the popular opinion that Trent invented something new.
Yea, the structure of Downward Spiral was very film-like and well orchestrated, but future bands taking ideas from that album only means they never listened to any "industrial" bands that pre-date NIN.
It seems like MTV, Spin & Rolling Stone magazine only focused on NIN because it was time for a changing of the guards. NIN just happened to show up at the right time.
Even I was naive upon first listen to NIN. Being a young teenager, MTV was god to me.
They never played music from earlier bands such as Hula, Cabaret Voltaire, or Skinny Puppy.
So, it seemed natural to praise NIN as ground-breaking, back then.