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*:GW: I wanted to ask you about the solo in "Ruiner." How did you get that really nasty, ultra-quantized sound?*:REZNOR: Ah yes, the great, Pink Floyd-esque, Seventies- sounding section of the song. That's just a preset on the Zoom. I think I accidentally called up the wrong patch. I'm not a soloist. I was just laughing when I was playing with this ridiculous sound, recording into the computer saying like, "This is so cheesy," you know? I later realized that I basically tried to play a "Comfortably Numb"-type solo with this sound. I played the song for Chris, our drummer, and I was thinking, "He's going to start laughing. It's silly." But he goes, "Man, that guitar section was fucking great."
→Ruiner (Version)
| album =''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]]''
| length =4:58
| BPM = 116
| versions =Ruiner<br>Ruiner (Version)<br>Ruiner (Demo)
| live =[[Self Destruct Touring Cycle]] <br> [[Performance 2007]]<br>[[Wave Goodbye Tour]]
}} '''"Ruiner"''' is the sixth track on ''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]].'' In 2004, a demo version was released with the 10th Anniversary 2-disc Deluxe Edition of ''The Downward Spiral.''
[[Trent Reznor]] stated it was "the hardest song to write" for the record in a 1994 interview. "I still don't know if I got it right," he said. "I have such a bad vibe from that song now--from it sucking in so many different ways. That was actually two different songs stuck together."[http://nothing.nin.net/int20.html]
The bridge of this song features a rare guitar solo by Reznor. In the April 1994 issue of ''Guitar World,'' he was asked about it in the following section of the interview:
===Ruiner (Version)===
'''''Running Time: 5:35''''' This remix is only available on the UK import international edition (i.e. V2) of ''Further Down The Spiral''. Throughout, there are glitch effects splicing up Reznor's voice. The fast verses, switched in order, are louder and clearer than the studio version. As well, the synthesizer chorus is replaced by a more guitar -driven one.
====Credits====
*Remix: [[Charlie Clouser]]
===Ruiner (Demo)===
'''''Running Time: 4:51'''''
This early version is available on ''The Downward Spiral'' deluxe edition. In it, the verses are almost whispered while the pre-choruses are sung in Reznor's lower-middle vocal range, and the chorus is whispered quieter.
==Live==
"Ruiner" was performed live on the [[Self-Destruct Tour]] but would be retired until the [[Performance 2007]] tour, when it was played again for the first time in almost 13 years.
==Lyrics==
You had to give them all a sign, didn't you?
You had to covet what was mine, didn't you?
The Ruiner's a collector he's an infecter infector serving his shit to his flies
Maybe there will come a day when those that you keep blind will suddenly realize
Maybe it's a part of me you took to a place I hoped it would never go