10 Most Disturbing Music Videos In Hard Rock
2. Closer - Nine Inch Nails
After getting the first taste of success with Pretty Hate Machine, Trent Reznor was heading to a much darker place. Feeling more alone than he had ever felt, Nine Inch Nails' magnum opus the Downward Spiral turned into one of the most anticommercial successes of the '90s, as we follow the tale of Mr. Self Destruct trying to actively nullify his life by any means necessary. Even though Closer managed to crack the charts, the video was a different story entirely.
Being one of the least sensual songs about sex, Reznor really delivered on the uneasy feeling of dread that comes with the song, as he appears in what looks like a dominatrix dungeon as he performs. From the visual of him spinning in midair to the various raw footage of him looking like a mad scientist, you can tell Reznor has plans to do very nasty things to your corpse and can't wait to get down to business.
In fact, the main cut of the video was passed over entirely by MTV, leading to Reznor editing out different chunks of the video to appease the big wigs. It couldn't have been timed better though, with those shots of dead air leaving you to fill in the gaps for yourself, which enhances the fear factor even further. While the melody still holds up, those who have watched this video probably still have the scars to prove it.