The Downward Spiral
by Nine Inch Nails

I like the programmed drums and industrial sound on much of this. Musically the album is very good in parts, then too jumbled or abrasive in others. An example is "Ruiner" where the verse is great and the chorus is a bore. And the music tends to be rather stilted also - a sign that more musicians needed to be involved in the process, this is too much of a one man show.

The concept album angle about a man sinking into madness is pretty interesting, but the music needed to be a bit more accessible and some better songs would have also helped.

From HoldenM 04/24/2026 16:36 | #314138

I mean... I GUESS it's one of the best rock albums ever recorded.

I was disappointed with this album. Perhaps it hasn't aged well or I haven't aged well. Whatever, I found this long album a bit of a drag at times. It is highly ranked in 1994 but I'm puzzled why?
The main reason for my listening to this album was the outstanding track Hurt (also covered by Johnny Cash). This is a great track, although in keeping with the rest of the album it was darker and creepier than I expected. Listening throughout, I thought the music, which is industrial goth dance type of stuff, was better than the vocals. In fact one of my favourite tracks was the instrumental A Warm Place. At times it felt like a soundtrack to a creepy horror film.
I preferred their previous album Pretty Hate Machine. This album was a bit too long and a bit depressing, but it has a great final track.

Last track, Hurt, is an absolute gem. It's just a shame I had to listen to an hour of barely intelligible noise to get to that point. Thought I would like this album but it just didn't work for me. Far too much distortion on the guitar for me.

For me listening to this album is very hard in every meaning of this word, instrumentals are harsh and lyrics are depressing, so while I'm not sure if I enjoyed it very much, I can clearly say that I appreciate how much effort they put in here to creat this album, especially with this creative production.

From Larcx13 04/10/2023 04:17 | #295905

Drugs.

A fantastic lyrical album that is let down by the music in my opinion. If the music was up to the same level as the lyrics then this would be amongst the greatest of all time but they don't achieve this with a lot of the songs falling a bit flat for me. The tracks just don't seem to have the energy or infectiousness that would make me come back that often and even though I have revisited this album a lot of times it is only because it gets such high praise. Most of the acclaim comes from the unique style of music and the lyrics as they are so full of depth and they have enough quality that they deserve and demand to be heard. I don't think I have heard anything that similar to the music on here either and that alone makes it an interesting and fun listen. They create a great atmosphere as well that suits the lyrical tone perfectly. Overall, this might not be my style of music or maybe this record hasn't clicked for me yet as I do think it is over rated but it is still a strong release.

From VictorVale 02/19/2023 11:07 | #294205

Obra-prima

Solid album

Album Rating: 80.29
(1,124/14)

1.Mr. Self Destruct. 84
2.Piggy. 83
3.Heresy. 71
4.March Of The Pigs. 83
5.Closer. 97
6.Ruiner. 76
7.The Becoming. 73
8.I Do Not Want This. 79
9.Big Man With A Gun. 78
10.A Warm Place. 92
11.Eraser. 72
12.Reptile. 73
13.The Downward Spiral. 65
14.Hurt. 98