Under The Influence #31: Kissing Candice on “The Downward Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails!

Five years after their 1989 debut “Pretty Hate Machine“, 1994 saw the release of the second, critically acclaimed and highly influential album from American Industrial Rock outfit Nine Inch Nails. A concept album that depicts the self destruction of a Man as he moves along “The Downward Spiral” to his eventual suicide, it’s widely considered to be the depraved master work of Mastermind Trent Renzor. Combining Synth Pop, Industrial Rock, Techno and Heavy Metal it features a pair of singles in “March Of The Pigs” and “Closer” while an array of other artists collaborated on its final offering. Chris Vrenna, Charlie Clouser and Danny Lohner all added parts to various tracks and have become synonymous with the Industrial Metal scene in their own right. Abrasive, dark and eclectic with lyrical themes of religion, dehumanization, violence, disease, society, drugs, sex and suicide all wrapped up in metaphors that take the listener on a journey make for an edge of the seat listen for those who know what they’re listening to… If Trent Reznor is the lyrical Stephen King, musically he’s Steven Spielberg. Combinations and sounds never heard before with instruments and samples tweaked within an inch of their life make for something epic and dark.

Kissing Candice bassist Mike Grippo comments: “This album has influenced me (and countless other artists) in an obscene amount of ways. I remember being very young when it came out, too young to be able to comprehend it. I had just begun gaining an interest in Industrial Music through video games shortly after (in particular Descent II). I began to get word of this band Nine Inch Nails and their album “The Downward Spiral” from older friends and MTV. I remember riding my bike to a record store a mile away from me, since I knew they would gladly sell this album to someone who was way too young to be listening to it (according to the PMRC at least). After picking this album up and listening to it I was hooked. These were sounds I had never heard before. I was too young to understand the depravity of the lyrics, but I instantly fell in love with the band. I began to get and listen to all their releases. As I got older, I only began to appreciate this album more and more. The lyrics really resonated with me through my later teens and beyond. NIN is one of the very few artists I still listen to and it’s not a guilty pleasure. I still listen to them and this album as much as I used to. It never stopped. The music influences me today in terms of appearance, musically, lyrically, and even down to how I consume packaging. NIN puts so much effort into the physical packaging of their music that I am disappointed when I buy an album and it is just a cover and CD or record. They set the bar too high in every way possible for anyone to keep up and I believe that holds till this day“.

Long Island New York Horror loving Industrial Metal act Kissing Candice are crown funding the follow up to 2017’s “Safe Word“. You can check out the perks of the campaign here.