is a beast too if you can hear it on something other than a phone speaker. 10/10
This album is so great, it’s such a singular work of art. It’s an album about a downward spiral of self destruction, self hate and loathing. It’s withdrawing from society into a world of hate. The music tells the tale with walls of feedback, punishing beats and distorted vocals. This is as good as art gets. You don’t have to like or enjoy it but it’s impossible not to be in awe of the artistic achievement. Anyway I love it and NIN’s original version of hate is so powerful, so dissonant so painful. I remember seeing it live, it was over a decade ago but the memory is still so vivid. Five star album if there ever was one.
This album knows exactly what it wants to be. It’s a dirty, grungy mass of industrial sound that imposes and is unrelenting. And it’s amazing. It all works so well and creates a memorable style of music that is so cohesive and conveys the exact feelings you are supposed to feel. I had a great time with this album and would listen again.
Masterpiece. Perfect album. In the top 5 albums of the 90s for sure.
Incredible
A perfect album.
Chef kiss!
It’s been a minute since I listened to this back to front. I had a suspicion it would still be an easy five-stars and I was right. Boy does this beast hold up. Bleak, abrasive, and brutally honest. An archive of suffering that you can mosh to.
Man's a genius in a fucked up kind of way
It’s the second best NINA ALBUM
This is such an awesome album. There is no other artist that combines anger and sensitivity with incredible musicality like Trent Reznor. I have always loved this album. When my friend Craig introduced me to it, it changed my listening life! It sounds like every nightmare I have ever had. It's tough to listen to, but well worth the effort! I vividly remember popping a girlfriends cherry to this album!!
Well thanks Trent, now I’m all angry and sad and horny! Which tbf is pretty much how I always feel, and probably why I love this album so much! 😅 This really is a masterpiece - It scratches my brain in all the good ways
While I can't listen to this all day every day, this album came out right as I was starting to understand what my own tastes in music were versus what my parents listened to around me. The edginess of young teens listening to listen in the culture of public schools at the time added to the appeal. I didn't even realize or understand how musically complex it was, how innovative Trent Reznor is, nor the influence it had on hard rock and electronic music. People older than about 30 at the time this album came out probably just thought this was annoying noise with dirty lyrics, but anyone younger than that can see this album (and what NIN was doing in general) was moving the needle in completely new directions for musical creativity.
Banger after oppressive banger.
Probably my favourite album of all time.
Listened to this endlessly in the 90’s. Still phenomenal
What a masterpiece, the aggression and emotion are perfectly balanced
Wow! 😲
love maybe 2nd best nin album
Operatic cyber extremism. Stunning. So progressive, it still sounds like it's from the future. Primordial ooze made electric 4.8
I think I have to give this a 5 just on account of the amount of time it took me to decide lol. It's a HARD listen and though there's a decent amount I'd be willing to maybe listen to on its own, I am sorta leery to if I'm not in the right state of mind! That said, great stuff music-wise and as an album.
A masterpiece in every right. Lyrically, this is bleak and uncompromising, painting a portrait of a soul wracked with addiction and despair ultimately giving in to suicide. Some may call it edgy, but there is more than enough genuine experience, emotion, and thought put into these lyrics to make it not hit that mark for me. The music also complements the story perfectly, with its use of harsh industrial beats to symbolize rage and despair, ambient passages marking emotional turning points (see "A Warm Place" for the best example of this), and overall layered and intricate sound design that I'm constantly hearing new details in. A generational master work in musical storytelling and in industrial sound design alike, this easily earns its 5 stars. God bless you, Trent Reznor.
A masterpiece, like everything NIN does. My favorites were: "Mr. Self Destruct," "Hurt," "Closer," "Reptile," "A Warm Place," "Heresy," "I Do Not Want This," and on Disc 2 of the Deluxe version, "Closer To God," "Heresy (Demo)," "Closer (Precursor)," and "Dead Souls (From "The Crow" Soundtrack)."
Another classic! Love this so much, I feel like I know the track list by heart. To me, the fragile is better just perfect album sequencing. No skips ever
Love it. Just Love it. I usually listen to the daily album while working on school work, but I had to stop and listen to this one in another setting. Not a bad thing, since its great for gaming and exercise, and I love finding good stuff to listen to on those moments.
Life changing
Det er musik som larmer! Men det ved de også godt selv, måske derfor at jeg elsker de musikalske pusterum omkring halvvejs på albummet. Bare lige en ørerenser som gør at de næste numre ikke går ubemærket hen. Closer er dog en skipper.. Den har jeg hør aaaalt for meget, men resten føltes frisk for mig.
Albummet jeg i mange år har haft på listen over dem jeg skulle lære at kende. Det er over 10 år siden jeg “opdagede” NIN. Men jeg har aldrig fået lyttet ordentligt til hele TDWS, selv om jeg kendte en del numre på den. Jeg var absolut ikke skuffet.
(98/100)
Love this album!
YES
Holy shit what a banger. Can't believe I've never listened to this.
Great album. So in your face.
Dense and detailed journey through the dark obsessions of one white male’s psyche, touching on themes of spiritual abandonment, dehumanization, debasement, loss of meaning, guilt, and emotional/ sensory numbness made somehow into a successful album via Reznor’s throttling yet hooky use of dynamics and sound collage along with an unmistakeable ear for melody. Vanquishes the dark not in the lyrics but rather with the harrowing, brutal and often beautiful soundscapes. Adrian Belen’s guitar work here brings some necessary levity and makes repeat-listenable what is altogether an uncompromising work.
I want to know everything I want to be everywhere I want to fuck everyone in the world I want to do something that matters
Piggy und The Downward Spital gefielen mir nicht. Der Rest war super. Highlights waren für mich Heresy und The Becoming. Verstörendes, aggressives Album, dass aber auch seine ruhigen Momente hat. Ist jetzt das 4.* das ich dieses Album höre und es bleibt mir immer besser im Gedächtnis. Das schaffen nur sehr wenige Alben. Es hat nen besonderen Charakter. Mittlerweile ist es auch dadurch ein 4,5 Album. Die Regeln der Mathematik sind da gnadenlos
Oh weia, da kommt es gleich am zweiten Tag...mein Lieblingsalbum ever ❤️ In Sachen Alben das Maß aller Dinge für mich. Erdrückend düster, herausragend produziert, toll sequenziert, wütend, verstörend, smart, abwechslungsreich, immer wieder überraschend im Songwriting - ein perfektes Werk.
Abrasive Catchy Creepy
Brilliant. Saw them at the beginning of the summer and it will go down as one of the best gigs I have been to.
My anger from last album's mamas and papas got directed into this album. This album seems trapped in the ether of time. Anger, violence, depression, anxiety, frustration. So vivid, so frantic First time of properly listening to this.
i’m ashamed that i only knew “closer” and haven’t heard the whole lp before. just energy, ambience, aggression and emotions a no skip album for me