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There are numerous layers of metaphors that are present throughout the album, which leaves it open to wide interpretation. As a whole, ''The Downward Spiral'' is defined by Nietzschean concepts and a prominent theme of existentialism. It is a concept album in which the overarching plot follows the protagonist moving through his own "Downward Spiral", dealing with religion, dehumanization, violence, disease, society, drugs, sex, and finally suicide. Reznor has stated that the character is a representation of himself:
<blockquote>"...it was during that tour ([[Self Destruct Touring CycleTour|Self Destruct]]) that problems started to arise. Prior to that I would have considered myself pretty normal. With the Downward Spiral, I can remember where I was in my head, what I was thinking, and I can remember writing that record, and the mindset. This record that was about an extension of me, became the truth fulfilling itself.</blockquote>
Most fans seem to agree that "[[Closer]]" (noted for its "I want to fuck you like an animal" lyric) has meaning deeper than its surface lyrics (note the desperate dependency expressed by the final line, "you are the reason I stay alive"). The narrator was not exactly modeled after [[Trent Reznor]]'s previous life, though he would later go through his own sort of "downward spiral" during the Fragility tour, battling issues such as drug abuse.
have no idea what it is or what's on it because the band has had no involvement in it.
The vinyl was released on September 23, 2008, and has the same artwork and track listing as the original 1994 release.
==Touring==
''For more information, see [[Self Destruct Touring Cycle]]''
The album was supported by a major tour that lasted nearly two years. It circled North America a few times and also visited Europe and Australia. The shows were very intense and included well-programmed lighting and very aggressive performances, with many instruments being mangled in the process. A portion of the tour was co-headlining with David Bowie in 1995. The tour culminated with a few club dates showcasing artists that were on [[Nothing Records]].
==Live==
All of these songs have been played live. Obviously, they were featured during the [[Self-Destruct Tour|Self Destruct Tours]], though "[[Heresy]]" was played only once in 1994 and disappeared from live shows until 2007.
On the [[Performance 2007]]tour, ''The Downward Spiral'' era songs received more frequent play time. A particularly extreme example is the [[2007/02/15]] show in Madrid, Spain, when ten tracks from the ''The Downward Spiral'' were performed, the first seven of which were performed in their exact order on the album.
During the band's [[2009/08/23 New York, NY|Webster Hall]] performance on August 23, 2009, the band opened the show by performing the album in its entirety which included the live debut of "[[A Warm Place]]" and the first performance of "[[Big Man With a Gun]]" in over 15 years. The same thing happened at the [[2009/09/02 Los Angeles, CA|Hollywood Palladium]] show.