Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Mr. Self Destruct
2. Piggy
3. Heresy
4. March Of The Pigs
5. Closer
6. Ruiner
7. The Becoming
8. I Do Not Want This
9. Big Man With A Gun
10. A Warm Place
11. Eraser
12. Reptile
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Hurt

Disc 2:

1. Burn
2. Closer (Precursor)
3. Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
4. A Violet Fluid
5. Dead Souls
6. Hurt (Quiet)
7. Closer To God
8. All The Pigs, All Lined Up
9. Memorabilia
10. The Downward Spiral (Bottom)
11. Ruiner (Demo)
12. Liar (Reptile Demo)
13. Heresy (Demo)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6696 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-07
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, Extra tracks, Hybrid SACD, SACD
• Dimensions: .35 pounds
• Running time: 336 minutes

CD Description
Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor became an instant alternative-music hero with 1989's PRETTY HATE MACHINE, an angry-yet-accessible album that appealed to rock fans and clubkids alike. Record-label woes led to a five-year delay for Reznor's follow-up, with two hard-edged EPs (BROKEN and its remix disc, FIXED) issued in the interim. Finally released in 1994, THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL seethes with an almost unhinged industrial ferocity, due, in part to both Reznor's frustration with messy bureaucratic entanglements and time spent withMinistry's Al Jourgensen during the peak of that band's guitar-heavy phase.
Although, SPIRAL does reveal the influence of latter-day Ministry (particularly on the blazing opener, "Mr. Self Destruct", and the scathing, distortion-filled "March of the Pigs"), Reznor also incorporates elements of progressive rock and funk into the proceedings. More than anyother Nine Inch Nails song, the provocative, groove-laden "Closer" (and its shocking video) established Reznor as a bold, audacious artist. In contrast, quiet and emotive songs such as Eno-esque instrumental "A Warm Place" and the spare, haunting "Hurt" (famously covered by Johnny Cash shortly before the country legend's death) revealed Reznor's sensitive side. Here the intense performer works with his largest sonicpalette yet, and the results are fascinating.

Customer Reviews

"And even when I'm right with you, I am so far away..."
I still can't believe that it was ten years ago that this epic of an industrial masterpiece came out. To this day, it remains a very popular album that people can never get enough of. It's classic Nine Inch Nails that can never be duplicated, no matter how hard one tries. It's angry, depressing, violent, disturbing and beautiful. So, how do you celebrate the 10 year anniversary of this fine album? You re-release it... and use all of your powers to make it sound better than ever before.

That was accomplished with "The Downward Spiral: The Deluxe Edition." All of the songs are here, and they have each been remastered so you can listen to these classic songs in a whole new way. It was a little hard to notice at first, since I was listening to it through my headphones, but once I blasted this thing through my speakers, I could immediately hear--no,FEEL--the change and improvement. You hear little subtle things that you could never pick up on in the original, as there's always a lot going on with each and every one of these songs. It was like listening to the album for the very first time. I can't even begin to express how impressed I am with it in words.

To take full advantage of this album, it is true that you should have an SACD CD player and surround sound so you can hear it in 5.1, and it is AMAZING. You really feel like each song is a living and breathing thing waiting to suck you up without warning. However, if you don't have an SACD CD player, do not fret. This thing still sounds INCREDIBLE without it. If you have a great sound system and some high quality speakers, you will definitely hear the difference. Heck, you can even pop this thing into your discman, then put in the older version, and you will be able to note the difference as well.

Not only is this remastered to its highest quality, but you also get a bonus CD that offers 13 tracks of rare remixes, demos and songs that only appeared in soundtracks, such as "dead souls" (from "The Crow") and "burn" ("Natural Born Killers). The remixes are ones that you can find on various single releases, but it's nice to have them all on one CD. Not only that, but you get the demos of "ruiner," "liar (reptile demo)" and "heresy."

If you're a NIN fanatic like me, then you MUST pick this up immediately! You won't regret it. Still hang onto the original release (since you're a NIN fan!), but trust me, you will be listening to this Deluxe Version instead. Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral: The Deluxe Version" does NOT disappoint. Its new sound is simply unbelievable. What a way to celebrate ten great years. A re-release to remember. -Michael Crane

The way it should be listened to
The Downward Spiral has been one of my favourite albums for many years and 11 years on, it still sounds good. However this SACD version almost defies description, taking what is already a masterpiece to a higher level.

The anger, disillusionment and despair present in TDS is communicated with such force through this beatifully rendered and realised version of the album that, for the want of sounding twee, its more of an experience than an album of songs.

I can't recvomend this enough, if you like NIN then this is a must buy. Even if you only want to check out what the SACD format is capable of, this is an excellent demonstration (though I would imagine it makes pretty difficult listening if you're offended easily or don't like your music loud and distorted). Listening to the original stereo CD again just feels flat and unsatisfying compared to the experience that this SACD delivers.

Despite the many imitations...
This album is a true piece of art. Seriously, they're gonna be playing this in art galleries in a hundred years time. An original and captivating work that surprises and delights as much as it rocks and rages. Now expanded as a two-disc edition, there is even more to savour. Wonderful remixes that aren't just filler, demos and b-sides that are better than most bands album tracks; "The Downward Spiral" stands head and shoulders above it's many, many imitators. And now it stands just a little bit taller