Album
The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by Nine Inch Nails, released on 8 March 1994. It is a concept record following a misanthropic narrator as he slides into madness and suicide, taking in addiction, religion, sex, power and depression along the way. It followed the harsher, more direct Broken EP from 1992, and Trent Reznor wanted something more textural, atmospheric and cinematic this time.
Reznor recorded most of it at the former Tate–LaBianca murder house, which he turned into a home studio called Le Pig. Flood co-produced, Alan Moulder mixed, and Adrian Belew and Stephen Perkins guested. Industrial rock meets techno, metal and ambient here, with dissonance and odd time changes in place of verse-chorus habits. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 2, reached quadruple Platinum in the US, and drew controversy over lyrics such as "Big Man with a Gun".
The Downward Spiral on Riffology
riffology.co →
The Downward Spiral: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 1:05:08Tracklist
- 1Mr Self DestructTrent Reznor4:31
- 2PiggyTrent Reznor4:24
- 3HeresyTrent Reznor3:54
- 4March of the PigsTrent Reznor2:58
- 5CloserTrent Reznor6:13
- 6RuinerTrent Reznor4:59
- 7The BecomingTrent Reznor5:32
- 8I Do Not Want ThisTrent Reznor5:41
- 9Big Man With a GunTrent Reznor1:36
- 10A Warm PlaceTrent Reznor3:23
- 11EraserTrent Reznor4:54
- 12ReptileTrent Reznor6:52
- 13The Downward SpiralTrent Reznor3:57
- 14HurtTrent Reznor6:14
- Produced by
- Flood, Trent Reznor
- Recorded at
- Le Pig, Benedict Canyon, Record Plant, Los Angeles, A&M, Hollywood
- Recorded
- 1992–1993
- Mixed by
- Alan Moulder, Sean Beavan, Bill Kennedy, Trent Reznor
- Label
- TVT Records
- Length
- 1:05:08
Line-up
- Adrian Belew · guitar · guest
- Trent Reznor · electric bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, lead vocals, drums (drum set), organ, percussion, piano, synthesizer, background vocals, guitar
- Flood · synthesizer, drums (drum set) · guest
- Stephen Perkins · drums (drum set) · guest
- Danny Lohner · guitar · guest
- Andy Kubiszewski · drums (drum set) · guest
- Chris Vrenna · drums (drum set) · guest
Singles
- “March of the Pigs” · 25 February 1994
- “Closer” · May 1994
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1994 | 2 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1994 | 9 |
| Scottish Albums · 1994 | 8 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1994 | 12 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1994 | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1994 | 23 |
| Swedish Albums · 1994 | 33 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1994 | 34 |
| European Albums (Music & Media) · 1994 | 38 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1995 | Gold |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
85.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
14k
ListenBrainz listeners
298k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
49k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 8 March
Every year →
More from Nine Inch Nails
Full discography →
Pretty Hate Machine
1989
Broken
1992
Fixed
1992
Further Down the Spiral
1995
Quake
1996
The Fragile
1999
Things Falling Apart
2000
Still
2002
And All That Could Have Been
2002
With Teeth
2005
Year Zero
2007
Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D
2007
Ghosts I–IV
2008
The Slip
2008
Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler
2008
NIN|JA 2009 Tour Sampler
2009
Hesitation Marks
2013
Live 2013
2013
Remix 2014
2014
Recoiled
2014
Halo I–IV
2015
Not the Actual Events
2016
Add Violence
2017
Bad Witch
2018
Ghosts V: Together
2020
Ghosts VI: Locusts
2020
TRON: Ares: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2025
TRON Ares: Divergence
2026
The best of 1994
All of 1994 →
Dookie
Green Day · 1994
The Division Bell
Pink Floyd · 1994
MTV Unplugged in New York
Nirvana · 1994
Definitely Maybe
Oasis · 1994
Superunknown
Soundgarden · 1994
Vitalogy
Pearl Jam · 1994
Weezer
Weezer · 1994
Korn
Korn · 1994
Youthanasia
Megadeth · 1994
Far Beyond Driven
Pantera · 1994
Jar of Flies
Alice in Chains · 1994
Pisces Iscariot
The Smashing Pumpkins · 1994
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 8 March 1994 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 March 1994 | |
| Wikidata | 8 March 1994 | |
| US release | 8 March 1994 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | March 1994 | earliest UK or European date |
37 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Island | 731452212627 | other |
| — | US | Interscope Records | 606949234621 | other |
| — | XE | Island | 731452212627 | other |
| — | US | Interscope Records | 606949234621 | other |
| 1994 | AU | TVT Records | 765449234620 | other |
| 1994 | US | TVT Records | 765449234620 | other |
| 1994 | CA | Interscope Records | 77749902114302 | other |
| 1994 | DE | Island | 743211934824 | other |
| 1994 | US | Interscope Records | 765449234620 | other |
| March 1994 | GB | TVT Records | 731452212627 | other |
| March 1994 | GB | Island | 731452212641 | other |
| 8 March 1994 | US | Interscope Records | original | |
| 8 March 1994 | CA | Atlantic | 77749902114302 | original |
| 8 March 1994 | CA | Atlantic | 765449234620 | original |
| 8 March 1994 | US | Atlantic | 765449234644 | original |
| 8 March 1994 | US | Atlantic | 765449234620 | original |
| 25 April 1994 | JP | EastWest Japan | 4988029067449 | other |
| December 1994 | US | TVT Records | 606949234645 | other |
| December 1994 | AU | Interscope Records | 606949234621 | other |
| 16 December 1994 | AU | TVT Records | 765449234620 | other |
| 1996 | US | Interscope Records | 606949234621 | other |
| 21 August 1996 | JP | MCA Victor, Inc. | 4988067025395 | other |
| 1999 | ZA | TVT Records | 6001210172130 | other |
| 23 June 2004 | JP | Nothing Records | 4988005363114 | other |
| 23 November 2004 | XW | Interscope Records | 0602567931713 | deluxe |
| 23 November 2004 | US | Interscope Records | 602498648353 | other |
| 23 November 2004 | US | Chronicles | 602498647288 | deluxe |
| 23 November 2004 | US | Chronicles | 602498648353 | other |
| 7 February 2005 | DE | Interscope Records | 602498647288 | deluxe |
| 2 March 2005 | JP | Interscope Records | 4988005385444 | deluxe |
| 17 May 2006 | JP | Nothing Records | 4988005429650 | other |
| September 2008 | XE | Interscope Records | 731452212610 | other |
| 23 September 2008 | US | Interscope Records | 731452212610 | other |
| 3 December 2008 | JP | Universal Music | 4988005537591 | other |
| 2015 | — | Interscope Records | 00602547582645 | other |
| 23 December 2016 | XW | The Null Corporation | 4142563262495 | other |
| 4 August 2017 | US | Interscope Records | 0602557142785 | remaster |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 953×953 | upscaled |