Trent Reznor on why he apologised to his record label when handing in Nine Inch Nails’ ‘The Downward Spiral’

Trent Reznor has opened up on why he apologised to his record label when handing in Nine Inch Nails‘ ‘The Downward Spiral’.

Upon its release in 1994, ‘The Downward Spiral’ cemented Nine Inch Nails as a reputable force. The album landed the Number Two spot on the US Billboard 200 charts and earned the ninth spot on the UK Charts. The album has been regarded by critics and audiences alike as one of the most important albums of the 90s and praised for its abrasive and eclectic nature and dark themes.

In an interview with GQ, Reznor revealed that he did not see the album’s commercial appeal at first and apologised to the label upon turning it in.

“I felt the record was so uncompromising, ‘The Downward Spiral’. It was an album that I needed to make but it wasn’t reactive to ‘Fuck you, forgive me but I’ll show you.’ I remember I turned it in and I said, ‘Sorry. You shouldn’t have let me do what I was going to do,’” Reznor told the outlet.

Elsewhere in the interview, the musician spoke about ‘The Downward Spiral’s closing track ‘Hurt’ explaining that it was just an “honest thing”.

“I wanted to make it so you really kind of couldn’t hear me sing,” he said. “It was meant to not be a separate noise through the whole thing, so there was no chance it could have a commercial life. It was an honest thing. There wasn’t even meant to be song lyrics even, it was just how I felt and I felt desperate when I wrote it. It gets to the core.”

‘Hurt’ landed the eighth spot on the Billboard US Alternative Airplay charts, received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song in 1996 and has become one of Nine Inch Nails’ most well-known songs. In 2002, the track was covered by Johnny Cash towards the end of the country legend’s career and was ranked as the greatest music video of all time by NME back in 2011.

In other news, Reznor recently hit out against streaming, saying it has “mortally wounded” many artists.

“I think the terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists that make being an artist unsustainable,” he told GQ.

He continued: “And it’s great if you’re Drake, and it’s not great if you’re Grizzly Bear. And the reality is: Take a look around. We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise. Those boats rise. These boats don’t. They can’t make money in any means. And I think that’s bad for art.”

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