Stabbing Westward was an amazing, and far under appreciated, band.

Their final album, "Stabbing Westward" was released on May 22, 2001 to mixed reviews. While generally regarded as a solid rock album, many fans felt betrayed by the bands choice to abandon their traditional "pseudo-industrial" sounds, and the use of electronics and keyboards. Instead, the band chose a more "organic" approach on the new record, doing away with the "click track", focusing more on acoustic guitars, and even including a marimba in several songs. Despite this, the album made its debut on Billboard Magazine's Top 200 at #47, a record for the band.

The album was the band's first record with their new label, Koch, after having been dropped by Columbia in the summer of 2000. It was also their first album to feature Derrek Hawkins on lead guitar, as their former guitatist, Mark Eliopulos, left before work on the new record began.

Koch, a relatively new label, seemed to have difficultly properly promoting the band and their new album, however. All told, only two singles were ever released off the album, and only the first saw a music video or any significant radio air play. After a short bar tour, the band was set to be an opening act, along with Monster Magnet, on The Cult's tour. However, the band dropped off the tour after only a handful of shows, alegedly due to financial issues (Monster Magnet did likewise not long afterward).

The band followed in the autumn of 2001 with a small tour of Australia and New Zealand, and later opened for Live in that band's tour of the continent. In early December, Hawkins and the band decided to part ways, and he was replaced briefly by Keith Joyner. By the end of the month, the band had also parted ways with their record label, Koch. The band promised to return with a new album and a new tour in 2002.

The band's final musical release was a track on the "Not Another Teen Movie" soundtrack, a cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle". That album was released in December 2001. In what will probably become that band's final literary appearance, lead singer Chris Hall, and the rest of the band, appear in a photo spread and interview in the February 2002 issue of "Playgirl" magazine. The photo shoot and interview apparently took place several months earlier.

Finally, on February 6, 2002 the band's official web site was updated with a notice that the band had decided to disband.

The track listing of the album "Stabbing Westward" is:

  1. So Far Away
  2. Perfect
  3. I Remember
  4. Wasted
  5. Happy
  6. The Only Thing
  7. Angel
  8. Breathe You In
  9. High
  10. Television
CD's purchased at Best Buy also included a bonus CD containing:
  1. So Far Away (acoustic)
  2. Wasted (acoustic)

In 1992, Stabbing Westward was featured in a compilation CD by Cargo Records with "Violent mood swings" The band then recorded demos of "Nothing" "Lies" and "Throw". Columbia liked them enough to sign. Back in England in '93, Stabbing recorded in Eden Studio in Chiswick with Jon Fryer. That September, Stabbing opened for Rage Against the Machine. February of 94 "Ungod" was released while the band toured with Therapy?, Paw and Machines of Loving Grace and later Depeche Mode and Primal scream

Whither, Blister, Burn and Peel is released in January '96 after being recorded in a haunted barn in Woodstock, NY While on tour with the Sex Pistols and Kiss, members of Stabbing Westward caught Kiss pillaging their fridge. Kiss was too embarased and had Stabbing Westward moved to the most remote dressing room possible. What Do I Have to Do climbed charts in 97, but MTV really loved them when they were the only band of the ones scheduled that actually played in subzero weather at the Snoasis festival

Darkest Days was recorded after the band moved to L.A. from Chicago. This was to be their deepest and most contriversial album yet. on the tour while promoting Darkest Days, Claudia Schiffer became a loyal fan when she accidentally walked in on the band changing. After the Darkest Days tour, Sony Music left them without a label. A year later, they were signed by Koch Entertainment and hired a new producer , Ed Buller. They let him refine the sound to be poppier and less angry, along with Tom Lord-alge (who has done The Wallflowers, Hole, Live) mixing the record.

Only time will tell if the masses will love the new sound or if Stabbing Westward has just gone soft.

Many anime fans might also remember the song "Save Yourself" originally on Darkest Days from the english dub of Tekken: The Movie. The song was played during a scene in which Kazuya and Mina are falling from a (presumably hotel) building into a pool below. This song is probably the one highlight in an otherwise not good game adaptation. However, this movie was the reason I bought Darkest Days, and for that I'll always have a special place for it.

Under my bookshelf.

Also, Save Myself got a lot of radio play, and sometimes I still here on the good ol' FM radio.

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