''Darkest Days'' is the third album released by

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

band

Stabbing Westward Stabbing Westward is an American industrial rock band. Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band in 1985 in Macomb, Illinois. The band released an extended play in 1992, followed by four studio albums: ''Ungod'' (1994), ''Wither Bli ...

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The album was recorded in

L.A. Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 1997 and released on April 7, 1998. Although the album didn't achieve the same level of success as ''

Wither Blister Burn & Peel ''Wither Blister Burn + Peel'' is the second album by the American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward, released on Columbia Records. The album was recorded in New York in May 1995, and released in New York City and Los Angeles on January 4, 1 ...

'', it received positive reviews and is often considered the band's best album. The band was dropped from

in 2000 following this release. The track "Save Yourself" reached number 4 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart (the band's highest-placing single on that chart) and number 20 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart and remains a staple of alternative music. ''Darkest Days'' was certified gold on March 1, 2000. ''Darkest Days'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

consisting of four acts, with each portraying a different emotional phase gone through after a

break-up A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

. The first act (tracks 1-4) is about sabotaging the relationship. The second act (tracks 5-9) is about lust, hope, and longing. The third act (tracks 10-12) is about hitting rock bottom after it is all over. The fourth act (tracks 13-16) is about recovery and self-respect.

Track listing

Appearances

*"The Thing I Hate" was featured in the commercial and introduction sequence of the 1998 PlayStation video game '' Duke Nukem: Time to Kill''. It was later included on the '' Duke Nukem: Music to Score By'' soundtrack in 1999. Noah Antwiler of ''The Spoony Experiment'' used the song as his outro piece for the final segment of his review of the 1999 PC game '' Ultima IX: Ascension'' in 2013. *"Haunting Me" appeared in the 1998 science fiction horror film ''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, B ...

''. *"Save Yourself" was featured in the trailer of the 1999 film ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'' and the trailer of the 2006 film '' The Covenant'', along with an appearance on the soundtracks to '' Tekken: The Motion Picture'', ''

Urban Legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

'' and in the 2008 video game ''

Shaun White Snowboarding ''Shaun White Snowboarding'' is a snowboarding video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Gameplay Th ...

''. In the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'', "Save Yourself" played during the end credits to the season 5 finale of the same name in 2012. *A remix of "Waking Up Beside You" was used in the 2000 film '' The Crow: Salvation'' and was also included on the film's soundtrack release.

Personnel

** Christopher Hall – lead vocals, guitar **Marcus Eliopulos – guitar, backing vocals **

Walter Flakus Stabbing Westward is an American industrial rock band. Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band in 1985 in Macomb, Illinois. The band released an extended play in 1992, followed by four studio albums: ''Ungod'' (1994), ''Wither Bli ...

– keyboards, backing vocals ** Jim Sellers – bass **Andrew Kubiszewski – drums, keyboards, guitar *

Dave Jerden Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with artists in various genres including alternative rock, punk rock and metal. However, Jerden has stated that he dislikes the term "producer", preferring to refer ...

– producer *

Ulrich Wild Ulrich Wild is an American record producer, engineer and mixer specializing in the rock and metal genres. Born and raised in Switzerland, Ulrich is now a naturalized citizen in the United States, living in Los Angeles, California. In a career th ...

– producer, engineer *Bryan Carlstrom – engineer *Annette Cisneros – assistant engineer *Steve Mixdorf – assistant engineer *Steve Durkee – assistant engineer *Milton Chan – assistant engineer *Tom Baker – mastering *

Dave McKean David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpt ...

– cover design and illustrations *

Dean Karr Dean Karr (born February 22, 1965) is an American photographer and director. A prolific creative, Karr has photographed dozens of album covers and directed a substantial amount of music videos, commercials, and films. Early life and education ...

– band photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1998 albums Albums produced by Dave Jerden Albums produced by Ulrich Wild Albums with cover art by Dave McKean Columbia Records albums Concept albums Stabbing Westward albums