

Trent Reznor's downward spiral didn't stop in 1994; in fact, his work as Nine Inch Nails would only get darker. Still, he's found an eerie sense of calm in the blackness: The manic loops of "Ruiner" wither into trembling ambient moans on "The Great Below" before being reduced to a low, rumbling piano for "34 Ghosts IV." Even on the apocalyptic groove "Me, I'm Not," he sounds downright Zen.