The Downward Spiral

Perfect the whole way through, from the weird industrial jazz of Piggy to my favorite track Heresy. Closer is overplayed and a meme at this point but it's still the best track on the record being an emotional low point on a record that somehow manages to dig down further after that. A song that on any other album would be the most brutal song on the record lyrically, and here it's downright cheerful in comparison to some of the other tracks.

The Becoming somehow managing to keep finding ways to one up the anxiety when you thought it was taped out. Reptile with its scratching that bores into your brain. And the finale, Hurt, which has kinda been overshadowed by the Cash version at this point, but is still a fitting and poignant end to this brutal, despairing album.

Man, The Downward Spiral was honestly quite the listening experience and it was one i didn't regret a single second of. Many of the songs just sounded perfectly heavy in the way that they are just fun to rock out to while seamlessly blending in many electronic influences. Throughout the album, there were so many cool moments involving the vocals and the music that made me ask \"How are Trent and the other members of the band doing this?\". This is one heck of an amazing album and is probably the best one i have done so far. Sorry Appetite For Destruction, you have been dethroned.
Best Song: Reptile
Worst Song: Piggy

Love Trent

Heresy and Closer are solid tracks. I'm actually really digging A Warm Place.

This album is a fantastic achievement in production and originality. I don’t believe there was anything that sounded quite like this at the time.

Why it’s not getting 5 ⭐️: There’s a section in the middle (Ruiner -> Big Man With A Gun) where the teenage-school-shooter-manifesto lyrics and delivery start to get a bit repetitive and on-the-nose. Needed a vibe shift. A Warm Place was a welcome relief and it picks up again at the end.

💅💅💅💅 / 5

Déjà écouté avant.

Abrasif. Voilà le mot qui vient à l'esprit quand on écoute The Downward Spiral, l'un des albums "mainstream" qui pousse le plus loin l'exercice de style industriel, quitte à assumer une forme de laideur cathartique... Clairement, Trent Reznor n'était pas là pour s'amuser ou nous prendre par la main, et ce récit d'une descente aux enfers psychique, racontée aussi crûment qu'elle est mise en musique, ne peut que laisser des gens sur le côté. C'est désespéré, cradingue, vulgaire, repoussant même, mais d'une intensité dingue, presque cinématique (ça n'est pas un hasard si Reznor deviendra ensuite un immense compositeur pour le grand écran) qui agresse les oreilles pour mieux réveiller les neurones.

Top : March of the Pigs
Flop : Big Man With a Gun

Feels like a 4. But honestly some of the songs AND LYRICS could have made it a 1.

holy shit what a fucking intro

Wanted to like it, if their style was more in the style of the two hits then maybe I would like it more but most of it sounded like too heavy of a guitar paired with too uninteresting of a voice and lyrics. 2/5

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭 is harsh, ugly, and surprisingly addictive. The guitars grind, the beats feel mechanical, and Trent Reznor often sounds as if he is barely holding everything together, yet the album never collapses into shapeless noise.

What keeps it compelling is the amount of contrast. 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 is almost perversely catchy, while the quieter passages make the aggression around them hit even harder. By the time 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝘁 closes the album, the restraint feels more devastating than another wall of distortion ever could.

It is not an easy listen, and I would not want every album to sound this miserable. But for something this abrasive, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭 is remarkably good at pulling me in.

This was the album that changed the landscape of music, huh? I can't believe I used to like this, it was like listening to a completely different album this time around. Reznor's voice is uninteresting, the dynamic contrast is neat the first couple tracks but gets stale over the course of an hour.

Never before has industrial rocks sounded so beautiful. With haunting tracks like Hurt, and Closer where they try to out sexy-funk Prince the album is full of masterpieces.

This album is such a classic for me. I thought it was edgy AF when I was a teen. We both know what song I'm talking about. This album hits so much different now that I'm older. It's a bop

Jeg måtte prøve denne to ganger. Det ble noe bedre ved andre gjennomhøring, men jeg merker at industrial er bedre som element enn frittstående sjanger. Er som om jeg bare venter på tunge metallriff.

The keywords for this album include: noise, angry, hate, abrasive, loud, intense, etc. Not my usual fare. And the truth is, I didn't enjoy about 75% of this album, but Closer and Hurt sort of tie it all together and justify the experience. I can respect the artistry in something I don't find aesthetically pleasing.

This is really good and interesting. I actually own the original album, but had never paid enough

It is complex and it requires several listens to really appreciate it. But it keeps growing on me. Very good.

Songs I enjoyed: "Hurt" (fantastic track and, of course, the cover by Cash is also fantastic), "Closer", "Reptile", "March of The Pigs", "Mr. Self Destruct", "A Warm Place" (I typically enjoy instrumental tracks) or "Heresy".

This is between 4 and 5 stars for me. However, taking into account its originality, influence, and legacy, I'm awarding this one 5 stars.

But well, this is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

I LOVED this record when it first came out. Looking back on that period of my life, I recognize that I was going through the sort of exceptionally memorable shit that would make one want to listen to "The Downward Spiral" on repeat all the time.

So I went into this with a bit of trepidation 30 years on, as a person who still likes a lot of industrial music but doesn't require quite as much screaming and desecration anymore. But a lot of it is more subtle than I remembered. There's a lot of interesting stuff on here, mostly related to percussion, the insect noises that got mixed in here and there, and extended howling stretches of music like the end of "Ruiner."

I probably would have rated this FIVE STARS FUCK YEAH BURN EVERYTHING in 1994, but I think I'll give it a slightly more restrained four today. The good songs are very good, but after a while it's all a bit much. I'm glad I was reminded of it again today, though.

Favorite track: "The Downward Spiral"

There are some NIN songs that I love, but some of these a bit above my loud and angry limit.

Trent at the start of his moody goth phase.

Not even my favourite NIN album but still an instant 5*