10 Albums With Creepy Recording Stories
1. The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor had had a whirlwind start to his career with his industrial outfit Nine Inch Nails. After coming off an impressive debut with Pretty Hate Machine, fans were itching to hear what was on the horizon for Reznor. Looking to go even darker with his material, Reznor packed up his gear and moved into a house in the Hollywood Hills that he christened Le Pig, based on the word painted on the front door.
What Reznor was unaware of at the time was the actual location of his new makeshift workspace: 10050 Cielo Drive. This location became infamous years before Reznor's stay when it was the home where actress Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by Charles Manson's Family. The Pig lettering that Reznor had noticed upon entering had actually been written by one of Manson's followers in Tate's blood.
Undeterred by the more haunting aspects, Reznor used the dark history of the house as his fuel, as he filled The Downward Spiral with graphic soundscapes and visceral effects that made for one of the most intense listening experiences of the 90's. Shrouding himself in darkness, Reznor came through with a disturbing masterpiece whose disturbing development proved to be more creatively fruitful than he could have ever imagined.