The Nine Inch Nails album Trent Reznor had no faith in: “I thought there was a danger”
It’s not always easy to spot when the world is given a masterpiece. While some albums may be considered classics from the minute they were released, there are also standout records that were ignored or even faced massive ridicule before being heralded as one of the best in their field. Even though artists tend to have at least a little faith in their final product, Trent Reznor admitted to not knowing what he had on his hands when making a Nine Inch Nails classic.
Then again, Reznor probably didn’t expect the massive amount of attention coming out of the gate. After becoming a sideman working in various acts throughout the 1980s, Reznor moulded his debut album Pretty Hate Machine when working off-hours at a studio he worked in, turning in massive songs like ‘Head Like a Hole’ and ‘Terrible Lie’.
By the time Reznor took to the road to promote the record, he started to see the uglier side of the rock and roll lifestyle in full effect. After living the life of an addictive rock star, Reznor indulged in every vice he could find, getting wasted on the road and turning in some of the most demented performances that he had ever made.
Once he settled into the studio for a follow-up, Reznor wanted to make something that reflected his frail state of mind. While many fans were preparing for something vicious after the release of the Broken EP, no one knew what to make of The Downward Spiral once they had it in front of them.
Part industrial rock album and part ambient theatre piece, much of the album sees Reznor draping his insecurities around the character ‘Mr Self Destruct’, who goes on to cause mayhem throughout the project only to end his life towards the end of the album. While Reznor may have seen the piece as a unique piece of art, he knew there was no way that any radio station would go for it.
Since much of the album contains blasts of caustic noise, Reznor was unsure what the fans would make of it, not seeing any commercial potential. Even though the album would soon be declared a masterpiece, Reznor still wasn’t convinced when he went on a promotional tour.
When talking about recording the album, Reznor was preparing his listeners for an intense experience, saying, “I thought there was a danger that there weren’t any real singles on the record, and people that really liked Pretty Hate Machine wouldn’t like The Downward Spiral…I thought I quite intentionally may have shot myself in the foot commercially. I didn’t do that just to fuck myself up, either. It’s what popped out of my head and was the strongest statement I could make”.
Even when discussing the album on the series Song Exploder, Reznor talked about having a conversation with his record label, apologising for what he had made. Despite the dark themes of the record, fans would latch onto the album almost immediately, with ‘Closer’ becoming one of the most vulgar singles to reach radio and ‘March of the Pigs’ satisfying the metallic side of rock fans. Reznor may have been slightly hesitant to put out something this abrasive, but often the greatest albums come from exploring the dark side of one’s humanity.
