another whose soul has been crushed by their own guilt enough to perform it well
Sorry but did you just...not listen to the original? There is such a wide range of emotions and Trent Reznor CRUSHES it. There is so much depth compared to Johnny Cash's warbling old man voice. You hear a man hitting his breaking point as he gets louder and angrier at himself. Meanwhile there's no evolution in the cover, he sounds the same start to finish.
I just don't understand the massive praise of the cover. If it wasn't Johnny Cash singing it, it would have never hit the radio. I don't care if people like it but you're massively downplaying the amazing performance of the original