"Your God is Dead & No One Cares" in The Downward Spiral Redux
Written: Dec 07 '04 (Updated May 03 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Great Mix on 5.1 Surround Sound for Album, Nice Rarities & Demos for Fans.
Cons: Nothing New to Offer for Hardcore Fans & Lack of Liner Notes.
The Bottom Line: Though Nothing New to Offer for Hardcore Fans, The Deluxe Edition of The Downward Spiral by NIN Remains Relevant Since its Release 10 Years Ago.
thevoid99's Full Review: The Downward Spiral (Deluxe Edition) [PA] [Remaste...
In March of 1994, Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails moniker released The Downward Spiral in which the album debuted at # 2 in the Billboard 200 album charts. Eventually, the album will sell to nearly five million copies worldwide, as NIN became a phenomenon with such hits as March Of The Pigs, Closer, and Hurt. The album filled with moments of chaotic sounds, menacing beats, emotionally intense lyrics, and high wall production proved to be a landmark release of the 1990s as Reznor not only reinvented industrial music but also became an alternative rock icon in the mid-90s. Since the release, NIN went on tour for two years while Reznor worked on soundtrack projects, produced records for Marilyn Manson and Prick along with running the Nothing label with manager John Malm Jr.
Now ten years after its release, NIN has lost the commercial momentum of The Downward Spiral due to a commercially disappointing double album The Fragile in 1999 along with on-going feuds with other rock bands and most recently, ex-manager Malm as the future of NIN is now at stake. With NIN now ready to return for 2005 with a new album With Teeth, Reznor revisits The Downward Spiral for a 10th anniversary reissue in two different formats, one is a dual disc version that features the album in regular CD and DVD-audio format and a deluxe edition of the album done in Super Audio CD with a second disc filled with B-sides, unreleased demos, non album tracks, and remixes.
The original album itself is mixed in mastered in a new high-resolution stereo 5.1 surround sound. While the music and new mixing sounds more superior in comparison to the original CD released in 1994. There's no real reason to throw away the original album but for those who prefer a high resolution sound will find the new mix by Reznor and James Brown (not the Godfather of Soul James Brown) quite pleasing. Songs like Reptile, Eraser, and Ruiner are given newer landscapes while A Warm Place is more ominous than ever in its sound. Even standouts like Hurt, The Becoming, March Of The Pigs and Closer sound more superior. Still though for anyone who still owns the original The Downward Spiral on CD, there's no reason to get the record unless you have a SACD player.
There is a good reason for why an album like The Downward Spiral among albums like Frampton Comes Alive, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Disraeli Gears is selected as part of Universal's Deluxe Edition album series. It's because it's an album that to this day, holds up in its angst and ambiguity. The song's concept of self-destructive behaviors, angst, and sadness remains relevant while the music has been fresh thanks to the production of Reznor and Flood along with the mix work of Alan Moulder.
While songs like Mr. Self Destruct, Reptile, Eraser, Big Man With A Gun, Heresy, Ruiner, and March Of The Pigs have that crunching industrial sound of heavy, ominous keyboards, menacing beats, and loud guitars along with Reznor's uncompromising lyrics and vocals. Other tracks like The Becoming and Piggy are even more standouts with Reznor's approach to pop music as well as the sexual-laden Closer thanks to its mix of Prince-like lyrics and Iggy Pop The Idiots era experimentalism. Then there's the album closer Hurt that stands out even more thanks to a heartbreaking cover that was recently performed by Johnny Cash that would ultimately prove to be not just his final hit but also a fond farewell for the Man in Black.
The Deluxe Edition's second disc for The Downward Spiral that includes remixes, B-sides, non-album tracks, and unreleased demos, doesn't really do much for the album or offer anything new to its hardcore fans. The two remixes of Closer like (Precursor) by Coil and Closer To God by Reznor, Sean Beavan, and Brian Pollock can be heard in the Closer to God EP along with the intense, machine-like cover of Soft Cell's Memorabilia performed by members of the NIN live band at the time along with a few engineers. The instrumental A Violet Fluid and the March Of The Pigs remix of All The Pigs, All Lined Up are taken from the March Of The Pigs single. Rick Rubin's Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) remix with Dave Navarro and Kim Bullard appears on the second disc along with two cuts from the Further Down the Spiral remix EP like The Downward Spiral (Bottom) mix by Coil and a pointless remix of Hurt called (Quiet) by Reznor in which, nothing new is done to the latter except a softer acoustic mix and extended win track.
Now any fan can get many of these remixes from the singles and EPs though it doesn't serve as a bad introduction for anyone new to NIN and their remixes. Then there's the inclusion of two non-album tracks that appear on the second disc, which are both picked up from soundtracks. First is a wonderful, slower cover of Joy Division's Dead Souls that was picked up from the film soundtrack to The Crow that shows Reznor's unique take on covers. The other track is an original NIN song for Burn from the soundtrack to the Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers in which Reznor produced and assembled its soundtrack. Those two tracks are a joy for fans that don't want to get the soundtracks though it wouldn't hurt to get NBK since Reznor did the soundtrack.
Then there's the three demos that appear as the final three cuts of the album's second disc that are for the songs Ruiner, Heresy, and an early demo of Reptile called Liar. The Ruiner demo featured slightly altered beats and rhythms as opposed to the more hammering tone the final version of the track had. By the time the song reaches the chorus, the drum and vocals are much different as Reznor's vocals are more distorted along with the production of Reznor and Flood. Liar in comparison to the final version of Reptile doesn't have much difference except in vocals and the chorus where the synthesizers replace the guitars. The demo for Heresy is slower than the original with its machine-driven beats and pulsating synthesizers while Reznor's vocals whispers throughout the track until the chorus where the production doesn't help on the vocals but for a demo, it's still impressive.
While the demos and non-LP tracks might offer something for NIN fans, the various remixes don't really add anything new. The possibility of The Perfect Drug from the Lost Highway soundtrack might have been included for fans who didn't want to get the soundtrack but the drum n' bass inspired song doesn't fit in with the tone of The Downward Spiral. Another possibility that could've replaced the various remixes are live tracks that were unreleased from an aborted live album that was supposed to be released alongside the two-VHS cassette set Closure. Unfortunately, that is likely to never be released along with an unfinished cover of Kiss' Love Gun which seems like a waste because it would've sound terrible in its unfinished form.
While the album is nicely packaged in the same artwork of Russell Mills, along with photography of the sleeve by NIN Official Website Webmaster Rob Sheridan, that's pretty much it the entire Deluxe Edition has to offer. The real disappointment in the Deluxe Edition is the lack of liner notes about the album. Whereas previous Deluxe Editions had great liner notes that focused on the history and brilliance of the album, for The Downward Spiral, nothing is said. Seriously, the liner notes would've given some reason for why it was picked in the Deluxe Edition series where Reznor could've hired Alternative Press' Jason Pettigrew or Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis to write the notes. Instead, fans just really get a nice packaging. Overall, the Deluxe Edition of The Downward Spiral is really an album for NIN completists and audiophiles while new fans will see this as a nice introduction into NIN along with how NIN worked on remixes at the time and the various B-sides. It's a great reissue for new fans but older fans won't find anything new to get aside from a few demos.
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) - (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater)
Originally released in 1994, Trent Reznor created THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL as both a concept album and modern day classic. This influential 90 s classic is...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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![The Downward Spiral (Deluxe Edition) [PA] [Remaster] [Slipcase] by Nine Inch Nails](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/f1/02/8c/2006737064-177x150-0-0.jpg)
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