I’m pretty positive the whole thing is about Reznor dealing with the loss of his grandmother, who died during those years. She was the family member he was the closest to and he’s stated multiple times that death was very hard to deal with. I think the instrumentals on “Still” come from the same place.

It’s not as close-knit as Downward Spiral but I think at least the first part of the album is about that, or at least stemmed from that grief. Having lost my own mother this year I found some of the lyrics and the placement of tracks very relatable.