Trent Reznor reflects on Nine Inch Nails album ‘The Downward Spiral’ turning 30
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(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor has reflected on their seminal album The Downward Spiral, which recently turned 30.
The industrial-rock record, released on March 8th, 1994, served as the follow up to their debut, Pretty Hate Machine, shared five years prior. The Downward Spiral saw Nine Inch Nails adopt a new darker sound, changing the trajectory of Reznor’s career, earning the band a Grammy nomination and selling more than three million copies in the United States alone.
30 years on from its release, Reznor took to Nine Inch Nails’ official website to commemorate the monumental occasion and look back upon the impressive legacy of The Downward Spiral.
Reznor began by writing: “Spending too much time looking backwards feels dangerous to me, but this day on the calendar caught my attention.”
He continued: “Has it really been that long, old friend? I just spent an hour listening to this time capsule of what 28 year old me had to say, and it still excites me and breaks my heart.Be kind to yourselves. Hope to see you soon.”
The last two Nine Inch Nails albums, Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts, both arrived in 2020 as free downloads as a peace offering during the pandemic.
Reznor took to the road with Nine Inch Nails in 2022, but last year, the singer revealed he has no plans to return to touring.
“I don’t want to be away from my kids,” Reznor explained to Rick Rubin on the Broken Record podcast. “I don’t want to miss their lives to go do a thing that I’m grateful to be able to do, and I’m appreciative that you’re here to see it, but I’ve done it a lot, you know?”
“In the context of Nine Inch Nails, in terms of an audience and the culture the importance of music – or lack of importance of music – in today’s world, from my perspective, is a little defeating,” he added.
Listen to The Downward Spiral below.
