David Bowie’s ‘Low’ was probably the single greatest influence on ‘The Downward Spiral’ for me. I got into Bowie in the ‘Scary Monsters’ era, then I picked up ‘Low’ and instantly fell for it. I related to it on a song-writing level, a mood level, and on a song-structure level. That got me into Iggy Pop, stuff like ‘The Idiot’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’ era. I went back to old Velvet Underground music I’d missed. On ‘Low’, Bowie exorcised his inner demons through mellow but very intense pieces of music. I like working within the framework of accessibility, and songs of course, but I also like things that are more experimental and instrumental, maybe. You may still be expressing extreme emotions, but instead of loud guitars it’s the silence of restraint.
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| — | Trent Reznor (1994) |
