Stabbing Westward is an American
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.
Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band in 1985 in
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in 2 ...
. The band released an
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. in 1992, followed by four
studio albums
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
: ''
Ungod
''Ungod'' is the debut album by American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. The album was recorded in six weeks in Chiswick, England in 1993, and released by Columbia Records on February 15, 1994. With adequate album sales and touring with ...
'' (1994), ''
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 ...
'' (1996), ''
Darkest Days
''Darkest Days'' is the third album released by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward on Columbia Records. The album was recorded in L.A. in 1997 and released on April 7, 1998. Although the album didn't achieve the same level of success as '' ...
'' (1998), and ''
Stabbing Westward'' (2001). The band announced a dissolution on February 9, 2002. Two
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s were later released in 2003. Stabbing Westward reunited in 2016 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its formation and continued to perform live shows. The band's first new album in 21 years, ''Chasing Ghosts'', was released in 2022.
History
Early years (1985–1992)
Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band Stabbing Westward when they were in college. They came up with the name while working at the college radio station
WIUS-FM. It was allegedly from a 1950s speech regarding political fears of Communism "stabbing westward." During an interview in 1996, Hall stated, "Since we went to
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.
History
Western Illin ...
, Stabbing Westward had a certain 'kill everybody in the school' vibe to it! The school's way out in farm country and the country is really close minded. I was walking around like
Robert Smith with real big hair, big baggy black clothes, black fingernail polish and eye makeup. They just didn't get it. We hated the town."
Moving to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
in 1985, the original line-up for Stabbing Westward consisted of Hall on bass guitar and lead vocals, Flakus on keyboards, and Jim Clanin on guitar. Clanin would briefly be replaced on guitar by Andrew Hunter, and bassist Jim Sellers was added on as well. This line-up of the band recorded the 1991
extended play
tape ''Iwo Jesus'', and featured four songs: an early version of "Violent Mood Swings" (titled "Violent Mood Swing"), "P.O.M.F." (which contains elements of the later song "The Thing I Hate"), an early version of "Shame", and "Plastic Jesus". "Violent Mood Swing" was also included on the 1992 compilation CD ''The Cyberflesh Conspiracy''.
The band's official website stated that "the original EP was recorded on an 8 track tape machine synched to an Emax II Sampler and an EMU SP1200 sampling drum machine. 100 copies were originally printed and sold both at local shows and in the legendary Wax Trax Record store in Chicago."
Hall took a brief break to tour with the band
Die Warzau
Die Warzau (originally Die Warzau Synfony) was an American industrial music band formed in 1987 by Jim Marcus and Van Christie.
History
In the late 80s, Jim Marcus and Van Christie were working individually as performance artists. Christie ha ...
as that group's percussionist before continuing to work on Stabbing Westward. Hall, Flakus, and Sellers later recruited
Chris Vrenna
Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails ...
(
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
) on drums,
as Hall had met Vrenna when playing in Die Warzau. Vrenna played drums on all of the demo recordings that ultimately landed Stabbing Westward their record deal with
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 demo recordings included "Violent Mood Swings", "Lies", and "Nothing". They were recorded at a studio in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. At the insistence of the band's record label, Stuart Zechman was brought in on guitar, as previous guitarist Hunter was no longer in the band.
After Vrenna returned to Nine Inch Nails, the band hired David Suycott,
who was a high school friend of Flakus.
''Ungod'' (1993–1995)
With a solidified line-up including Zechman on guitar and Suycott on drums, the band in 1993 recorded at
Eden Studios
Eden Studios was a commercial recording facility in west London. It opened in 1967, originally at 11 Eden Street in Kingston upon Thames (now under the Eden Walk shopping centre), before moving to 20-24 Beaumont Road in Chiswick in 1972. It was ...
;
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
with producer John Fryer.
This resulted in their major label (Columbia Records) debut album, ''
Ungod
''Ungod'' is the debut album by American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. The album was recorded in six weeks in Chiswick, England in 1993, and released by Columbia Records on February 15, 1994. With adequate album sales and touring with ...
'', which was released on February 15, 1994.
The band landed an opening slot on the
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
Exotic Tour
The Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94 was a 1994 concert tour by English electronic group Depeche Mode in support of the act's eighth studio album, ''Songs of Faith and Devotion'', which was released in March 1993. The tour is an extension of the D ...
in summer 1994,
and opened North American tour dates in fall 1994 for
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
, but Stabbing Westward album sales were still sluggish.
David Suycott abruptly dropped out of the band toward the end of the ''Ungod'' tour.
Andy Kubiszewski was called in to replace Suycott's position for the remainder of the shows.
This fast replacement required Kubiszewski to learn all of Suycott's parts while on his flight to meet with the band. Kubiszewski became a permanent fixture of Stabbing Westward.
The "Thread Mix" of the song "Violent Mood Swings" was included in the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the 1994 film ''
Clerks
A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store.
Office holder
Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court.
*Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
'', and briefly appeared in the movie itself for one scene. The song "Nothing" was featured in the 1995 motion picture ''
Bad Boys'', but was not included on the film's soundtrack release. "Nothing" was later included in the credits of the movie ''
Johnny Mnemonic
"Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...
'' and both it and "Lost" were featured on the movie's soundtrack. The songs "Lies", "Lost", and "Can't Happen Here" were also all featured in the first ''
Mortal Kombat
''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
'' movie in 1995; however, these songs were not featured on the CD soundtrack.
''Wither Blister Burn & Peel'' (1995–1997)
When Stuart Zechman departed the band after the ''Ungod'' tour due to personal differences,
the remaining band members found themselves without one of their major songwriters. New drummer Andy Kubiszewski took over some songwriting duties afterward.
Prior to playing in Stabbing Westward, Kubiszewski had not only played drums in
The The
() are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
, recorded one song for
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
,
and played in
Prick
Prick may refer to:
* Prick (manufacturing), a style of marking tool
* Goad or prick, a traditional farming implement
* Fingerprick, a wound for blood sample
* ''Prick'' (slang), vulgar slang for human penis or a derogatory term for a male
* ' ...
, but had been the singer and songwriter in the Cleveland-based
Exotic Birds
The Exotic Birds was an American Synthpop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in 1982 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students (Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Timothy Adams Jr.) They wrote their own music, an ...
. Shortly after Zechman's departure, Kubiszewski played the band dozens of demos and Exotic Birds recordings. Included were "What Do I Have to Do?",
"Haunting Me," "Sometimes It Hurts," "Crushing Me,"
"Slipping Away," "Desperate Now," and "Goodbye." These tracks would later find space on both the ''Wither'' and ''Darkest Days'' albums. When the band headed to Bearsville Studios in
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
, without a permanent guitar player, they decided to play all the guitar parts themselves, with Sellers and Kubiszewski taking on most of the guitar duties.
In 1996, the ''
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 ...
'' LP became a success,
landing them their first
certified gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
album, aided by the singles "Shame" and "What Do I Have to Do?" which granted the band heavy rotation on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
,
MuchMusic
Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults.
MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
, and radio. Tour mates for this album included
Sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...
. "What Do I Have to Do?" was featured in 1997's ''
Masterminds'', as well as in the episode
"Tempest" of ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' years later. The band later recruited Mark Eliopulos after the ''Wither'' recording sessions were completed to handle the live element of the main guitar parts.
''Darkest Days'' (1998–2000)
Stabbing Westward relocated to
Los Angeles, California
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' ...
, where they began work on the 1998 album, titled ''
Darkest Days
''Darkest Days'' is the third album released by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward on Columbia Records. The album was recorded in L.A. in 1997 and released on April 7, 1998. Although the album didn't achieve the same level of success as '' ...
''.
''Darkest Days'' was envisioned as a four-act story by the band (but never marketed as such). This is the only release featuring studio work by Mark Eliopulos. The first single "Save Yourself" had success yet the album failed to sell as well as its predecessor. Stabbing Westward continued to tour with bands like
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
,
The Cult
The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...
,
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet is an American rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums); they have since gone through several lineup c ...
, and
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
, while playing numerous summer festivals. Due to a broken collarbone, Kubiszewski was forced to sit out the remainder of the touring cycle. He was replaced for three dates by former drummer Chris Vrenna, then Johnny Haro for the remaining dates. Haro joined
Econoline Crush
Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1992. They have released five studio albums and are known for their charting singles such as "You Don't Know What It's Like", "Home", "Surefire (Never Enough)", ...
after Kubiszewski's return.
The music video for "Sometimes It Hurts" was supposed to be ''
Wizard of Oz''-themed, though most of the references were eventually removed.
The song "The Thing I Hate" was featured as the opening theme song in the
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
game ''
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill'', which was released in September 1998. A remixed version of the song "Torn Apart" was featured on the ''
Spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** '' Spawn: ...
'' movie soundtrack in July 1997. The song "Save Yourself" was featured in the 1998 films ''
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 ''
Tekken
is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The ...
'', in addition to the 2012 ''
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 ...
'' Season 5 finale. The song "Haunting Me" was featured in the opening scenes of the 1998 teen horror flick ''
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 ...
''.
In 2000, the day before the band was to fly to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
to record the follow-up to ''Darkest Days'' with producer
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...
, the band was dropped by Columbia Records.
''Stabbing Westward'' and breakup (2001–2002)
After signing with
Koch Records
MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...
, the new manager wanted the band to create an album with a heavy pop influence. Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Mark Eliopulos fought against the decision. Mark Eliopulos was fired by the manager who then brought in Derrek Hawkins as both a studio and live musician, as well as a new producer,
Ed Buller
Edmund Wilbur Hudson "Ed" Buller (born 9 August 1962 in Reigate, Surrey) is an English record producer and former musician. He has primarily worked with English bands including Suede, Pulp, The Raincoats and The Courteeners.
Biography
Buller fir ...
.
The demo for the self-titled album was considered too dark. Old guitar parts from the demos were muted and new pop-driven riffs were created by the new guitarist.
The self-titled album, ''
Stabbing Westward'', was released on May 22, 2001, and featured the hit "So Far Away". The album did well in Australia, but ultimately failed to sell worldwide.
Before a fifth LP could be recorded, the band did not sign for a new record deal and formally announced that they had disbanded on February 9, 2002.
Post-breakup (2003–2015)
* Lead singer Christopher Hall formed the
Los Angeles
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' ...
-based band
The Dreaming
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
in 2001. They released their debut album ''
Etched In Blood
The Dreaming was an American rock band founded in the Hollywood area by Christopher Hall, the lead singer of the band Stabbing Westward, and Johnny Haro in 2001.
Biography
The Dreaming formed in mid 2001 prior the dissolution of Christoph ...
'' in June 2008. Songs from the album received airplay on
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
and rock stations nationwide. The album was distributed in
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, ...
and
Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
. The band spent three years touring as a headliner and co-headliners with bands such as
Trust Company
A trust company is a corporation that acts as a fiduciary, trustee or agent of trusts and agencies. A professional trust company may be independently owned or owned by, for example, a bank or a law firm, and which specializes in being a trust ...
and
Flaw. In November 2011, the band released its second album, ''Puppet''. It reached No. 32 on the
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
Heatseekers Albums
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart. Their third album, ''Rise Again'', was released in February 2015. ''From the Ashes'', a
remix album
A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...
, was released in June 2017.
* Walter Flakus has been working with
The Clay People
The Clay People are an American heavy rock band based in Albany, New York. Singer Daniel Neet has been the only constant member throughout the band's history, providing lyrics and a frontman persona. Guitarist Brian McGarvey and drummer Dan Dinsm ...
and
Chokt
Chokt is an American industrial rock band featuring Pete Murray of Lo-Pro and Ultraspank, Walter Flakus of Stabbing Westward, and John Stevens of Ghost Machine and The Clay People. The trio recorded an album's worth of material together, relea ...
. He was the APD/Music Director/Afternoon host for Chicago alternative station
101 WKQX. He is now an afternoon DJ for Seattle alternative station 107.7 The End. He joined Hall's band The Dreaming in 2015.
* Jim Sellers and his wife opened a natural foods market called Sellers Market in 2005. It appears to have closed in 2012.
* Jim Clanin left the music industry. He owned and operated a
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...
in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
.
* Andy Kubiszewski has filled in as the drummer for a handful of
Prick
Prick may refer to:
* Prick (manufacturing), a style of marking tool
* Goad or prick, a traditional farming implement
* Fingerprick, a wound for blood sample
* ''Prick'' (slang), vulgar slang for human penis or a derogatory term for a male
* ' ...
shows, joined a new project called Affected with Chris Schleyer, written and produced several songs for the popular Russian pop duo
t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with R ...
, and has composed music for dozens of TV shows, including ''
Monster Garage
''Monster Garage'' is an American television series aired on the Discovery Channel and hosted by Jesse James. Each episode was an hour in length and was conceived and produced (along with James) by Thom Beers.
The show premiered on June 23, 2002 ...
'', ''
Monster House'', ''
Ax Men
''Ax Men'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 9, 2008 on History. The program follows the work of several logging crews in the second-growth forests of Northwestern Oregon, Washington and Montana and the rivers o ...
'', ''
America's Toughest Jobs
''America's Toughest Jobs'' is a reality television show that lasted one season and aired on the American television network NBC. It pitted contestants against each other as they attempted a series of difficult and dangerous jobs. The prize was ...
'', ''
The Colony'', and most recently ''
Storage Wars
''Storage Wars'' (stylized as ''STORAGE WAR$'') is an American reality television competition series that airs on A&E (TV channel), A&E. It initially aired for 12 seasons, from December 1, 2010, to January 30, 2019. A 13th season premiered in ...
''. Other film credits include ''
Jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
''. Andy also composes the music to the popular ''Habla Blah Blah'' line of kids CDs.
* Mark Eliopulos played guitar in the bands Violent New Breed, HTH, Super Model, and Brave Ulysses.
* Johnny Haro joined
Econoline Crush
Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1992. They have released five studio albums and are known for their charting singles such as "You Don't Know What It's Like", "Home", "Surefire (Never Enough)", ...
after briefly playing drums for Stabbing Westward. He eventually formed The Dreaming along with Christopher Hall.
* Stuart Zechman retired from the music industry. He moved to New York and started a family.
* David Suycott joined
Machines of Loving Grace
Machines of Loving Grace was an American industrial rock band from Tucson, Arizona, best known for their song "Butterfly Wings".
History
Formation
Named after the Richard Brautigan poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace", Machines ...
in 1995 as their new drummer. He continues to do production and remix work with various bands.
* Derrek Hawkins continued to work in the music industry, notably contributing to the song "Outer Space" on
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...
's 2009 solo album
''Anomaly''.
In June 2010, a rumor was afloat that Stabbing Westward would reunite to tour and possibly work on new material; however, this proved false. In July 2012, a fan created a petition which asked frontman
Christopher Hall to reconcile with his former Stabbing Westward bandmates for a reunion tour; again, the reunion never happened.
Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Johnny Haro reunited at one of The Dreaming's shows in Las Vegas on November 15, 2013. Flakus would later join The Dreaming on a permanent basis.
Reunion and ''Chasing Ghosts'' (2015–present)
Stabbing Westward reunited in 2015 after Eliopulos joined them onstage to play a set of Stabbing Westward songs when the Dreaming came through Chicago on their "Rise Again" tour on June 11, 2015. The band officially reunited for two shows, which coincided with the band's 30th anniversary. The first show took place in Chicago on September 22, 2016, as a part of the Cold Waves Festival, a charity festival benefiting suicide prevention causes. The line-up featured Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, Mark Eliopulos, and Johnny Haro along with
Carlton Bost (mainly known from The Dreaming, and also the reunited bands Orgy and Berlin). Jim Sellers did not take part in the reunion because of work commitments. The second show took place at Dracula's Ball in Philadelphia on October 31, 2016, at the Trocadero Theatre.
In a January 2017 interview with
audioBoom
AudioBoom PLC is an on-demand audio and podcasting distribution platform. AudioBoom offers business-to-business services to the radio, media and podcast industries.
AudioBoom's platform has been used to power on-demand audio for businesses incl ...
, Walter Flakus was asked if there would be more Stabbing Westward reunion shows in the future. His response was, "We'll see. I don't have anything planned yet, but I'm always open to opportunities. It was great to get back on stage and play those songs again." Dates for a full tour began to be announced in February 2017. The band also performed at the 2017 edition of Cold Waves Festival in Chicago, Illinois.
The band released new material after their formation, such as a re-recorded version of the song "Plastic Jesus" (released on the ''Cold Waves V'' compilation on September 22, 2016) and an outtake from 2001 entitled "Home in You" (released on the ''Cold Waves VI'' compilation on September 28, 2017).
On August 17, 2018, Johnny Haro had been "let go" from the band, and will not be participating in any further band activities. In his Facebook post of that date, he stated that "The Dreaming is done." Stabbing Westward announced Bobby Amaro, from Orgy, as a replacement for Haro. The band embarked on a U.S. tour from October to December 2018 by celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of ''Darkest Days'' and performing most of the album, along with other songs.
Stabbing Westward released a remixed version of the ''Iwo Jesus'' EP in 2019. In June 2019, the ensemble stated via their
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page that they were working on a new album, with Eliopulos via his Facebook site stating that he has left the band.
In early 2020, 19 years after the band's self-titled album, the first proper release of all new material was put out by the band, titled ''
Dead and Gone
"Dead and Gone" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., featuring American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on January 12, 2009 as the eighth single from T.I.'s sixth studio album, ''Paper Trail'' (2008). Due ...
''.
In May 2020, the band announced their signing to label COP International for their forthcoming studio album ''Chasing Ghosts'', the band's first full studio album since 2001. The lead single was "I Am Nothing" and the album was released on March 18, 2022.
Musical style and influences
Stabbing Westward is considered an
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. The band have also been described as
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...
,
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...
,
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
,
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
,
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and
industrial pop
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
. Stabbing Westward has been compared often to
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, but according to Alan Escher of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, the band "owe more to the British
synth pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
pers
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
than anyone." Singer Christopher Hall's vocals have been compared to the vocals of Nine Inch Nails singer
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...
.
Stabbing Westward's debut album ''Ungod'' has been described by Escher as "lo-fi aggro-synth assault". Stabbing Westward moved to a very guitar-driven sound on ''Wither Blister Burn & Peel''.
[ The self-titled album in 2001 shows a less heavy, and more melodic sound than previous albums. Stabbing Westward's influences include ]Ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
, Revolting Cocks
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.
History 1984: Or ...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
, Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
, The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
, Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
, The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...
, Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
, and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
.
Members
File:Robert Christopher Hall.jpg, Christopher Hall
File:Bobby Amaro.jpg, Bobby Amaro
File:Carlton Bost.jpg, Carlton Bost
File:Mark Eliopulos.jpg, Mark Eliopulos
File:Walter Flakus.jpg, Walter Flakus
Current
* Christopher Hall - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, drum machine programming (1985–2002, 2016–present)
* Walter Flakus - keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1985–2002, 2016–present)
* Carlton Bost - bass (2016–present)
* Bobby Amaro - drums (2018–present)
Former
* Jim Clanin - guitars (1985–1990)
* Andrew Hunter - guitars (1990-1991)
* Chris Vrenna
Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails ...
- drums (1992, 1998)
* David Suycott - drums (1993–1994)
* Stuart Zechman - guitars (1993–1995)
* Jim Sellers - bass (1990–2002)
* Andy Kubiszewski - drums, guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1994–2002)
* Derrek Hawkins - guitars, backing vocals (1999–2002)
* Johnny Haro - drums (1998, 2016–2018)
* Mark Eliopulos - guitars, backing vocals (1995-1999, 2016–2019)
Timeline
Color denotes main live duty.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Compilation albums
Singles
* The songs "What Do I Have to Do?" and "Shame" were not released as commercial singles, and they charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Airplay as they received airplay.
Promotional singles
Other songs
*"Dawn" was featured on the ''Escape from L.A.
''Escape from L.A.'' (stylized on-screen as ''John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.'') is a 1996 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and p ...
'' soundtrack in 1996.
*"Torn Apart" (Wink
A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...
Remix) was featured on the ''Spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** '' Spawn: ...
'' soundtrack in 1997.
*"So Wrong" was featured on the ''Bride of Chucky
''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, and Ni ...
'' soundtrack in 1998.
*" Top of the World" (The Carpenters cover) was featured on the ''Triple M Musical Challenge II'' compilation in 2001.
*"Bizarre Love Triangle
Bizarre may refer to:
*Bizarre (rapper) (born 1976), an American rapper and member of hip hop group D12
*Bizarre (band), a Spanish rock band
* ''Bizarre'' (TV series), a Canadian sketch comedy television series
* ''Bizarre'' (magazine), a sister ...
" (New Order cover) was featured on the ''Not Another Teen Movie
''Not Another Teen Movie'' is a 2001 American teen parody film directed by Joel Gallen and written by Mike Bender, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman, and Buddy Johnson. It features an ensemble cast including Chyler Leigh, Chris E ...
'' soundtrack in 2001.
*"Plastic Jesus" (re-recorded song, originally from the ''Iwo Jesus'' extended play) was featured on the ''Cold Waves V'' compilation in 2016.
*"Home In You" was featured on the ''Cold Waves VI'' compilation in 2017.
Music videos
References
External links
Allmusic entry for Stabbing Westward
The Dreaming Myspace Page
@ MTV News Archive
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1986
Musical groups disestablished in 2002
Musical groups reestablished in 2016
American industrial metal musical groups
American alternative metal musical groups
Rock music groups from Illinois
Musical groups from Chicago