LogFAQs > #930453508

6. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (23.5 points)
Nominated by: Johnbobb (1/5 remaining)
https://open.spotify.com/album/3nJnyDV8fwFpffo0EyHQto

Importance: 7.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9

The Downward Spiral is one of those sound-defining for both a band and the decade it's from. It fit perfectly in the era of sad, heavy grunge, but NIN went for a more industrial sound, while infusing ambient atmosphere with a conceptual story depicting the weakening and fragile mental state of one particular person, usually nicknamed "Mr. Self Destruct" after the title of the opening song. Mr. Self Destruct represents the inner being in all of us however, and the song is written from the perspective of the first-person, and is extremely critical of the fears, anxieties, and hedonistic tendencies we as people tend to get all too caught up in. The verses get worse and worse, starting with love and ending with drugs and even implied suicide by gunshot. It's not a pleasant song by any means, but it's a song that perfectly gets you into the type of the mood the rest of the album seeks to provide. Musically, it's one of the more chaotic and metal-focused tracks on the album, enveloping the listener with a wall of noise that feels as relentless as the voice in our head. The Downward Spiral is an album all about making the listener feel trapped and claustrophobic, and to make them doubt their own sanity as the main protagonist of the album similarly does, becoming disillusioned by the world Mr. Self Destruct is so critical of in the first song. March of the Pigs examines consumerism and idolatry, and how we so eagerly line up at the trough to buy whatever the next shiny thing on the market is, or to revel in the personal anguish written by our favorite musicians. Closer, often mistaken as a party anthem about sexual deviancy, is in reality about how we let our inner thoughts consume and take over our actions, and how sometimes we can feel powerless to stop it. The whole first half of Downward Spiral is about the main character's eventual suicide, and then living on still as those bad thoughts inside all of us. It's one of the darkest concepts for an album, but the way NIN alternates being ambient calmness, head-banging industrial, and introspective lyrical writing still makes it incredibly accessible which is why it connects to so many people on so many different levels. The lyrics are conceptual in nature but can fit whatever interpretation you need to maybe help you out in life and avoid the downward spiral of depression the album so deftly portrays. I love this album, and it's definitely an essential listen for any type of music fan, in my opinion.

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https://imgur.com/MmrKwGZ - https://imgur.com/ntWVGyh