Nine Inch Nails "The Downward Spiral" [1994]

Technical "wizardry" was never so aggressively obnoxious. You'd think renowned knob-twiddler Trent Reznor could do better than having to go through the Ministry guy's dealer for his dust-laced brown acid. Paranoid conversations with his perceived enemies -- mostly pigs, BTW (jeez, how Jewish is this guy, anyway?) -- ping-pong with psychotic screaming tirades that could kill any dancefloor vibe dead in an instant. Y'know that guy at the club -- looks kinda sexy at first but you start talking to him and immediately realize any second he's going to froth at the mouth, hurl himself off the roof or give himself a tattoo on his face? Yeah -- "The Downward Spiral" is what's playing in that guy's head. It's all got to be a big put-on, though -- no way would a real freaked-out maniac be able to be so anal-retentively tedious and trivial in the recording studio. That said, if there's one thing worthwhile about this collection of sleaze-gore, it's the title. "The Downward Spiral" clearly refers to a flushing toilet, and fittingly, the album sounds like Marilyn Manson taking a big dump.