The Downward Spiral

I’m a casual fan of early Wax Trax material, and loved Pretty Hate Machine years back, but I never really gave NIN’s later material attention. Digging this a lot more than I expected. It’s got just the right blend of chaos and aggression, but still sticks with that early industrial dance beat to keep it focused. Probably going to be listening to this more.

Average...prefer Pretty Hate Machine

This one took a few days and a few listens, but I am very glad I took the time. It’s dark, loud, and abrasive instrumentally and lyrically. This album makes exceptional use of dynamics, lulling you in with quiet electronics before smashing your head open with drums that sound like shotgun blasts and guitars with enough effects to induce a headache. Exceptional art piece at telling a story and leading you on this downward spiral with the main character. This felt like the soundtrack to an alternate version of Fight Club where the narrator gets really into heroin. P.S. The vocals at the end of The Becoming sound kind of like Toad and I can’t unhear it.

I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. I went fully into this just expecting loud noise.

March of the pigs and Heresy are great song and I enjoyed self destruct

Favourite song: March of the pigs
Least favourite: the becoming
Album artwork: I wont be getting the poster.

Yeah. 5 stars. This album is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. Not a single weak song. Goddamn, if I could give this higher than 5 stars I would. Masterpiece.

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

Dark and brooding, furious and horny, desperately nihilist but oddly life affirming in its pure heavy catharsis. NIN combines the moody goth synth sounds of Depeche Mode with the relentless intensity of Big Black. This is like a prototype for Nu-Metal, minus the rapping: the grooves that turn into riffs, the confessional verses that turn into tortured screaming choruses, the fusion of metal and electronica. Reznor's efforts to explore mood and texture are a huge success, this is an album you can see when you close your eyes: rust, char, ooze, scratches scrawl and scar...you know, goth shit.

Another juvenile fit-thrower from the 90s, like Marilyn Manson and later Eminem. DNF

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

Man, the synths and bass riffs on this album are DIRTY. Like, they're sick as well, and were this album completely instrumental, I could see myself liking this a whole lot more, as it has so many cool sounds, especially for 1994. However, my issues with this album lie in the angst of it all. If you like that sort of thing, that's awesome, I can dig some anger every now and then, but at over an hour long, this album tends to go from cheesy lyrics to just being a bit dull by the end, and while Trent Reznor is certainly the mastermind behind this album, instrumentals and all, I still think his singing is more cringeworthy than piercing, and it leads to a lot of awkward moments, I feel. However, when this album sucks you in, dear lord is it surprisingly funky, and that mood, which is more prevelant in the first half, really skyrockets the album for me from the depths of "ew" to a more understandable "oh, okay!" I can totally see why one would consider this one of the best albums of all time, just a little too much 90s-ness for me.

Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails is not just an album, but a sonic journey into the depths of despair and self-destruction.

Recorded in the infamous house where Sharon Tate was murdered, the album reflects the haunting and violent atmosphere of its location. The music is a blend of industrial, rock, and ambient elements, creating a diverse and dynamic soundscape that ranges from aggressive and distorted to calm and melancholic.

The lyrics are raw and honest, expressing the inner turmoil and pain of the protagonist, who spirals down from anger and addiction to depression and suicide.

The album features some of the band's most iconic songs, such as Closer, a twisted love song that samples a heartbeat and a whip, and Hurt, a poignant and powerful ballad that was later covered by Johnny Cash.

Downward Spiral is a masterpiece of musical artistry and emotional intensity, and deserves a full 5 stars.

Prefer Atari Teenage Riot

Føler at jeg har arbejdet på en fabrik den sidste time! Super nice plade - med en vild produktion!
Man kan høre hvor, i hvert fald, Marilyn Manson har fået inspiration fra!

This was a teenage favourite so may be a bit coloured by that but I love this album. The production is still insane 30(!) years on

Wow this was intense! I’m glad I listened to this with headphones. I think you’d miss a lot just listening on a speaker or even in a car. I honestly didn’t expect to like this album, I’d always just wrote NIN off as noisy and abrasive. Don’t get me wrong, this album is noisy and at times abrasive. But it’s not just noise for noise’s sake like I imagined. The production on here is stellar. Like wow does reznor know how to use a studio. Not only that, the emotion is there too. If I was listening to this back when it was released I’d be worried for the songwriter. I think this is definitely an album I’ll be revisiting. It won’t be everyday drive to work music, it’s pretty dark and very intense. But I do want to dig in deeper, maybe read along the lyrics as I listen and try and hash out everything that’s going on. I feel like the themes are well portrayed just through the music itself but I know there’s much more to this album than I can get from just one listen through.

Shouldn't have listened to whilst having a bad day at work. SO. VERY. ANGRY. NOW.

Don't listen to it all that often these days, but very familiar with it & it's a key part of my musical foundation. Great stuff!

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.

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

I quite liked this. More industrial than I typically enjoy, but still a pretty good album. 4/5