Customer Reviews

Downward Spiral

5 star:		(341)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

But that doesn't mean I'm gonna give it 4 stars. I like it a lot but Heresy's lyrics and some of its sound ruined the CD.

Some songs are a bit suicidal sounding the line from Eraser "Kill me", but isn't that always how Trent Reznor's been? Well, he's letting Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon relive. Just after "Ruiner"'s hardcore bits it gets melodic. This isn't usually what happens in all of his songs. The Downward Spiral (song, not album) sometimes gets stuck in my head as an eternity.

Well, if you've bought Broken and loved it it's probably because it was real Industrial Rock and had a Pink Floyd influence, and the only NIN album with no piano in it. That doesn't mean this is bad, songs like the instrumental A Warm Place would be ridiculous to describe as "angry". It sounds like you're in a sad mood, because you just get through hearing the anti-gangster rap loudness on "Big Man With A Gun".

If you're adding you're collection of NIN, just go right ahead. Close behind The Fragile, I still love this one.

This re-release of TDS is like listening to the album again for the first time. The excess of this type of thing might lead you to believe it's just a marketing gimmick, but that is simply not the case here. Of course, if anyone could perfect something that was already perfected, it's Trent Reznor.

First of all, the 13-track bonus disc is reason enough to buy this deluxe edition for any NIN fan since it has three previously unreleased demos. That might sound like peanuts to fans of any other band, but NIN fans know that on the rare occasion you get to hear something you've never heard before from Mr. Reznor, you cherish it. Also contained within are a handful of the best remixes from the singles and the "Further Down The Spiral" versions which are nice to have on one disc. Then you have the Joy Division cover "Dead Souls" and "Burn" from The Crow and the Natural Born Killers soundtracks, respectively. Last but not least is the Soft Cell cover, "Memorabilia" which is an excellent track and it sounds fantastic here.

Getting on to the good stuff, the album itself is a whole new listening experience. Everything feels more alive, more crisp, more precise than it did before. When you've listened to The Downward Spiral as much as the average NIN fan does, you start to pick up on things you never noticed the first 50 times you heard the song. Well that is what the deluxe edition feels like. Hearing new things all over again, letting your senses soak up the layers upon layers of... well, noise. There was a lot of it to begin with, and here it just becomes even more evident, and beautiful. You can never truly appreciate the artestry and brilliance put into the masterpieces which are Nine Inch Nails albums, until you hear them multiple times. That said, we are now able to let it happen all over again.

Reznor couldn't have marked the 10-year anniversary of The Downward Spiral any better, and it is definitely a must have for any Nine Inch Nails fan, or someone who just never owned the album in the first place. It sounds great even if you don't own an SACD player or have 5.1 surround sound. Highly recommended.

I ordered The Downward Spiral from Amazon and was happy at how fast it was shipped, the only problem was that the LP was warped when we received it. A friend of ours has also purchased LPs from Amazon and they were warped as well. We have since ordered two more and are waiting for their arrival to see what condition they will be in. Amazon ships with bubble inserts - when we opened our package there was one on top of the LP and one under it leaving the record at an angle, and I think that is what may be causing the LPs to be mishapen... they should be mailed flat. Perhaps Amazon should rethink their shipping methods when LPs are concerned?

The Downward Spiral still plays well, but a warped record can cause undue stress on the stylus and can effect the audio quality. I love this album, so it's a shame that we can't play it with 100% quality.

I bought both the DVD Audio and the SACD versions. TDS in 5.1 is probably the best use of surround sound I have ever heard. Trent just sends sounds FLYING around your head. You really get a better understanding of the album listening to it in surround - it's like he is there in the room with you, explaining every nuance of the album.

Great stuff! You don't know TDS until you have heard this version.

this is such a good album i recomend it ............NIN is probly 1 of ma fav bands n some of ther bigest hits ar on this Cd

I enjoy listening to this cd every so often but know that its a delux edition with exra tracks theres more reason to get this bad boy.Now I also recomend you pick up my favorite NIN cd, pretty hate machine, thats a classic.Also if your into this kind of sound I have others to recomend also like, earlier Maralyn manson cd's , my all time favorite SAMHAIN ( glenn danzigs band after the demise of the Misfits), Skinny puppy, Ministry and even romstien(sp) ?.

Anyway I highly suggest you pick up any SAMHAIN cd, tape or original vinal you can get your hands on.Its a mix of punk-NIN type synth ( they were influenced by Samhain) and hard rockin power cords that will ingulf you with gritty sound and the best lyrical genious ever Glenn Danzig.

I always thought that the cd was like a wall of sound, but it doesn't compare to the sacd surround mix. The sound quality really doesn't matter with this sacd since it's mainly synthesizers and screaming, with an odd whisper. It's all about the 5.1 sound attacking your senses and painting Reznor's haunting picture. I can actually understand some of the lyrics that I couldn't on the cd and it's a pretty miserable album. But hey, sometimes I'm just not in the mood for Abba. Ha ha ha!

This is not an industrial CD. This is not a rock CD. This is not a pop CD. Those who would hate TDS do so because they listen to it expecting it to sound like something else. Read the reviews, either it's someone complaining that they only liked "Closer" and the rest sucked, or that NIN pales compared to "other" industrial groups.

If ever a CD could be considered an audio suicide note, this may very well be it. The lyrics are not always the most creative, but they will hit you harder than any others. I believe the strongest segment of the CD lies in three songs: Ruiner, The Becoming, and I Do Not Want This. These songs so fiercely cast the world away and place Trent deep in his mind that I found it actually difficult to listen to them at certain times.

Unlike so many other groups of ANY genre, Trent has no problem with using absolutely everything at his disposal to create a sound he wants. He won't limit himself to slow bass grooves, chorused pianos, or a distorted guitar when the mood calls for it. And therein lies the greatest strength of the CD as a whole: not only do the words perfectly capture his emotion, but the sounds as well. The blistering noise while he screams "Don't you tell me how I feel", the quiet vulnerability of the final notes of Hurt (I personally think the Quiet version is better, the final chords here are a little too harsh), every note and every sound is specificall engineered to put across EXACTLY the emotion Trent wants.

I believe "Closer" to be the dividing point of the CD. Those who prefer the more "predictable" songs will most likely listen to the first half only. From "Ruiner" onward, the CD takes on the tone of someone whose mind is falling apart, until the title track. "Hurt" itself is an epilogue to the story.

The other beautiful part of TDS is that unlike most "angst-rock" groups, Trent's anger is just as directed toward himself as the rest of the world, if not more so. As said, "Closer" is a confession to weakness, not a random misogynist club song. Read the lyrics. Much of the hatred felt here is toward the self, which is probably why it resonates so deeply with so many. And more so than that, it sounds genuine. Few artists create music that sounds like it was made with little concern for the fans and record sales, and when a CD sells this many copies it may be hard to believe that this could apply, but it does. Even fans of Burn and PHM found this to be a shock.

A masterpiece, and a story. Listen without any preconceived notions of what NIN is and you'll find yourself enthralled. 10/10

People always seem to not realize that this album is not something that you just listen to for "Closer". It is a concept album based on one's depression and his degredation through sex, drugs, rejection of religion, and other things where you see them. The whole album is just a novel of sorts...

mr self destruct- the table of contents, an epilogue of what's to come.

piggy- the real beginning IMO, the place where everything starts to come apart

heresy- ok, you must understand that this is part of the spiral and not a real f-you to religion, but the character is saying there can't be a God for all this to happen to him

march of the pigs- the character blows off society

closer-the character uses sex as a crutch to lift himself out of depression...he tries to get closer to God

ruiner-again the depression screws up everything that he picked up through "closer", and nothing can stop him now

the becoming-the character becomes someone else, not him...you can say he's finally posessed and powerless

i do not want this-just listen Trent and the depression are in dialogue with each other...again "he wants to do something that matters" as the lyrics quote...

then it gets crazy!!!

big man with a gun-about violation and overpowering through sex, shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot as the lyrics say

a warm place-the morning after "big man with a gun" he finds solace after the sexual assault in the previous track

eraser-basically about self-rejection

reptile-again degredation through sex though even more severe...relates to prostitution

the downward spiral-the character is fed up with his problems..he imagines what it would be like to kill himself..

hurt- the finally undoing, the only thing that's real is the pain he feels from the suicide...(if i could start again, a million miles away, i would keep myself, i would find a way)

i suggest reading the lyrics in the booklet while listening to the album on headphones....in the booklet the pictures gradually get more and more violent, then you'll see the overall point of the album..

in it's form, i really have to say that this is one of the best concept albums ever...that's why i have to give it 5 stars, listen it to it ALL the way through and you won't be disappointed

Definetly a highly rated album... "Hurt" and "Closer" are the high points and most popular. "Big Man With a Gun" is great!
Overall very DARK. It leaves you with the feeling that you have just watched a bloody satanic horror movie at 2 AM by yourself.
It is well blended. The theme of the album flows well. I could not see listening to this entire album very much, but then again some people do watch "House of 1000 Corpses" more than once now don't they?
I think it is a strong album, but in my opinion I do think it has been over rated in some sectors.