Stabbing Westward is one of the most humble bands! I was 13 at the time and I would write to I guess you would call it their fan club, they sent me sign posters signed cards signed guitar pick a personally written card I couldn’t believe it. They really appreciated their fans, that was really lacking in that time period.
I was a musician most of my life and in my teens, I found stabbing westward and loved their sound and began idolizing them. Darkest Days is to this day one of my favorite albums ever. I unfortunately never had an opportunity to see them play live before they split. Later In my 20’s-early 30s I played in a couple reasonably successful bands and had the fortune of opening up for Christopher Hall’s later band The Dreaming in town in Iowa at a large packed venue. We went on right before The Dreaming and a couple songs into our set, I realized that Christopher and all of the dreaming were standing off to the side of the stage staring at me and Christopher had a big smile on his face watching me play and in that moment I realize I had truly gone full circle. The man I had idolized and wanted to meet and watch perform for over a decade was sitting there watching me perform and seemed to enjoy it. We got done. They performed and were amazing. Then we talked all night after their set. Such a fantastic person and that day made my musical life.
Stabbing Westward is such an underrated band for sure. “Darkest Days” is to this day one of my favorite albums of all time and the quality in their sound and vocals are just great. Mad respect to them.
I think there's a part at the end worth mentioning that got missed. They did rekindle personally, but it wasn't just "other musical projects" happening during those years apart. Flakus was working at a Chicago radio station and Hall had started a pretty solid band called The Dreaming with some other notable artists from bands like Orgy and . For their (I believe) 3rd album Walter joined The Dreaming, and Hall had stated something like "Anything Walter and I work on together is going to be Stabbing Westward" and so their reuniting, and I believe a reunion tour with one of their old guitarists, and Haro having been their existing drummer already (and briefly their drummer back in 98), they basically just reformed Stabbing Westward at that point. Also, the video leaves out the entire drama of the name and part of why Hall used The Dreaming instead of Stabbing Westward during those years as one of the labels owned the name Stabbing Westward (I think Columbia) and that their breaking up after the 4th album, increased spending on tour buses, and a "rockstar lifestyle" left the band in debt, so any money made using the Stabbing Westward name had to be used to pay back that debt for the 4th album if it was going to be used at all. I believe in reforming the band, they were able to reach a financial agreement which is how they got the name back, began recording again and that leads us to the end where they released Chasing Ghosts.
I mean the thing about Walter joining The Dreaming turning the band into Stabbing Westward makes sense. I didn't like any of their other albums, but the album they did with Walter was phenomenal. It DID, in fact, sound exactly like Stabbing Westward.
I absolutely love this band. They were the soundtrack to my first major break up with my then gf in my early 20’s. Absolute LOVE the first and third albums. Glad they’re back and can’t wait to hear the new material!
Update. Went over to Spotify and played I am Nothing off their upcoming release…. I fucking love it. Exactly what you’d expect from stabbing westward. That song Ghost is good as well. I love, love, love that this band is back! Saw them in NYC pre-Covid…
They were the band that got me into music back in '98, shortly after Darkest Days released. It led to a robust career in the music industry over the last two decades that I can't help but be extremely grateful for.
Since you covered Stabbing Westward, I would love to see you cover my absolute favorite industrial rock band, Gravity Kills. They only released three albums but they were all top notch and completely solid and it's kind of sad how they dissolved after their keyboardist got a hand injury and industrial rock fell out of vogue. I would have loved to see them continue to make the same type of music and release a few more albums.
@@nebraskajoenelson8987 damn that really sucks, I've had a similar experience just missing one of my favorite bands and then they immediately broke up after. I wonder how much longer gravity kills would have gone if their keyboardist didn't get that injury. Would have been cool to see them do the material from Superstarved.
Great band, great video!!! So many awesome industrial bands helped me survive my youth: NIN, Stabbing Westward, Ministry, Machines of Loving Grace, Chemlab, Gravity Kills, PIG, KMFDM, Birmingham 6, Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy, My live with the thrill kill kult, Unit:187, etc. I'd love to watch videos on any of them. Thanx!!!! Also, It's a shame you didn't mention the video and song 'Shame', my favorite SW track and of on my favorite videos ever!!!
Ungod, wither blister, darkest days, and the self titled one after that was great too. I always wonder why they so underrated. They were great live. Darkest days is a masterpiece
because once someone asks "is the dude still trying to get over his high school girl friend?" and you can't help but wonder that when listening to them
Their self-titled was terrible! The first three albums are gold but that fourth one was awful. Of course that's my memory of hearing it as a high school senior the year came out. All I remember was that it had a xylophone solo. LOL
Stabbing Westward was my first concert. Fall of 96 at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus Ohio. Drill was the opening act. Great set. I dyed my hair fire engine red and Christopher had the same color at the time
God bless the guys for actually embracing the term "Industrial". Industrial will always be my first love I just wish more of its pioneers actually like the term
I saw this band in Portland Oregon a few years back. I had always loved them. Not only were they great musically speaking; but they were a gem as human beings! I have the upmost respect for them! 🤎
I remember I had a huge crush on this skater girl in high school and I overheard her saying she just wanted a guy who liked Stabbing Westward. I ran home and begged my older brother to play me some of them. Thank you skater girl
This was one of my ALL-time favorite bands in high school! I acquired a ticket to see them in Toronto in 1996-1997, but my parents wouldn't let me go, and it broke my heart! I still have the ticket stub! When I discovered they were releasing new music in March 2022, I was so surprised! I hope they tour again so I can FINALLY see them 20+ years later! I wish you covered more about them currently in this video. However, I really appreciate this video! THANKS!!!
"What Do I Have To Do?" may have been the first video but "Shame" deserves the break out single credit, IMO. It was on heavy rotation on MTV for much longer.
The funniest thing i heard on the radio in the early 2000s, a woman wanted to hear the song "shame" but didnt know the title so she asked the DJ to play the Stabbing Westward song that says "how can i have 53X without you" and he then played her soundbite on the air. She had to have felt brilliant.
I liked Stabbing Westward's first two releases. I was getting into industrial rock, I'd been listening to Front 242, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and whatever was good on the Wax Trax label in the early 90s, and when Wax Trax broke apart/was acquired by TVT and KMFDM and other bands started getting more and more popular I picked them up too. Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills were, IMO, *not* "one-hit wonder" bands but expressions of the genre breaking out and changing. But Reznor's always been kind of a...hm, well, he's got opinions.
To this day, one of my favorite bands of all time. I was a senior when the local radio station had a call in contest to meet them. The question was so sacrilegious to me at the time: Name all of Stabbing Westwards albums. These were my Bibles! How could someone not know them? I converted so many friends to fans like a good evangelist. Great band live and genuine people. I am looking forward to the new album and tour. I just hope they come to my neck of the woods. Excellent video!
I get nostalgic for my old "rack jobber" gig at the indie record store in the 90s when I see all those 90s album covers. Get all old guy misty "Sold a bunch of that, made a display with promo posters and flats of that, loved that record", etc. And I've enjoyed riding along as your channel has grown and your delivery has reached the top notch level!!
I saw them in April of 2017. I went to buy a t shirt and was surprised that it was Christopher Hall selling them himself. I had a bit of an awkward conversation with him, but he was nice enough.
Thank you for bringing eyes to SW. I cannot express the words enough about how good this band is, and how important they were to my development as a person. I'm too excited for Chasing Ghosts, especially based on the recent Halloween EP release!
My first exposure was in the mountains above SLC when Stabbing opened for Depeche in the 90s. Their live performance was electric and emotional and their Ungod and WBBP albums played a huge part in my musical journey growing up.
Great documentary. In my preteen days, a couple years before Stabbing Westard got signed to Columbia, Walter Flakus was working at a radio station in Rockford, IL (home town of Cheap Trick). He was the week night DJ. I had become a huge fan of radio and wanted to get into it when college came around and beyond. I called Walter's request line every night and did character voices for his show. He went by the on-air name of "Rick Johnson". I had to do a 7th grade career report so I asked him if I could interview him. He was kind enough to invite me to the station and hang out with him and learn the ropes. I ended up doing that many times over a couple years and we became friends. After getting signed to Columbia and touring, whenever the band played in the area, a mutual friend and I would go see them and party with them after the show. Walt was the only one I got to know and I had conversations with Christopher a few times. They are such cool and nice guys and I'm so glad to see they are working together again.
I remember seeing them in my teens in 1994. Darkest Days has just dropped. I've been to hundreds of shows and that show still is right at the top. The energy of that show is still unmatched. Christopher Halls vocals were RIDICULOUS!.
I remember finding a copy of the Ungod album in my eldest brothers car when I was 12 and just falling in love with it. Listened to it for months. A few years later, I start seeing the video for "What do I have to do" on MTV and I honestly wasn't THAT fond of it. Then they started playing the video for "Shame " and as an angsty goth girl that was going through a breakup, the lyrics really resonated with me, lol. I went and got the album and even dug up Ungod again. This band played a huge role in my teen years. Loved the Darkest days album too. And Chris was ( and still is gorgeous) I still enjoy Stabbing Westward immensely as an adult,though nowadays the fact that nearly every song is about a breakup kinda makes me wonder if maybe that's what kept them from being taken as seriously...in the late 90s I remember reading some article online about the band that criticized them for this exact thing even going as far as saying that "SW was the goth kids version of Backstreet boys and N'sync" Wish I could find that article now as I recall being extremely offended by it as a teen, lol. While I understand a little bit of why they were compared to NIN, I never really thought they sounded alike at all. Wish you had mentioned Chris Halls band The Dreaming, a band he started on after SW broke up.
No mention of the fact that after being superstars, they owed the record labels a ton of money! The cost of touring and the entire gig made it impossible for them to be profitable! No mention of the band 'The dreaming" or the lead singer couch-surfing and creating a grassroots effort to do the music in an organic, authentic way. When you are as talented as these guys are, no matter what you call the band, people will listen and show up to their concerts! It's a shame that money and business have to mix with the music and creation aspect. It's the MC Hammer, Mike Tyson Entourage theory. The record parasites in the music industry attached themselves like fleas to these guys, robbing them of the millions they should have reaped. Just because they wrote awesome music doesn't mean they were savage business folks. I'm sure this has happened a thousand times to other bands, just sad that the creative process suffered.
I remember reading an article right about the same time they got back together about how they were on tour buses in the late-90s on the success of their 2nd and 3rd albums and at the end of the tour, they were something like $1 million in the hole, so now they're back to doing gigs in a van and signing CDs while driving between stops. They also had minimal crew when I saw them last, so they're definitely a more frugal touring band now.
I saw them 3 weeks before they borke. Gotta be one of my favorite concerts. The Dreaming should be mentioned. Hall has been making music independently since the band broke up. If you SW and haven't heard The Dreaming, check them out. The last album The Dreaming put out has a remix version that Walter worked on. I can't wait for new music from those 2.
The Dreaming should be mentioned. I loved the first demo but didn’t like the way they evolved after that. First demo was killer. Altogether I’d much rather have SW if posed with a choice.
The Dreaming ended up having the same problems as Stabbing. They as a group were great but no one in the band wanted to go in the same direction with the music they thought The Dreaming should be playing. The drummer, Johnny Haro is one of my very best friends and he was Stabbing's last drummer before they broke up. The drummer for Stabbing got hurt rollerblading or something and they had four or five months of touring to do so after auditioning drummers, Johnny Haro finished the tour, he and Christoper became good friends and after the breakup Christopher asked Johnny if he wanted to start a band and The Dreaming was created. They wrote some great songs and had a lot of Stabbing fans supporting them. I believe they produced the record(s) themselves and had no major backing from any label and they paid for their own touring, went back to driving their own van with a trailer for gear and it was like starting over for seasoned professional musicians who had been used to tour busses and hotels, opening for big name bands, or headlining themselves. I hung out with those guys and would go to most of their shows. They had members come and go to bigger name bands. It was hard to know the difficulties they were having and some of that I believe was rights to play Stabbing songs as part of their set list and if they should or shouldn't. This is just my take of the events, from what I saw, heard, talked with them about. I'm sure there was more that I didn't know about that was going on.
I was obsessed w SW at 15yo back in mid 90s. My first concert ever, they opened for Depeche Mode reunion outside Detroit. Their sound guy sucked, I was so disappointed but DM killed it w a double set.
I remember getting their fourth album and being sooooo disappointed in how it sounded, especially after 'Darkest Days' struck such a deep chord with me. Now I know why it sucked thanks to you.
@@davidl570 look up the song "Home in You". it's a re-recording of a unreleased song off the self-titled album. it was left off because they were told it was too dark to be on the album.
@@lluewhyn Many SW fans were....................can understand why it didn't do as well as their previous releases. Stick to the first 3 albums and you're good.
As a huge fan of Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, and Nine Inch Nails, it’s undeniable that most 3rd wave and beyond industrial acts take inspiration from NIN, although I think the epidemic of “NIN clones” was vastly overinflated. Yes, it’s an unfortunate reality that the record industry immediately jumps on whatever genre’s trending that week but most anybody familiar with the industrial genre would notice an obvious discrepancy between the three bands. Stabbing Westward definitely had a much more straightforward, rock-oriented edge in their first three records, Gravity Kills were much the same, and Nails of course is much moodier overall. I will say that Ungod does have some striking similarities to Pretty Hate Machine, but it’s more important to look at what the band became rather than what it started as. The fact that both Gravity Kills and Stabbing Westward continued to make music even after the great 90s industrial scene came to a close shows that it was more than just “copying NIN.” With any genre, I find it pretty shitty to undermine the work of a band just because they “kind of sound like a more popular band in the genre” on the most surface of surface levels. As one of my biggest influences of all time, I still love Trent Reznor, but by the mid to late 90s he had an awful habit of making an ass of himself; largely due to super stardom and addiction getting to him.
Wow I'm totally glad you explained the Stabbing Westward name! I show Atomic Cafe in my US History class, so I was aware of the newsreel you speak of, and I had always wondered if that was where the band got the name. Thanks for another great video!
They were doing some shows before the pandemic hit. Then it went into radio silence. I am glad they stuck it out and are releasing new music. I hope to see them if they come back out and tour.
I was lucky enough to meet Chris on two separate occasions when I was a teenager in Los Angeles. He was a great guy and I am seeing them in Vegas next week. Stabbing Westward is one of the greatest bands of all time.
They were a band that I remember. The industry took it out on them for sounding like NIN. I think there was plenty to salvage and could have developed a unique sound to set them apart. Especially the vocals.
I saw this band in 1998 with my aunt. I still play Wither, Blister, Burn + Peel and Darkest Days while I raid in WoW. They were a band I really enjoyed in my late teens!
You missed that Chris's band "The Dreaming" was in essence Stabbing Westward. I mixed them at the club I worked in for 22 years back in like 08. They had 3 amazing records that were better than stabbing westwards. The new sw material is however the cream of the crop. New songs like crawl, ghost and I am nothing are gold. 👍
22 years back in '08? When the hell did it get to be 2030? Lol, I actually had the EP The Dreaming put out... now I have to go dig around through my cds and see if I can find it.
"Crawl" was originally a The Dreaming song. It was on one of their first EPs. The acoustic version of "Crawl" is haunting. ua-cam.com/video/M5bYsm0MFU4/v-deo.html
A few years after Stabbing Westward broke up, Christopher founded another small band named "The Dreaming". I have a few of their albums and saw them in concert here in Cleveland when they were on tour. Then a few years later they started working on reforming Stabbing Westward.
Shame is such a great song, there's a frenetic energy that carries a tension through it that's unlike almost any other song. It's like always moving without any breaks and you have to just hang on for the ride.
Thank you for such an indepth and cool look into one of my fave groups! I grew up loving these guys as well as NIN! My intro to Stabbing Westward was the intro to Duke Nukem: Time To Kill! The song The Thing I Hate was pretty influential to me as a kid.
Stabbing Westward was one of my favorite bands from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. They would often be the one industrial gothic metal band similar to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry that was nothing but raw power on official movie soundtracks and scores. I started collecting soundtracks from movies whenever they had Stabbing Westward as one of the music bands featured on the list of contributors. Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Duke Nuke'em, John Carpenter's Escape From L.A., and Masterminds all had Stabbing Westward on their soundtracks. There was even a short-lived similar band named Apartment 26 that I had gotten into simply because they sounded like Stabbing Westward.
I saw them in Memphis. It started raining hard, and they never stopped playing. The two drum sets face to face with the rain water splashing while they were playing... was EPIC I tell ya.
When The Cult toured for their Beyond Good and Evil album, the opening acts were Stabbing Westward and Monster Magnet. My wife and I saw this show at The "E" Center in West Valley City, Utah. There was also a third opening act called Bird. Anyway, Monster Magnet wasn't anything special, but Stabbing Westward put on a good show, as did The Cult.
I worked with Chris Vrenna at the Watermark Restaurant in Cleveland he was a busboy! Holy Shit ... oh and a drummer. .. Right on! I also new Andy Kubiszewski, we were friends when he lead Exotic Birds right after Trent Reznor left the band. Wow that's crazy, I actually knew 2 of the drummers, and worked with Trent Reznor. Cleveland rocks ... Great info .. Thank you. Andy had his opinions of Trent Reznor, I remember him telling me. I had no idea who Trent Reznor was..... Not a NIN fan. Miss you Andy! Memories of the Phantasy in Lakewood, Ohio.
Anyone on here get to see and meet Stabbing Westward at the 101X Fest in Austin Texas in the spring of 1999? That was a great show. They played 2nd to last just before Collective Soul. They had a meet and greet in a tent after their set. I saw them open for Depeche Mode the year before and I told the band how much I enjoyed that show as well.
Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, Machines of Loving Grace were greT rock- industral bands in their own rights. It's a shame Reznor's ego and media attention had him laying claim on everyone else's work. Ironically Reznor has only had meh albums after Downward Spiral.
Trent Reznor: "I cannot respect or tolerate a lack of innovation". Heh, okay there... I love NIN as much as anyone, but holy crap is Trent bad at recycling his own ideas. So many of his melodies follow a predictable pattern and he rarely mixes up the formula of his music. Also, couldn't some more hardcore industrial fans accuse NIN of ripping off from Skinny Puppy and Big Black?
I agree with both of you. Not only does he recycle ideas to the point that any originality is gone but he does owe a lot to the industrial bands that came before him. That was a dumb comment on his part.
Thanks for creating this video. Everyone knows at least one Stabbing song but don't know the band's name because Stabbing never got the acclaim and the recognition they should have. Very similar was the way The Dreaming couldn't get a break even though Christopher and Johnny and the other band members worked hard and sacrificed to get The Dreaming heard, it just wasn't the right time. I spent a lot of time with those guys as Johnny Haro is one of my very best friends since we were kids. If Johnny and or Christopher see this, I miss you guys, hope all is well?
Anyone that really followed the band knows what happened and they have back for a while now, but thank you for still covering them. The guys in the band are just such very sweet people and they heavily appreciate that they were able to come back and still do what they love to do. P.S. The Dreaming(singers other band) kicked a lot of ass too, but no need for "what happened to the Dreaming" video because we got Stabbing Fucking Westward back
When they broke up I was still completely enamored by Hall and followed him all through college as he did his other band The Dreaming. They were a much more high energy emo goth rock band, still loads of fun. If you ask me, and I think they even said at one point, their final Dreaming album was really just an unofficial Stabbing Westward release. Flakus had joined the band bringing back the SW sound and continued what should have happened after Darkest Days. Fantastic album. I saw them when they reunited for a tour in 18 and am pumped they are back in action. Chris Hall still sounds fantastic after all of these years,
Saw The Dreaming cover Adele's Fire to the Rain song, and Chris absolutely crushed it. In my opinion, he brought an emotional depth that exceeded Adele's own delivery. His vocals have always been so unique, haunting, and he has solid range.
I saw the band and Counting Crows it was a disaster. The lead singer from CC's was giving SW a bunch of heat because SW was having a problem with some computer component which was intermittent and causing problems though out the performance.
Here's our video on the nasty feud between Nine Inch Nails & Marilyn Manson ua-cam.com/video/_lxK8igUwUE/v-deo.html
What ever happened to the band the Nixon’s
Yes gravity kills
Cover Lazarus A.D
@@thegearsprodigy3933 yes!
Stabbing Westward is one of the most humble bands! I was 13 at the time and I would write to I guess you would call it their fan club, they sent me sign posters signed cards signed guitar pick a personally written card I couldn’t believe it. They really appreciated their fans, that was really lacking in that time period.
Jimmys chicken shack did that for me lol
I was a musician most of my life and in my teens, I found stabbing westward and loved their sound and began idolizing them. Darkest Days is to this day one of my favorite albums ever. I unfortunately never had an opportunity to see them play live before they split. Later In my 20’s-early 30s I played in a couple reasonably successful bands and had the fortune of opening up for Christopher Hall’s later band The Dreaming in town in Iowa at a large packed venue. We went on right before The Dreaming and a couple songs into our set, I realized that Christopher and all of the dreaming were standing off to the side of the stage staring at me and Christopher had a big smile on his face watching me play and in that moment I realize I had truly gone full circle. The man I had idolized and wanted to meet and watch perform for over a decade was sitting there watching me perform and seemed to enjoy it. We got done. They performed and were amazing. Then we talked all night after their set. Such a fantastic person and that day made my musical life.
Stabbing Westward is such an underrated band for sure. “Darkest Days” is to this day one of my favorite albums of all time and the quality in their sound and vocals are just great. Mad respect to them.
Sure it is
I love Chris Hall’s vocals, his voice is very distinct and perfect for their music
Top 5 all time album for me. I go back to it often and it's gotten me through tough times
@@nealcrabtree3647 same here
I feel the same way about wither blister burn and peel
I think there's a part at the end worth mentioning that got missed. They did rekindle personally, but it wasn't just "other musical projects" happening during those years apart. Flakus was working at a Chicago radio station and Hall had started a pretty solid band called The Dreaming with some other notable artists from bands like Orgy and . For their (I believe) 3rd album Walter joined The Dreaming, and Hall had stated something like "Anything Walter and I work on together is going to be Stabbing Westward" and so their reuniting, and I believe a reunion tour with one of their old guitarists, and Haro having been their existing drummer already (and briefly their drummer back in 98), they basically just reformed Stabbing Westward at that point.
Also, the video leaves out the entire drama of the name and part of why Hall used The Dreaming instead of Stabbing Westward during those years as one of the labels owned the name Stabbing Westward (I think Columbia) and that their breaking up after the 4th album, increased spending on tour buses, and a "rockstar lifestyle" left the band in debt, so any money made using the Stabbing Westward name had to be used to pay back that debt for the 4th album if it was going to be used at all. I believe in reforming the band, they were able to reach a financial agreement which is how they got the name back, began recording again and that leads us to the end where they released Chasing Ghosts.
I mean the thing about Walter joining The Dreaming turning the band into Stabbing Westward makes sense. I didn't like any of their other albums, but the album they did with Walter was phenomenal. It DID, in fact, sound exactly like Stabbing Westward.
I absolutely love this band. They were the soundtrack to my first major break up with my then gf in my early 20’s. Absolute LOVE the first and third albums. Glad they’re back and can’t wait to hear the new material!
Update. Went over to Spotify and played I am Nothing off their upcoming release…. I fucking love it. Exactly what you’d expect from stabbing westward. That song Ghost is good as well. I love, love, love that this band is back! Saw them in NYC pre-Covid…
Their self titled album is great and definitely a break up album :)
Same here. Got me through my first broken heart!
They are back???!!! F yea
Cool story bro…
They were the band that got me into music back in '98, shortly after Darkest Days released. It led to a robust career in the music industry over the last two decades that I can't help but be extremely grateful for.
Since you covered Stabbing Westward, I would love to see you cover my absolute favorite industrial rock band, Gravity Kills. They only released three albums but they were all top notch and completely solid and it's kind of sad how they dissolved after their keyboardist got a hand injury and industrial rock fell out of vogue. I would have loved to see them continue to make the same type of music and release a few more albums.
I had tickets to see them open for sevendust.......they broke up a week before the show and I got mushroom head instead
@@nebraskajoenelson8987 damn that really sucks, I've had a similar experience just missing one of my favorite bands and then they immediately broke up after. I wonder how much longer gravity kills would have gone if their keyboardist didn't get that injury. Would have been cool to see them do the material from Superstarved.
@@sstaners1234 Love that band.
whats their best deep cut? I've only heard "guilty" and im an album person
I had one of their albums, it was pretty good. Vast was also a good later 90's industrial-ish group.
Great band, great video!!! So many awesome industrial bands helped me survive my youth: NIN, Stabbing Westward, Ministry, Machines of Loving Grace, Chemlab, Gravity Kills, PIG, KMFDM, Birmingham 6, Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy, My live with the thrill kill kult, Unit:187, etc. I'd love to watch videos on any of them. Thanx!!!!
Also, It's a shame you didn't mention the video and song 'Shame', my favorite SW track and of on my favorite videos ever!!!
Ungod, wither blister, darkest days, and the self titled one after that was great too. I always wonder why they so underrated. They were great live. Darkest days is a masterpiece
because once someone asks "is the dude still trying to get over his high school girl friend?" and you can't help but wonder that when listening to them
They're still making music as of 2020
Their self-titled was terrible! The first three albums are gold but that fourth one was awful. Of course that's my memory of hearing it as a high school senior the year came out. All I remember was that it had a xylophone solo. LOL
The self titled would be a huge hit these days
Grunge!
Stabbing Westward was my first concert. Fall of 96 at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus Ohio. Drill was the opening act. Great set. I dyed my hair fire engine red and Christopher had the same color at the time
Underrated band. Darkest Days is one of my favorite albums, and "Sometimes it Hurts" rocks your houses.
God bless the guys for actually embracing the term "Industrial". Industrial will always be my first love I just wish more of its pioneers actually like the term
Wait, there's a new Stabbing Westward album? My prayers have been answered! 🙏🤷
"chasing ghosts" is a great album. a return to top form for the band.
I saw this band in Portland Oregon a few years back. I had always loved them. Not only were they great musically speaking; but they were a gem as human beings! I have the upmost respect for them! 🤎
What theatre in Portland?
@@te9591 I can't remember but I can find that out for you. Where you there?
@@te9591 Ok. I just checked. It was the Star theatre with Die Robot on NOV 12, 2017. IT WAS SO PACKED! Awesome concert.
.
@@lilyofthevalley5586 i wish i could live in Portland. Im a fan of the artist Stabbing Westward used on their latest CD. His ghost art is so clever.
@@lilyofthevalley5586 that's not that long ago.
I remember I had a huge crush on this skater girl in high school and I overheard her saying she just wanted a guy who liked Stabbing Westward. I ran home and begged my older brother to play me some of them. Thank you skater girl
But did you get the girl?
🤣
Stabbing Westward are about as 1990s as they get. Love their music.
Been wondering what happened with them for years. At one time Wikipedia said the singer was managing a Dairy Queen somewhere.
This was one of my ALL-time favorite bands in high school! I acquired a ticket to see them in Toronto in 1996-1997, but my parents wouldn't let me go, and it broke my heart! I still have the ticket stub! When I discovered they were releasing new music in March 2022, I was so surprised! I hope they tour again so I can FINALLY see them 20+ years later!
I wish you covered more about them currently in this video. However, I really appreciate this video! THANKS!!!
I had a chance to see them in Hartford, but was forced to work late! hated that job after that! LOL
@@inconnu4961 That sucks! We both missed them!
I just saw them in Detroit this past weekend and met them. They're gonna come to Toronto in the next few months 😉🤘🇨🇦
I have played with stabbing westward/ the dreaming and Chris is such an amazing person
They are such an under-rated band. I have loved their music & will continue to love it❤❤
They still tour here and there. Seen few yrs back at Draculas ball close to Halloween. Still amazing Live. Good time🎉🖤🖤🖤
Check out Stabbing Westward's comeback album, "Ghost", sounds like classic Stabbing Westward from the 90's but still somehow modern
"What Do I Have To Do?" may have been the first video but "Shame" deserves the break out single credit, IMO. It was on heavy rotation on MTV for much longer.
This is so late but shame is my fav song from them!
The funniest thing i heard on the radio in the early 2000s, a woman wanted to hear the song "shame" but didnt know the title so she asked the DJ to play the Stabbing Westward song that says "how can i have 53X without you" and he then played her soundbite on the air. She had to have felt brilliant.
My sister thought they song said the same thing. :P
@@DarkmanPoe lol
@@briankennedy1192 He literally typed the song name in there.
@@briankennedy1192 shame
That happened a lot. It was a very misheard lyric lol I thought it said that my first 2 or 3 times.
I liked Stabbing Westward's first two releases. I was getting into industrial rock, I'd been listening to Front 242, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and whatever was good on the Wax Trax label in the early 90s, and when Wax Trax broke apart/was acquired by TVT and KMFDM and other bands started getting more and more popular I picked them up too. Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills were, IMO, *not* "one-hit wonder" bands but expressions of the genre breaking out and changing. But Reznor's always been kind of a...hm, well, he's got opinions.
To be fair, the interviewer asked him a leading question and he didn't really comment on SW's music, just the business trends in the music industry.
Stabbing Westward has been my favorite band for decades. So excited to listen to their new album.
To this day, one of my favorite bands of all time. I was a senior when the local radio station had a call in contest to meet them. The question was so sacrilegious to me at the time: Name all of Stabbing Westwards albums. These were my Bibles! How could someone not know them? I converted so many friends to fans like a good evangelist. Great band live and genuine people. I am looking forward to the new album and tour. I just hope they come to my neck of the woods.
Excellent video!
Bobbi Martin: well done, good & faithful servant!
I get nostalgic for my old "rack jobber" gig at the indie record store in the 90s when I see all those 90s album covers. Get all old guy misty "Sold a bunch of that, made a display with promo posters and flats of that, loved that record", etc.
And I've enjoyed riding along as your channel has grown and your delivery has reached the top notch level!!
I saw them in April of 2017. I went to buy a t shirt and was surprised that it was Christopher Hall selling them himself. I had a bit of an awkward conversation with him, but he was nice enough.
Thank you for bringing eyes to SW. I cannot express the words enough about how good this band is, and how important they were to my development as a person. I'm too excited for Chasing Ghosts, especially based on the recent Halloween EP release!
I saw them in the Fall of 1998 when I was 17 with my best friend in Rochester, NY. Best concert I've ever been to.
Seen them in Cincy, OH on 3/18/99 , my 21st bday, awesome guys, kind, down to earth, puts on a hell of a show
My first exposure was in the mountains above SLC when Stabbing opened for Depeche in the 90s. Their live performance was electric and emotional and their Ungod and WBBP albums played a huge part in my musical journey growing up.
Shame, Haunting Me, and So Far Away are still my jam to this day.
Great documentary.
In my preteen days, a couple years before Stabbing Westard got signed to Columbia, Walter Flakus was working at a radio station in Rockford, IL (home town of Cheap Trick). He was the week night DJ.
I had become a huge fan of radio and wanted to get into it when college came around and beyond. I called Walter's request line every night and did character voices for his show. He went by the on-air name of "Rick Johnson".
I had to do a 7th grade career report so I asked him if I could interview him. He was kind enough to invite me to the station and hang out with him and learn the ropes. I ended up doing that many times over a couple years and we became friends.
After getting signed to Columbia and touring, whenever the band played in the area, a mutual friend and I would go see them and party with them after the show.
Walt was the only one I got to know and I had conversations with Christopher a few times. They are such cool and nice guys and I'm so glad to see they are working together again.
I first was introduced to this band in 1998 playing my ps1 Duke Nukem game!!
A recent UA-cam reviewed that garland referred to the opening song as the "90's equivilant of let the bodies hit the floor"
In a way, he's not wrong
I remember seeing them in my teens in 1994. Darkest Days has just dropped. I've been to hundreds of shows and that show still is right at the top. The energy of that show is still unmatched. Christopher Halls vocals were RIDICULOUS!.
I remember finding a copy of the Ungod album in my eldest brothers car when I was 12 and just falling in love with it. Listened to it for months. A few years later, I start seeing the video for "What do I have to do" on MTV and I honestly wasn't THAT fond of it. Then they started playing the video for "Shame " and as an angsty goth girl that was going through a breakup, the lyrics really resonated with me, lol. I went and got the album and even dug up Ungod again. This band played a huge role in my teen years. Loved the Darkest days album too. And Chris was ( and still is gorgeous) I still enjoy Stabbing Westward immensely as an adult,though nowadays the fact that nearly every song is about a breakup kinda makes me wonder if maybe that's what kept them from being taken as seriously...in the late 90s I remember reading some article online about the band that criticized them for this exact thing even going as far as saying that "SW was the goth kids version of Backstreet boys and N'sync" Wish I could find that article now as I recall being extremely offended by it as a teen, lol. While I understand a little bit of why they were compared to NIN, I never really thought they sounded alike at all. Wish you had mentioned Chris Halls band The Dreaming, a band he started on after SW broke up.
No mention of the fact that after being superstars, they owed the record labels a ton of money! The cost of touring and the entire gig made it impossible for them to be profitable! No mention of the band 'The dreaming" or the lead singer couch-surfing and creating a grassroots effort to do the music in an organic, authentic way. When you are as talented as these guys are, no matter what you call the band, people will listen and show up to their concerts! It's a shame that money and business have to mix with the music and creation aspect. It's the MC Hammer, Mike Tyson Entourage theory. The record parasites in the music industry attached themselves like fleas to these guys, robbing them of the millions they should have reaped. Just because they wrote awesome music doesn't mean they were savage business folks. I'm sure this has happened a thousand times to other bands, just sad that the creative process suffered.
I remember reading an article right about the same time they got back together about how they were on tour buses in the late-90s on the success of their 2nd and 3rd albums and at the end of the tour, they were something like $1 million in the hole, so now they're back to doing gigs in a van and signing CDs while driving between stops. They also had minimal crew when I saw them last, so they're definitely a more frugal touring band now.
I saw them 3 weeks before they borke. Gotta be one of my favorite concerts.
The Dreaming should be mentioned. Hall has been making music independently since the band broke up. If you SW and haven't heard The Dreaming, check them out. The last album The Dreaming put out has a remix version that Walter worked on. I can't wait for new music from those 2.
The Dreaming should be mentioned. I loved the first demo but didn’t like the way they evolved after that. First demo was killer. Altogether I’d much rather have SW if posed with a choice.
The Dreaming ended up having the same problems as Stabbing. They as a group were great but no one in the band wanted to go in the same direction with the music they thought The Dreaming should be playing. The drummer, Johnny Haro is one of my very best friends and he was Stabbing's last drummer before they broke up. The drummer for Stabbing got hurt rollerblading or something and they had four or five months of touring to do so after auditioning drummers, Johnny Haro finished the tour, he and Christoper became good friends and after the breakup Christopher asked Johnny if he wanted to start a band and The Dreaming was created.
They wrote some great songs and had a lot of Stabbing fans supporting them. I believe they produced the record(s) themselves and had no major backing from any label and they paid for their own touring, went back to driving their own van with a trailer for gear and it was like starting over for seasoned professional musicians who had been used to tour busses and hotels, opening for big name bands, or headlining themselves. I hung out with those guys and would go to most of their shows. They had members come and go to bigger name bands. It was hard to know the difficulties they were having and some of that I believe was rights to play Stabbing songs as part of their set list and if they should or shouldn't.
This is just my take of the events, from what I saw, heard, talked with them about. I'm sure there was more that I didn't know about that was going on.
Can't wait to hear the new album!
I loved these guys in the late 90's. Finally managed to see them a couple of years ago.
If this channel could use licensed music, it would be the best rock doc series on UA-cam.
These guys were my BAND back in the day. I loved them.
I was actually just thinking "Whatever happened to Stabbing Westward?" the other day.
I was obsessed w SW at 15yo back in mid 90s. My first concert ever, they opened for Depeche Mode reunion outside Detroit. Their sound guy sucked, I was so disappointed but DM killed it w a double set.
That wasn't a DP reunion. They were supporting a new album as headliner with their most constant lineup.
Save yourself, what do I have to do, shame, so far away, Burn (cure cover) *chefs kiss*
Literally all of my favorite songs.😫
@@Itzlyssa09 sounds like you have good taste!
@@Ep0nz thank you, same to you!
Happy to see a video on these guys. They were one of my absolute favorites as a kid in the 90’s. Still are!
I remember getting their fourth album and being sooooo disappointed in how it sounded, especially after 'Darkest Days' struck such a deep chord with me. Now I know why it sucked thanks to you.
EXACTLY! Not only was it subpar (with maybe 1 or 2 decent songs), but there's actually 2 LOVE songs on it!! I was like, "What the HELL, guys??"
@@davidl570 look up the song "Home in You". it's a re-recording of a unreleased song off the self-titled album. it was left off because they were told it was too dark to be on the album.
@@ks-ix6xz Okay, will do! Thanks for the suggestion.
I was hanging out at a coworker's apartment and put the CD on for the first time and we were both bewildered at the music
@@lluewhyn Many SW fans were....................can understand why it didn't do as well as their previous releases. Stick to the first 3 albums and you're good.
Man, back in 2000-2003 you could not tear me away from SW!
They've got a new EP! This is from January... with Walter Flakus on synths!!! ua-cam.com/video/Yu4JJaSPUks/v-deo.html
As a huge fan of Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, and Nine Inch Nails, it’s undeniable that most 3rd wave and beyond industrial acts take inspiration from NIN, although I think the epidemic of “NIN clones” was vastly overinflated. Yes, it’s an unfortunate reality that the record industry immediately jumps on whatever genre’s trending that week but most anybody familiar with the industrial genre would notice an obvious discrepancy between the three bands. Stabbing Westward definitely had a much more straightforward, rock-oriented edge in their first three records, Gravity Kills were much the same, and Nails of course is much moodier overall. I will say that Ungod does have some striking similarities to Pretty Hate Machine, but it’s more important to look at what the band became rather than what it started as. The fact that both Gravity Kills and Stabbing Westward continued to make music even after the great 90s industrial scene came to a close shows that it was more than just “copying NIN.”
With any genre, I find it pretty shitty to undermine the work of a band just because they “kind of sound like a more popular band in the genre” on the most surface of surface levels. As one of my biggest influences of all time, I still love Trent Reznor, but by the mid to late 90s he had an awful habit of making an ass of himself; largely due to super stardom and addiction getting to him.
I'm headed out the door to go see Stabbing Westward live at the Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte NC tonight! 🤘🎸
Wow I'm totally glad you explained the Stabbing Westward name! I show Atomic Cafe in my US History class, so I was aware of the newsreel you speak of, and I had always wondered if that was where the band got the name. Thanks for another great video!
They were doing some shows before the pandemic hit. Then it went into radio silence. I am glad they stuck it out and are releasing new music. I hope to see them if they come back out and tour.
I was lucky enough to meet Chris on two separate occasions when I was a teenager in Los Angeles. He was a great guy and I am seeing them in Vegas next week. Stabbing Westward is one of the greatest bands of all time.
I wonder what happened to them too I'm glad I'm going to watch this video I hope it's good
They've got a new EP! This is from January... with Walter Flakus on synths!!! ua-cam.com/video/Yu4JJaSPUks/v-deo.html
They were a band that I remember. The industry took it out on them for sounding like NIN. I think there was plenty to salvage and could have developed a unique sound to set them apart. Especially the vocals.
I saw this band in 1998 with my aunt. I still play Wither, Blister, Burn + Peel and Darkest Days while I raid in WoW. They were a band I really enjoyed in my late teens!
One of my all time favorite bands of all time. Found a few CDs on MP3 at a LAN party around 00-01, was love at first sight.
These guys were AWESOME!! Now I know where they went 👍
You missed that Chris's band "The Dreaming" was in essence Stabbing Westward. I mixed them at the club I worked in for 22 years back in like 08. They had 3 amazing records that were better than stabbing westwards. The new sw material is however the cream of the crop. New songs like crawl, ghost and I am nothing are gold. 👍
22 years back in '08? When the hell did it get to be 2030? Lol, I actually had the EP The Dreaming put out... now I have to go dig around through my cds and see if I can find it.
@@cjm3013 read it . I worked there 22 years... Mixed them in 08. 9 years in to the job.
@@tractorgt Gotcha, misread it the first time!
"Crawl" was originally a The Dreaming song. It was on one of their first EPs. The acoustic version of "Crawl" is haunting.
ua-cam.com/video/M5bYsm0MFU4/v-deo.html
I used to watch The Dreaming play at local venues like at The Roxy. Man, they rocked.
A few years after Stabbing Westward broke up, Christopher founded another small band named "The Dreaming". I have a few of their albums and saw them in concert here in Cleveland when they were on tour. Then a few years later they started working on reforming Stabbing Westward.
Shame is such a great song, there's a frenetic energy that carries a tension through it that's unlike almost any other song. It's like always moving without any breaks and you have to just hang on for the ride.
Thank you for such an indepth and cool look into one of my fave groups! I grew up loving these guys as well as NIN! My intro to Stabbing Westward was the intro to Duke Nukem: Time To Kill! The song The Thing I Hate was pretty influential to me as a kid.
Stabbing Westward was one of my favorite bands from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. They would often be the one industrial gothic metal band similar to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry that was nothing but raw power on official movie soundtracks and scores. I started collecting soundtracks from movies whenever they had Stabbing Westward as one of the music bands featured on the list of contributors.
Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Duke Nuke'em, John Carpenter's Escape From L.A., and Masterminds all had Stabbing Westward on their soundtracks. There was even a short-lived similar band named Apartment 26 that I had gotten into simply because they sounded like Stabbing Westward.
I love this band I've been listening to them for the last 2 weeks.
Darkest Days. Talk about a flawless album. Heard them today for the first time in YEARS! Totally brought me back. Nostalgic
Darkest Days was a masterpiece. I love the album cover and each songs on it. Still on heavy rotation on my playlist.
I saw them in Memphis. It started raining hard, and they never stopped playing. The two drum sets face to face with the rain water splashing while they were playing... was EPIC I tell ya.
This was very informative. I still have darkest days. Lost the others over the years.
One of my favorite bands of all time
When The Cult toured for their Beyond Good and Evil album, the opening acts were Stabbing Westward and Monster Magnet. My wife and I saw this show at The "E" Center in West Valley City, Utah. There was also a third opening act called Bird. Anyway, Monster Magnet wasn't anything special, but Stabbing Westward put on a good show, as did The Cult.
I love their first 3 albums and I’m pumped to hear new music from them..huge fan 🤟
Love Stabbing Westward!
Their new album drops March 18th 2022 wooo
Hell Yeah bro, thanks, should check out the dreaming, Chris is in top form with them
They were so underrated and underappreciated.
I worked with Chris Vrenna at the Watermark Restaurant in Cleveland he was a busboy! Holy Shit ... oh and a drummer. .. Right on! I also new Andy Kubiszewski, we were friends when he lead Exotic Birds right after Trent Reznor left the band. Wow that's crazy, I actually knew 2 of the drummers, and worked with Trent Reznor. Cleveland rocks ... Great info .. Thank you. Andy had his opinions of Trent Reznor, I remember him telling me. I had no idea who Trent Reznor was..... Not a NIN fan. Miss you Andy! Memories of the Phantasy in Lakewood, Ohio.
Anyone on here get to see and meet Stabbing Westward at the 101X Fest in Austin Texas in the spring of 1999? That was a great show. They played 2nd to last just before Collective Soul. They had a meet and greet in a tent after their set. I saw them open for Depeche Mode the year before and I told the band how much I enjoyed that show as well.
Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, Machines of Loving Grace were greT rock- industral bands in their own rights. It's a shame Reznor's ego and media attention had him laying claim on everyone else's work. Ironically Reznor has only had meh albums after Downward Spiral.
I was the only one I knew who hated downward Spiral! LOL
Trent Reznor: "I cannot respect or tolerate a lack of innovation". Heh, okay there...
I love NIN as much as anyone, but holy crap is Trent bad at recycling his own ideas. So many of his melodies follow a predictable pattern and he rarely mixes up the formula of his music. Also, couldn't some more hardcore industrial fans accuse NIN of ripping off from Skinny Puppy and Big Black?
I agree with both of you. Not only does he recycle ideas to the point that any originality is gone but he does owe a lot to the industrial bands that came before him. That was a dumb comment on his part.
Well said by everyone, thank you for reaffiring everything I've believed.
he isn't very self aware you could say. Love his music but he is kind of an ass person
@@sstaners1234 Trent was an A-hole back in the day! I really liked his music (until 1994) but his attitude was shite!
Thanks for the story! Glad to see they’re back together. Can’t wait to hear the new record!
"I can't respect a lack of innovation"- some guy who's entire sound was lifted from Skinny puppy and Depeche mode
Im glade this is iconic music that should keep rolling like a stone for generations
5:10 that's a picture of paul barker from ministry lol
Never clicked on a video so quick in my life. Been my all time top favorite band since I was 8! I'm 36 now.
Ungod is one of my favorite Industrial albums.
Thanks for creating this video. Everyone knows at least one Stabbing song but don't know the band's name because Stabbing never got the acclaim and the recognition they should have.
Very similar was the way The Dreaming couldn't get a break even though Christopher and Johnny and the other band members worked hard and sacrificed to get The Dreaming heard, it just wasn't the right time. I spent a lot of time with those guys as Johnny Haro is one of my very best friends since we were kids. If Johnny and or Christopher see this, I miss you guys, hope all is well?
New Stabbing Westward is the kind of news I need.
Anyone that really followed the band knows what happened and they have back for a while now, but thank you for still covering them. The guys in the band are just such very sweet people and they heavily appreciate that they were able to come back and still do what they love to do.
P.S. The Dreaming(singers other band) kicked a lot of ass too, but no need for "what happened to the Dreaming" video because we got Stabbing Fucking Westward back
I’m 43 & have been a Stabbing Westward fan since I was around 16-17
I met the band on their first album tour. Very gracious dudes.
Save Yourself is one of my all time favorites!
When they broke up I was still completely enamored by Hall and followed him all through college as he did his other band The Dreaming. They were a much more high energy emo goth rock band, still loads of fun. If you ask me, and I think they even said at one point, their final Dreaming album was really just an unofficial Stabbing Westward release. Flakus had joined the band bringing back the SW sound and continued what should have happened after Darkest Days. Fantastic album. I saw them when they reunited for a tour in 18 and am pumped they are back in action. Chris Hall still sounds fantastic after all of these years,
My favorite songs from this band didn't get much airplay like "Control" and "Sometimes It Hurts".
Stabbing Westward just released a new album and it's awesome! Go get it.
Reznor saying he doesn't respect bands that don't inovate is hilarious...ummm...NIN was just regurgitated Ministry with a pop slant...
Reznor also likes Bowie and Bowie liked fucking with the press.
Saw The Dreaming cover Adele's Fire to the Rain song, and Chris absolutely crushed it. In my opinion, he brought an emotional depth that exceeded Adele's own delivery. His vocals have always been so unique, haunting, and he has solid range.
I saw the band and Counting Crows it was a disaster. The lead singer from CC's was giving SW a bunch of heat because SW was having a problem with some computer component which was intermittent and causing problems though out the performance.