Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral released

The Downward Spiral Nine Inch Nails

Released: March 8, 1994 Peak: 2 US, 9 UK, 13 CN, 12 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.10 UK, 4.44 world (includes US and UK) Genre: industrial rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Mr. Self Destruct [4:31] Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) [4:24] (12/24/94, 20 MR) Heresy [3:54] March of the Pigs [2:5] (2/25/94, 59 BB, 45 UK) Closer [6:14] (5/7/94, 41 BB, 35 AR, 11 MR, 25 UK) Ruiner [4:58] The Becoming [5:31] I Do Not Want This [5:41] Big Man with a Gun [1:36] A Warm Place [3:22] Eraser [4:53] Reptile [6:52] The Downward Spiral [3:58] Hurt [6:16] (4/22/95, 54 BA, 8 MR) All songs written by Trent Reznor. Total Running Time: 65:02

Rating: 4.169 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings) Quotable: “An industrial-rock gem” – Blender magazine Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Themes of Gloom and Doom The Downward Spiral, the second studio album from Nine Inch Nails, was recorded in the Los Angeles house on Cielo Dive where Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson family. Trent Reznor, the primary force behind NIN, said, “When I rented the place, I didn’t realize it was that house.” 500 Regardless of what he knew or didn’t, Reznor crafted a record that matched the gloom of the atmosphere in which it was created. “Reznor’s raw intensity and sonic experimentation dive deep into themes of self-destruction and despair.” OH His “preening self-absorption and serpentine sexuality seemed directly descended from Jim Morrison” SH while his “nihilism often seemed like a reaction against some repressively extreme standard of purity.” SH It all led to a “pounding soundtrack to the drug-fueled psychosexual persecution drama that played out in his head.” EW’12 “Reznor spat out a suicidal concept record with industrial metal roots.” CQ An Industrial-Rock Gem “While Spiral has its share of Reznor’s trademark industrial corrosiveness, it’s balanced by…soundscapes inspired by David Bowie’s Low.” 500 It “distills wide-ranging styles and mesmerizing sound effects into his singular brand of brooding computerized art-rock.” UT On the “musically complex, lyrically bleak” BL album, Reznor “spearheaded a wave of industrial pop, nu-metal, mid-’90s alternative, and the like, all alongside a leviathan called grunge rock.” CQ The album is “an industrial-rock gem” BL that established Reznor as “industrial’s own Phil Spector” SH and “a synth antihero.” BL The album “is full of striking sonic juxtapositions and sudden about-faces in tone, which make for a fascinating listen.” SH It finds Reznor “painting detailed, layered soundscapes from a wide tonal palette,” SH “taking some pop aesthetic from 1989’s dance-oriented Pretty Hate Machine and grinding it up” CQ with “the crashing metal guitars of [the] Broken” SH EP. He also “integrated…several newfound elements – expanded song structures, odd time signatures, shifting arrangements filled with novel sounds, tremendous textural variety [which] can be traced to the influence of progressive rock.” SH Song Highlights “More important than craft in turning Reznor into a full-fledged rock star, however, was his brooding persona. Grunge had the mainstream salivating over melodramatic angst, which had always been Reznor’s stock in trade.” SH “The aggressive Closer” OH ended up being a “left-field hit” SH which “made him a postmodern shaman for the ‘90s, obsessed with exposing the dark side he saw behind even the most innocuous façades.” SH The “album ends on an affecting emotional peak” SH with “the tentatively hopeful (and intensely personal)” 500 as well as “haunting Hurt. ” OH It “mingles drama and introspection in a way Reznor had never quite managed before. It’s evidence of depth behind the charisma that deservedly made him a star.” SH The song achieved legendary status when it became one of the most celebrated covers of all time a few years later. “You know you’re awesome when Johnny Cash makes one of your songs his own personal, unplanned eulogy.” CQ Notes: The 2004 deluxe edition adds a second disc of bonus tracks – “‘Burn’ comes from the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers; ‘Closer (Precursor),’ ‘Closer to God,’ and ‘Memorabilia’ from the Closer to God maxi-single; ‘Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now),’ ‘Hurt (Quiet),’ and ‘The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)’ from the Further Down the Spiral remix EP; the covers of Joy Division’s ‘A Violet Fluid’ and Soft Cell’s ‘All the Pigs, All Lined Up’ from the March of the Pigs maxi-single; and ‘Dead Souls’ from the soundtrack to The Crow. The final three tracks are previously unreleased demos of the album tracks ‘Ruiner,’ ‘Reptile,’ and ‘Heresy.’” WR

Reviews: SH AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey WR AllMusic.com review of deluxe edition by William Ruhlmann BL Blender (10/08). “100 Greatest American Albums” CQ Consequence.net (9/12/2022). “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time” RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. EW’12 Entertainment Weekly (9/27/2012). “Top 100 Albums” TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. OH One Hit Thunder (2/10/2026). “The Thundred: The Top 100 Albums of All Time” 500 Rolling Stone (2020). 500 Greatest Albums of All Time TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. UT USA Today (12/5/2003). “Top 40 Albums – the USA Today Way” Related DMDB Links: First posted 3/28/2011; last updated 10/6/2026.