Stabbing Westward - Darkest Days

Stabbing Westward's 3rd album, Darkest Days, is an absolute classic Industrial Rock album.

But Bottle, it's like 65 minutes long, and you hate that.

Yes and no. I hate it when it has no reason being that long. Darkest Days though, it's a 4x4 concept album. 4 songs about how you Wreck-it-Ralphed this relationship, 4 about pining for the fjords, 4 from the bottom of the barrel where Lacy Sturm pats you on the back and says "dude, you just gotta accept the fact that it's definitely over," and 4 pulling your big boy pants on and learning to not be such a douchebag. You can describe the acts differently if you want, but it's a legit double album that takes an hour+ to unfold. I'm cool with that.

The important part is the big thumping bass drum and the metallic noisy synths. I can't stop you from comparing it to NIN, but it's not at all necessary. This is exactly what the genre Industrial Rock sounds like, but i'm definitely not going to mistakenly think Trent Reznor wrote any of it. Contrary to what wikipedia will tell you, there's not even a trace of Nu-metal any where near this thing, it's straight industrial rock from start to finish.

The biggest hit is also the most interesting because it has a completely different meaning inside the album than it does out of context. It was written from the perspective of Christopher Hall singing to his audience about how he absolutely doesn't have the answers, he can't save you, he's just a guy struggling with it like everyone else. Inside the album however, it becomes the ironic voice of the other who left him. I hope that makes sense to everyone. He just spent the first act telling us that he always screws everything up, sabotaged his relationships, and has Industrial strength hairdryer sized emotional baggage. She (I know that's an unqualified heteronormative interpretation, but you can translate for yourself), broke up with him because she can't help him, she has her own problems too. 

I've mentioned it many times before, but it bears repeating. Any time you're dealing with any kind of Rock music from the 90s, you have to do the irony check, because albums can literally flip-flop for every single track. You can mean you or it can mean me because you're actually the one saying it, I can mean me or i could be me quoting you saying I, and absolutely nobody tells you which is which. 

Drowning, track 10, is the nadir of a climax, by the way. We just listened to 9 bangers, and there's still 6 songs to go, but we are very clearly in the middle of the album so I didn't even notice that last half hour fly by.

With Desperate Now we can hear that he's finally getting some self-realization. Why do I feel so crappy? Oh, right, I'm the bad guy. I should totally do something about that. Goodbye, friend, I'll just kill myself now. No, myself, that's stupid. Being dead doesn't solve your problems because in case nobody told you, you'll be dead and won't have any idea you aren't feeling the pain of having been such a douchebag. 

Oh, so like I'm not angry at her for breaking up with me, I'm actually mad at myself for beign a loser?

Yeah, like you're a worthless piece of shit, but i'm you telling yourself that, so you should just stop being the me who hates yourself.

That has a highly suspicious aura of Des'ree style magic mud bath about it, but I guess I could try being the me that hates the me who hates himself. It's not like I have anything to lose.

Oooohhhhhh, there's the real thing I'm feeling. I miss waking up beside you. No wonder you broke up with me, I treated you like you were going to break up with me from the very beginning. Yeah, even I know that's a recipe for terrible.

All that being said, don't look to other Stabbing Westward albums to finish that story; they are 100% on brand self-loathing without an ounce of humor anywhere, but if you're only going to check out 1 of their albums, I totally suggest Darkest Days. If you like them though, the first two albums are not at all disappointing, and fun fact, the chorus guitar part of Filter's Hey Man Nice Shot is exactly the same as Stabbing Westward's song Ungod, because Stuart Zechman played guitar on both songs and it was his riff so he just used it for both songs 'cause who gives a shit?

I'd have reviewed it before, but I don't actually have a physical copy of it. Filter either. I should do something about that. Anywho, thanks to Chris Isch  for reminding me of this absolute classic album everybody should hear at least 3 times before they kill the self that hates themselves.