Stabbing Westward is the fourth studio album by the American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. It is their first album to be produced by Ed Buller and released on Koch Records. The album was released on May 22, 2001. The album shows a change in direction for the band. The album's songs are much less heavy and aggressive, while the industrial focus has given way to a more melodic sound. Before the album was released, lead singer Christopher Hall said in an interview that Stabbing Westward wrote great pop-rock songs, but the band had always ended up making them ugly by adding effects and screaming, etc. On this album, he claimed, they decided to write what they wanted, regardless of fan expectation. "The Only Thing" is a love song for Christopher Hall's wife.
During concert performances since 2023, the band has been adding performances of songs from this album as they had originally intended them to be recorded, such as Wasted and The Only Thing which also features updated lyrics to reference TikTok. Walter Flakus mentioned during an interview that he noticed an increase in feedback from fans showing interest in a possible re-recording of the album, though no official plans have been stated as of yet.
The album did well in Australia, but ultimately failed to sell worldwide.
Contents
Track listing
There is a US release that was a Best Buy exclusive. This package contains a bonus disk featuring previously unreleased acoustic versions of "So Far Away" and "Wasted". On the second disk, there is a misprint: it says "Perfect" instead of "Wasted". This two-disc set was only available at Best Buy stores in 2001 and only during the first week of its release.
Personnel
Stabbing Westward
Christopher Hall – vocals
Derrek Hawkins – guitar, acoustic guitar
Jim Sellers – bass, baritone guitar
Walter Flakus – keyboards, synthesizer, programming
Andy Kubiszewski – drums, vibraphone, marimba, synthesizer, acoustic guitar
Additional
Ed Buller – production, engineer
Kent Matcke – editing, engineer
Enrique Gonzales – editing, assistant engineer
Howie Weinberg – mastering
Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
Matthew Welch – photography
Paul McMenamin – art direction, design, artwork (CD package)
Scott Rivera – artwork (design assistance)