Fame is a difficult thing to manage. Done wrong, you’re on top of the world and at the bottom of a trench at the exact same time. And a lot of artists did it wrong from the 70s to the 90s. Disillusionment with the rockstar lifestyle, alienation from fans and loved ones, substance abuse, all common stories that we have heard a million times over. And, in many cases, that dissatisfaction has been poured into music. The Wall, In Utero, even Radiohead’s Kid A, to an extent, are all shining examples of that strife turned into art. But there’s one album that stands above them all in terms of its anger and jaded outlook. An album so abrasive, that when its mastermind sent it in, he apologized.

Welcome back to The Look Back, a look at the classic albums of old through modern ears. Today, we’re covering the sophomore album from industrial act Nine Inch Nails, 1994’s The Downward Spiral.

WHY IS THIS A CLASSIC?

Nine Inch Nails, in general, have always flirted with fame throughout their career. Their debut, Pretty Hate Machine, was a breakout hit that seriously helped to bring industrial into the mainstream eye. However, that album was far lighter in tone and sound, more dance-y and poppy, almost like an industrial successor to Depeche Mode. Downward Spiral, on the other hand, was unthinkably abrasive, making heavy use of looped samples and grating electronic beats. Even its album art is shockingly bleak, making use of dirty yellows and browns compared to Pretty Hate Machine’s bright pinks and blues. It is, in every way I can think of, the anti-mainstream album, even considering the period of general discontent that was 90s music.

And yet, despite it all, The Downward Spiral was a smashing success. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and was praised by critics and fans alike (excepting a 4/10 review from NME, make of that what you will). Perhaps it was the sheer novelty of Trent Reznor’s abrasive electronics, or maybe it was the bleakness and white-hot anger that perpetuated each and every lyric. Whatever the case, it was clear that it resonated with an audience, enough to go quadruple platinum in its first 4 years. But that was 1994. How does it hold up today?

THE PROS

Unlike Black Sabbath, I have listened to The Downward Spiral before, multiple times. And even as I relisten to it now to write this blog, I’m fully taken aback by how potent its anger is. This is an album that hits you out of the gate, and refuses to let up for even a single second. “Mr. Self Destruct” may very well be the most chilling opener I’ve heard in my life, beginning with the frantic sounds of a man being beaten (lifted from the movie THX 1138), before exploding into a distorted drum loop, as Reznor’s voice whisper-snarls “I control you”, almost buried in the mix, hiding behind the deranged instrumentation. And if that doesn’t sit well with you, turn away now, because it only gets worse from here.

Reznor has a fine eye for progression, both in terms of individual songs, and in terms of the whole album’s course. The Downward Spiral is a concept album that details a man’s increasing alienation and depression with everything around him, and Reznor makes you feel every second of it. You feel the protagonist’s utter rage (“March of the Pigs” and “Heresy”), his self-awareness as he hopelessly rages against what is coming (“I Do Not Want This”), and the terrifying regret after it’s all too late to stop it (“Hurt”). The monumental achievement of this album is how damn catchy it manages to make some of these early tracks. Look at the runaway success of “Closer”, with its darkly slow atmosphere that manages to be sexy and anything but sexy at the same time. And yet, by the time you get to “Big Man with a Gun” or “Reptile”, all sense of danceability is removed, with songs creeping along at an eerie pace. And when “Hurt”’s final chord rings in an almost jumpscare-esque way, you’ll likely need to take a deep breath.

THE CONS

The Downward Spiral’s biggest strength is, somewhat paradoxically, its biggest weakness. This is an album that is obsessed with being as dark and depressing as it possibly can, to the point that a song was cut for sounding like it was encouraging suicide. Moments of snark are few and far between, and only used to further hammer in its themes of despair and anger. It is dirty and abrasive and genuinely hard to listen to at times. And because it is the type of album that is most rewarding when listened front-to-back, you have to be in a very certain sort of mood to give it a proper check out.

Gotta say though, it says a lot that the album’s biggest weakness is “it’s too good at what it does”. If I had to pick individual tracks that are a bit weaker, I skip “Piggy” and “The Becoming” more frequently, but only because they each preface some of the album’s best stretches, not necessarily because they’re bad songs. I can’t identify any prime weaknesses here, try as I may.

SO, DOES IT HOLD UP?

I mean… yeah, look at how much I wrote for the pros compared to the cons. If anything, this album’s misanthropic outlook is even more potent today than it was in the 90s, a dark reflection of the world around us as things descend further into madness. Oh, shit, sorry, got a little edgy there. Though, I think that speaks volumes to how affecting this damn album is. It was Nine Inch Nail’s peak in terms of commercial and critical response. While they would release plenty of strong albums following this, nothing would ever touch the heights of The Downward Spiral, for better or for worse.

Sputnik’s Average Rating: 4.4

My personal rating: 5

Much like the first installment, Nine Inch Nails’ other albums deserve their own time in the spotlight, most especially Pretty Hate Machine, but we’ll save that for another day. Who knows what I’ll be covering next, all I know is that it will hopefully be something far less depressing.

Check out more of The Look Back below:

1. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath