Maps of Music

The Downward Spiral (1994)

Where the lyrics of The Downward Spiral take you, and where it was really made.

Most of this album was recorded in the house where the Manson Family committed murders in 1969, and the house was demolished after Reznor moved out.

Key places

Record Plant, Los Angeles (1994)

Recording site Record Plant (Los Angeles) — Discogs lists the Record Plant in Los Angeles as a studio where the album was recorded. Wikipedia says the mixing and mastering were done at the Record Plant and A&M Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

A&M Studios, Hollywood (1994)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — "Hurt" and "Big Man With A Gun" were recorded as an afterthought at A&M Studios. The point is placed at the city center of Hollywood, not at the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

10050 Cielo Drive, the "Le Pig" house (1994)

Recording site 10050 Cielo Drive — Reznor moved to 10050 Cielo Drive to record the album and named the home studio Le Pig there. The house was demolished shortly after he moved out. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Downward Spiral: second studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails
• Released March 8, 1994, by Nothing Records and Interscope Records in the US and Island Records in Europe
• Concept album about a misanthropic protagonist's self-destructive descent into madness, dehumanization, and suicide
• Themes include alienation, addiction, religion, violence, sex, power, and depression
• Influenced by David Bowie's Low and Pink Floyd's The Wall
• Blends industrial rock, techno, heavy metal, ambient, and electronica

Background

• Conceived after Nine Inch Nails' run on the Lollapalooza festival tour
• Reznor felt increasingly alienated and uninterested at that time
• Reznor struggled with depression and drug addiction during the period
• He wanted to move away from the abrasive sound of the EP Broken (1992)
• He moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in 1992 to record the album
• Producer Flood returned, having worked on Pretty Hate Machine and Broken; it was his last collaboration with the band due to creative differences

Recording

• Recorded mainly by Trent Reznor at the house where the Manson Family committed the Tate–LaBianca murders in 1969
• Reznor named the home studio "Le Pig" after the message written in blood on the front door
• Adrian Belew played the guitar parts for "Mr. Self Destruct" on his first studio visit
• Stephen Perkins and Chris Vrenna contributed drum parts recorded live, later turned into looped samples
• Mixing and mastering took place at the Record Plant and A&M Studios with Alan Moulder
• Reznor moved out after the recording and the house was demolished shortly thereafter

Cover

• Cover artwork titled "Wound" by Russell Mills
• Mixed media on a wooden panel: plaster, acrylics, oils, rusted metals, insects, moths, blood, wax, varnishes, and surgical bandaging

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio, by singer-songwriter Trent Reznor.
• Reznor was the sole permanent member until Atticus Ross officially joined in 2016.
• The first live performance took place at Graffiti in Pittsburgh on October 27, 1988.
• Signed with TVT Records and later moved to Interscope Records.

Members

• Core members are Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
• Robin Finck, Josh Freese, and Stu Brooks form the current live lineup.
• Many former live members have been named, including Chris Vrenna, Danny Lohner, and Charlie Clouser.

Career

• Released Pretty Hate Machine (1989), Broken (1992), The Downward Spiral (1994), The Fragile (1999), and With Teeth (2005).
• Released Year Zero (2007), Hesitation Marks (2013), Bad Witch (2018), and Ghosts V and VI (2020).
• Won Grammy Awards for "Wish", "Happiness in Slavery", and "As Alive as You Need Me to Be".
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The New York Times writer Jon Pareles found the music highly abrasive and wrote that Reznor writes full-fledged tunes
• The Baltimore Sun critic J.D. Considine wrote that the music elevates and inspires even as it delves into the darkest corners of anguish
• Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave the album an honorable mention in his capsule review column
• Rolling Stone writer Jonathan Gold likened the album to cyberpunk fiction
• Entertainment Weekly reviewer Tom Sinclair wrote that its hooks hit the psyche with the force of a blowtorch
• Stereo Review described it as tuneless noise, sex and violence, and existential angst
• The Plain Dealer of Cleveland said Reznor came across like a demented poster child and that the album relied on tired lyrical images

Reappraisal

• The 2004 edition of The New Rolling Stone Album Guide gave it five out of five stars and called it one of the landmark albums of the Nineties
• Stylus Magazine's Adrien Begrand called it an over-the-top masterpiece
• Retrospective reviews regard it as one of the most important albums of the 1990s and Reznor's greatest work

Records

• Debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, selling nearly 119,000 copies in its first week
• RIAA certified it quadruple platinum on October 28, 1998
• Sold 3.7 million copies in the United States by December 2011
• Peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart; BPI gold certification on July 22, 2013
• Reached number 13 on the Canadian RPM albums chart; CRIA triple platinum for 200,000 copies in Canada
• Has sold over four million copies worldwide
• Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list: 200 in 2003, 201 in 2012, 122 in 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The opening sounds of "Mr. Self Destruct" are a sample from the film THX 1138, in which a man is beaten by a prison guard
• The drum-beat on "Closer" was sampled from Iggy Pop's song "Nightclubbing"
• Japanese pressings include a cover of Joy Division's "Dead Souls", placed between "Big Man with a Gun" and "A Warm Place"
• A "Just Do It" short song written for the album was not included on the final version after Flood criticized it
• "Hurt" was the last song written for the album and was recorded as an afterthought at A&M Studios
• The video for "Closer" has been made part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact