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→Interpretation: formatting
The previous track, "[[Big Man With A Gun]]," is arguably the most chaotic on the album. The narrator asserts his power and domination over samples of tortured screams. The last instance of "[[nothing can stop me now]]" in the album is shouted, and this is perhaps his last straw (no pun intended). At just over a minute and a half, "Big Man With A Gun" suddenly collapses, and "A Warm Place" starts immediately.
The narrator has begun a drastic change in point of view. He experiences a moment of clarity to truly consider his situation in a way unhindered by intoxicants, or perhaps enhanced by them. Backed by the melancholy piano tune, he realizes who he has become and what he has done. He had known subconsciously before, and he had voiced the varying attributes (the title of "[[The Becoming]]" being the most obvious example), but he had not yet come to grips with the real consequences of his character and actions, which differ from the extreme views he had expressed previously. "Warm" contrasts with the cold, indifferent quality of machines, which are sampled throughout the album. This "warm place" relate to the womb or to the rise in body temperature during intercourse, where life begins. A melody in "A Warm Place Plac"e is an inverted version of that used in "[[Closer ]]" and "[[The Downward Spiral (song)|The Downward Spiral]]."
With the breathing straw sounds at the end of "A Warm Place," it segues into the next song, "[[Eraser]]," which begins as an instrumental. The straw sounds possess a sort of nasty texture, designating a change in tone. The heavy percussion beats permeate throughout: this is the rhythm required by his train of thought. As more sound layers are added, the narrator becomes increasingly disturbed by what he had realized in "A Warm Place". He begins an inner-battle on the only consequences that matter now: what he should do next. He denies certain arguments and favours others, evident by the periodic addition of more layers of mocking guitars. Briefly, the instrumental calms down a bit, and he lists the obvious in minimalistic terms ("[''verb''] me... [''verb''] you"). At the end, he has chosen a strongly desire for an end to the dilemma ("kill me"). A remix of "Eraser" being called "Eraser (denial; realization)" is evidence of this.