For this week’s “From the Vault” selection, I have chosen an album that speaks to the outsider. Nine Inch Nails’ second album, The Downward Spiral, marks a breakthrough of industrial music into the mainstream and was also a landmark for the sole official member of the band, Trent Reznor.
Trent Reznor created Nine Inch Nails — who played at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday night — in 1988. One year later, he released Pretty Hate Machine, recording the vast majority of the instruments himself. The album spawned the hit single, “Head Like a Hole.”
Nine Inch Nails, for those of you who have not heard them, have many different elements in their songs. There is definitely a techno-rock backbone to the sound, along with Reznor’s pension for dissonance and distortion. It’s aggressive, in-your-face and honest.
To record The Downward Spiral, released in 1994, Reznor rented a house in Beverly Hills, Calif. and built a studio in it, which he dubbed “Le Pig.” He later discovered this was the same house in which the Manson family brutally murdered Sharon Tate.
The Downward Spiral is a concept album based on a main character going through a “downward spiral.” As the album progresses, the character becomes more and more desperate, trying to find something he can hold onto as a reason to live.
The first track on the album, “Mr. Self Destruct,” is an aural barrage of aggression and confusion. Reznor screams to the listener, “I am the prayers of the naïve and I control you / I am the lie that you believe and I control you.” Obviously, this is not one of those happy-go-lucky, sing-songy albums.
“Mr. Self Destruct” is followed by the song “Heresy,” in which the character tries to cling to religion but realizes in the chorus that, “God is dead and no one cares / if there is a hell, I’ll see you there.” Can you say nihilism?
The second single, “Closer,” probably has the most well-known offensive chorus: “I want to f*** you like an animal.” It depicts, as you can probably tell, the main character’s interaction with a girlfriend. Many regard the music video for the song, directed by Mark Romanek, as one of the best music videos ever made. While it is a tad on the disturbing side, it’s captivating.
The album progresses with many epic songs such as “The Becoming” and “Reptile”, which is probably the coolest song about a prostitute since The Police’s “Roxanne.” The true magnum opus of The Downward Spiral, however, is the last song, “Hurt.”
Before I go any further, I would like to clarify that it was Trent Reznor who wrote the song, not Johnny Cash, who covered the song in 2002. In “Hurt,” the character has given up and turned to self-mutilation. At the bottom of his downward spiral, he asks himself, “What have I become?” He has lost all confidence in himself and promises the listener that “I will let you down / I will make you hurt.” Though the album may appear overwhelmingly negative, the song ends on a somewhat positive note, with the character promising himself that even thought he’s at the bottom, “I will find a way.” It is a very moving song.
The Downward Spiral is a fascinating album because it makes you stand up and take notice of Reznor’s candidness and aggression. Hell, you might even relate to him. It’s one of the best albums of the 90s.
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