Changes

| versions = Closer<br>Closer (Instrumental)<br>Closer (Clean Pussy Radio Edit)<br>Closer (Clean Original)<br>Closer To God<br>Closer (Precursor)<br>Closer (Further Away)<br>Closer (Deviation)<br>Closer (Internal)<br>Closer (Thrust)<br>Closer (Unrecalled)<br>Closer (''[[And All That Could Have Been (halo)|And All That Could Have Been]]'')<br>Closer (''[[Beside You In Time (halo)|Beside You In Time]]'')| live = [[Self Destruct Touring Cycle]] through [[NIN 2013 Festival Tour]]<br>[[NIN 2014 Europe/UK Tour]] throught through present

This is the original album version, found on both ''The Downward Spiral'' and ''Closer To God.'' It begins with an electronic beat, of which the bass drum is sampled from the Iggy Pop song "[[Nightclubbing]]". A keyboard pattern and sixteenth-note cymbal pattern join in along with the vocals. Layers are continuously added before dropping out at the end, leaving a simple chromatic piano melody to end the song and segue into "[[Ruiner]]". The version on ''Closer To God,'' however, allows the final piano note and background noise to ring out completely. The bass drum is [[samples|sampled]] from "[[Nightclubbing]]" by Iggy Pop and the synth bass is sampled from the ''A Poke in the Ear With a Sharp Stick, Vol. 2'' sample library by Rarefaction.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwnbjv9e-Ms] The track also features a reversed and heavily processed sample from "Take A Chance With Me" by Roxy Music, which is most easily heard during the ending (starting from 5:52.) The sample is also used as an intro when the song is played live. Being the third song on the album to contain the famous "Downward Spiral Motif," "Closer" plays the motif in similar structure to "[[The Downward Spiral (song)|The Downward Spiral]]," but in a different key:

You can have my absence of faith, you can have my everything

On the DJ promo vinyl for its release, the track runs roughly 5:29, fading out at the end. "Closer To God" is one of the only remixes that has been performed live (on the [[Dissonance]] tour). On the DJ promo vinyl for its release, the track runs roughly 5:29, fading out at the end.

'''''Running Time: 7:16''''' This is an atmospheric remix, made up of heavily distorted synth and percussion loops that sound like machinery. The line "I want to fuck you like an animal" is repeated heavily in the last half. When the song reaches its ending, it changes from the mechanical sound of the rest of the remix to a stripped down form, consisting of only the first verse lyrics, a piano, and the synth drone from the beginning and end of the original song.It also [[samples]] multiple sounds from the ''A Poke in the Ear With a Sharp Stick, Vol. 1'' sample library by Rarefaction. A special edit was used in the credits of [[David Fincher]]'s ''Se7en''. 

* Manipulation: [[Coil]], [[Danny Hyde]]

'''''Running Time: 6:15''''' This is one of the lesser reworked remixes of "Closer." It adds an interesting loop in the background the consists of what appears to be a bass guitar and a high-pitched drone. At the end it repeats the two lines "Help me get away from myself" and "You get me closer to God". The track also contains slowed-down samples from "Mountain of Needles" by Brian Eno and David Byrne, and from the intro of "Pinch" by Can.

* Manipulation: Bill Kennedy, Scott Humphrey, John "Geetus" Aguto, Paul Decarli, Eric ClaudiexCaudieux

* Manipulation: Bill Kennedy, Scott Humphrey, John "Geetus" Aguto, Paul Decarli, Eric ClaudiexCaudieux

'''''Running Time: 5:54''''' This remix didn't make it onto the ''Closer To God'' EP, but can be streamed or downloaded was available from remix.nin.com. This is essentially a variation on "Closer (Internal)".

'''''Running Time: 7:41''''' Released on the semi-official ''[[Recoiled]]'' EP. A variation on Coil's "Precursor" mix, created specially for the credits of [[David Fincher]]'s ''Se7en''.

In April 1994, a [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music video ]] for "Closer" was filmed. It was directed by [[Mark Romanek]], who also directed "[[The Perfect Drug (song)|The Perfect Drug]]" in 1997 and [[Johnny Cash]]'s cover of "[[Hurt (song)|Hurt]]" in 2003. The concept to the video is that it's an old stag reel recently uncovered. The aesthetic, atmosphere, and images in the video were inspired by the works of Man Ray, Francis Bacon, George Tooker, the Quay brothers, and, most notably, Joel-Peter Witkin. It was filmed using three-color film and hand-cranked cameras, to make it look much older. Additionally, there were more modern devices included in the video, such as a television.

{{Youtube|MB9jQPnuXkU|Live acoustic cover by Maroon 5, appearing on their "She Will Be LovedCloser" singlehas been covered by a variety of artists. More information can be found [[Covers Of NIN|here]].}}

*[http://archive.org/details/remix.-nin.-com/play/mix?id=139 -audio-00139 "Closer" (Thrust Remix) at remixarchive.nin.comorg]