10 Greatest Hard Rock Songs Of The 1990s

Once the alternative revolution kicked in, the worlds of heavier music had a bit of an alternative movement of its own. Along with the bands that became known as nu metal later down the line like Korn, we also had the world of industrial rearing its head like with White Zombie and Ministry. In between the darker sides of mechanized rock, we got a sex jam that seemed to be ripped straight out of your nightmares.

Though Nine Inch Nails have always flirted with the harsher sides of rock, there's something about Closer that taps into something violent and disturbed. With only a sampled beat from Iggy Pop's Nightclubbing acting as the pulse for the song, Trent Reznor's vocals feel a lot more unhinged than usual, starting at a low whisper before getting to the chorus where he starts to succumb to his more primal instincts.

This doesn't feel like an act either. When Reznor says he wants to...do something to us like an animal, he sounds like he's just on the edge of sanity. By claiming that he's getting closer to God though, there's a lot more of a sinister edge to the whole thing. Here is a man who's letting himself go to the lowest that he can possibly go, and hoping that God will be on his side as he does it.