Henry’s Music Blog

I would consider myself a Nine Inch Nails fan. Sure, most of the recent stuff is rather lackluster, but back in the 90s, only one person could personify pure anger as well as Trent Reznor, and that was Billy Corgan. And most people tend to agree that Reznor’s masterpiece is The Downward Spiral, considered the greatest industrial record ever by people who’ve never actually listened to industrial music. So today, we’re looking at what’s considered one of the best albums of the 90s, The Downward Spiral.

Note: the copy of the album I have does not include “Heresy”.

1. Mr. Self Destruct

An album typically opens in two ways. One is one of the more aggressive and riff oriented songs on the album, or the lead-off single. “Mr. Self Destruct” is an example of the former, being one of the louder songs on the album, and likely the most aggressive. While not being that great of a song by itself, it’s a great way to start off this album.

2. Piggy

As the first real song on the album, Piggy is one of the quieter songs, beginning with a slow yet funky bass line and drums, and Trent singing about pigs. While this a “concept album”, I have a hard time with stuff like that, so to me, this song is all about pigs. While starting off slow, the song picks up in noise and volume, until bursting into a fantastic drum solo rounding off the song. While one of the quieter songs, it’s one of my personal favorites.

3. March of the Pigs

After the relative serenity of “Piggy”, the album turns to its louder side with the fast paced “March of the Pigs”, the second shortest song on the album. With weird time signatures and loud instruments suddenly switching over the a calm and cheery piano chorus, the song is rather schizophrenic, impressive considering the run time. Honestly, while one of the more popular songs off the album, the song doesn’t do much for me, seeming like a small piece of filler. Required for the NIN experience, but nothing spectacular.

4. Closer

And here we have the most well remembered song on the album. Sounding like the opening soundtrack to the worlds sleaziest porno, we find that that’s exactly what it is, with Reznor telling us everything that he would like to do to us, before going into the chorus. The line “I want to fuck you like an animal” is one of the most famous lines in music, up there with “How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man.” But all of this actually takes up a smaller section of the song than people believe, mostly in the first verse and chorus. After the chorus, we get a synth part that sounds like demented electronic violins, while continuing. Then, we hit the large instrumental section, which is absolutely fantastic, and is sadly often forgotten. Easily one of the best of the 90s.

5. Ruiner

I’m not gonna mince words. This is probably my favorite song on the album. Starting with a great drum beat, the rest of the instruments come in, mixing the right amount of noise and melody, with Reznor being more eerie than most musicians could ever hope to be. It’s funny how this song is one of the more accessible on the album, yet wasn’t as big a hit as “March of the Pigs”. Well, I guess people’s opinions can be different from each other. Either way, I love this song.

6. The Becoming

Starting off with some bizarre electronic melody, the song turns into several people screaming in fear, with loud drums. Reznor comes in, giving a vocal delivery of the evil that doesn’t kill, but instead plots. The closest the album gets to true Industrial, it’s nightmarish, giving the vision of a rampage throughout the city by a mechanical demon from hell. A definite album track, but decent enough as a song.

7. I Do Not Want This

“I Do Not Want This” is probably the second quietest song on the album that I would say is actually a song. With light instrumentation and piano, the song is mainly quiet, but also manages to be one of the creepiest songs ever recorded. With the piano sparse and rather disconcerting, it’s a nightmare of a song, but also rather beautiful. Not a great song, but works for the album.

8. Big Man With a Gun

As the shortest song on the album at 1:36, the song is pure noise, entering with a distorted clip of a woman orgasming, and ending with loud instruments and Reznor yelling. Not much to say, but it’s mostly loud filler.

9. A Warm Place

Now this song is easily the quietest song on the album, but I wouldn’t say it’s really a song. Having more to do with Aphex Twin then Skinny Puppy, it’s relaxing, but mostly pointless. It’s mostly there for a break between the two louder songs on the album.

10. Eraser

The song begins with Reznor blowing into a straw, which is bizarrely nerve-wracking. After this, the eerie drone sets in, leaving us with plenty of noise and banging drums. One of the scarier songs on the album, this will most likely leave you with images of demon insects invading your mouth and eating you from the inside when you sleep. With lyrics only towards the end, it’s an excellent song, but not one to listen to while sleeping.

11. Reptile

As the last loud song on the album, “Reptile” is one long goodbye to the human race, from how I see it. With loud banging drums and what sounds like a prison at night, it sends you to a bad part of your mind, saying goodbye to what’s left of life and sanity. With the character in the story rejecting what is left of his mind, it’s a rather far cry from the beginning of the album, as what usually happens with concept album. Not a favorite, but a great piece of the story.

12. The Downward Spiral

Beginning with an eerie drone, the song eventually changes to being absolutely terrifying in a bizarre way, with a creepy acoustic part, and the drone burying farther into your head as it continues. Along with the breathing played before the guitar is played again, the song gives the thought of the end of the world, until other instruments come in, violently, but also quietly, causing an eerie sensation. Also, some screaming and spoken word on top. I love this song, but it’s not for everyone.

13. Hurt

While I admit that Johnny Cash’s cover off American IV is superior, the original version of the song is still absolutely beautiful. With the beautiful guitar, followed by the chorus of piano and drums coming in, the song is easily the emotional highpoint of the album, with Reznor’s strongest lyrics ever, showing the problems he was having in real life in heartbreaking detail. Also, Reznor and Cash both give off very different messages in their versions. While Cash was sad and contemplative, Reznor’s was angry, and showed how the character of The Downward Spiral is closer to his real self then what was previously thought. The song is nearly perfect, and stay for the whole thing, with one of the greatest endings in music and album history.

Overall, I would say the album holds up remarkably well. While the later middle half does falter compared to the rest, the whole album is engaging with its story, important for the status of Industrial today, and a requirement for anyone’s music collection.

Score: A