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'''"Mr. Self Destruct"''' is the first track on the 1994 release ''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]].'' Its loud and abrasive verses and choruses as well as the contrast in the quiet bridge and use of samples combine to make a comprehensive introduction to the sonic characteristics of the entire album.
===[[Adrian Belew]] Guest Appearance===
In the April 1994 issue of Guitar World, [[Trent Reznor]] was asked about the circumstances behind the guest appearance of guitarist Adrian Belew:
*GW: How did you hook up with Adrian Belew?
*REZNOR: His name just popped into my head. I called my manager and two days later he was here. As it turned out he was already in L.A., working on something else... The songs were pretty much arranged, but we thought, "What would it be like if we got someone in here who could really play his ass off? Let's see what happens." We basically told Adrian, "Just play whatever you want and we'll piece it together however we see fit. Maybe stuff from one song will fit into another." We did about six or seven songs with four or five passes each. One time we'd tell Adrian something like, "Concentrate on a rhythmic part." Another time, "Think in terms of countermelody." Or, "Think in terms of no pitch at all, just noise." He pulled out a bunch of great sounds that he never gets to use. Flood and I were definitely intimidated when he first came up. We were sitting in the living room of Sharon Tate's house--our studio--with this guy who's played with Paul Simon and David Bowie. The first song we played him was "Mr. Self Destruct"--the hardest-sounding one we had. I said, "Play whatever you want." He said, "What key is it in?" And I had to say, "Uh, I don't remember. It's probably in E." It's a real fast track. For a moment he thought, "What the fuck?" Then he kicked in and it was just the most awesome thing.
===Song Credits===
Extra lyrics can be heard in the breakdown:
You let me do this to you I am an exit
==External Links==
*[http://nothing.nin.net/int20.html Guitar World 4/94] interview transcript
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