Stabbing Westward

American industrial rock band from Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1985. They initially disbanded in 2002 but then reunited in 2016. The band originally formed with Christopher Hall (vocals/keyboards), Walter Flakus (keyboards), and Jim Clanin (guitar), although by the late 1980s the band was reduced to the core duo of Hall and Flakus. They brought in bassist Jim Sellers and guitarist Andrew Hunter to record their first demo tape, Iwo Jesus, in 1991 (Angelo Negrette was added as a live drummer afterwards). The departure of Hunter and the brief tenure of Chris Vrenna as drummer led to a handful of demo songs, which led Stabbing Westward to a major label contract with Columbia Records. In order to stabilize the lineup, Hall, Flakus, and Sellers were joined by guitarist Stuart Zechman and drummer David Suycott. The band released their debut album in 1994, Ungod, with Hall and Zechman as the main songwriters. The band extensively toured behind the album and appeared on various soundtracks, although they did not reach mainstream success. In the midst of the tour, Suycott left the band, and thus drummer Andy Kubiszewski was brought in as a quick replacement. His position in the band became permanent shortly afterwards. During the preliminary stages of the band's follow-up album, disagreements between Hall and Zechman led to the latter's departure from the band. As a result, Kubiszewski stepped up as the band's primary co-writer along with Hall. Their second album, Wither Blister Burn & Peel, was released in 1996 to widespread success, mainly due to the charting singles "What Do I Have to Do?" and "Shame". Mark Eliopulos was brought in as a live guitarist for the supporting tours. In 1998, Stabbing Westward released their third album, Darkest Days. It continued their commercial success due to the singles "Save Yourself" and "Sometimes It Hurts". Kubiszewski was injured during the tour in 1998. Vrenna, Geoff Dugmore, and Johnny Haro filled in for a number of months. Eliopulos eventually left the band in 1999, and he was replaced by Derrek Hawkins. The band reconvened with their fourth album in 2001, Stabbing Westward. The self-titled album ultimately was not as successful as their previous efforts, and the band went on a hiatus in 2002. In 2016, Stabbing Westward reformed to play spoardic live shows, with a lineup of Hall, Flakus, Eliopulos, Haro, and bassist/guitarist Carlton Bost (shortly beforehand, Flakus had joined The Dreaming, a band that both Hall and Haro played in). Due to personal disagreements, Haro was replaced by Bobby Amaro in 2018. Eliopulos amicably left the band in 2019 as well. After releasing a partially re-recorded/remixed version of the Iwo Jesus EP in 2019, plus two EPs in 2020 (Dead & Gone and Hallowed Hymns), Stabbing Westward released their long-awaited fifth album in 2022, Chasing Ghosts. In 2024, bassist/guitarist Bost was replaced by Cyamak Ashtiani.