10 Perfect Rock Singles Of The 90s

The Downward Spiral was an album of crushing industrial metal and tortured outcries of pain. But for all the impact of tracks like Closer, Mr. Self Destruct and Piggy, nothing hit as hard as Hurt.

After close to an hour of post-apocalyptic rock, driven by Trent Reznor's tortured mind, Hurt, reined everything in. It stripped away the grinding guitars and oppressive drum machines, leaving Reznor's inner most thoughts naked. All that was left was a wobbly guitar part, slowly plucked, and augmented by a touch of piano. A few synth lines and a simple driving drumbeat, were used to push the back end of the chorus, but for the most part, it was an incredibly sparse track.

This single was all about the whispered implications of the lyrics. With references to self-harm, self-destruction and a lack of self-worth, this is Reznor's rawest most exposing number to date. Although the Johnny Cash cover imbued a whole new, and equally emotive, resonance to the track, there's no beating the original.