The Downward Spiral was Nine Inch Nails' third album. It helped the band to much greater prominence, especially through the second single from the album, "Closer", which was released with a controversial video directed by Mark Romanek, which featured S&M imagery. When a censored version of the video was demanded, Romanek responded by replacing the offending scenes with a slide which stated simply "Scene Missing", to reflect the censorship.
The Downward Spiral powerfully evokes images of both aggressive and depressive states, and many people find it unlistenable. Others consider it to be Trent Reznor's finest work. Reznor has publicly stated that he has suffered from depression, and has been reported as suffering from bipolar disorder.
The Downward Spiral produced a remix album entitled Further Down the Spiral.
"Hurt" has been covered by Johnny Cash, the video for which was directed by Mark Romanek.
The Downward Spiral was recorded at Le Pig, the house where Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson.
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