Rating:  -
WBB+P was the first Stabbing Westward album that I bought. It's a great album for sure; a bit industrial, a bit metal, and maybe even a little bit grunge. A lot of the songs are about bad relationships or depression, so it's a dark CD lyrically. Here's some highlights:
"I Don't Believe" opens with Chris Hall cursing at himself over a bad relationship. It's a strong intro, and a powerful song, one of the heavier ones on here. "Shame" was a hit single, and is an excellent song as well. "What Do I Have To Do?" is another great relationship song with great lyrics, many people should be able to relate to this one. "Why" is a bit of a different turn, much slower, softer, darker, and much more depressing. Actually, it's probably one of the most depressing songs I've ever heard, but it's excellent. "Inside You" is industrially-driven until the end, decent but nothing special. "Falls Apart" has a heavy riff and a lot of anger, a pretty good song. "So Wrong" is about the same as "Falls Apart" but sounds different. "Crushing Me" is much slower, and in my opinion is one of the weaker songs on here. "Sleep" is pretty cool, a haunting song with creepy lyrics (child molestation). I think it's the only song not about ex-girlfriends or depression though, which should be noted. "Slipping Away" is a long closer, which starts off grunge-like, then goes industrial for most of the song. It's a good song too.
In conclusion, this album is quite good (I prefer Darkest Days) but this is definitely worth checking out for fans of SW or darker hard rock music. Best songs: Shame, What Do I Have To Do?, Why, Falls Apart, Sleep. Overall, it gets a very strong 9 out of 10.
Rating:  -
...pretty much sums up how I feel about this band. I burned their self titled album off a friend a couple months ago and thought they had potential but never fully utilized or realized it. Though it follows a more grungy, Nirvanish sound than their self titled, Wither, Blister, Burn and Peel is the same in that they always screw it up somehow. The songs always have some good ideas but will always fall short in some way or another. Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Amorphis (later stuff), Porcupine Tree and Mars Volta all make similar music that sounds alot better. If your a big fan of the bands above and want something to tide you over until one of them releases a new album, Stabbing Westward is worth checking out. Otherwise just buy those bands instead.
Rating: -
Stabbing Westward follows up their successful debut, Ungod, with this gem, Wither Blister Burn & Peel. It's a tossup whether this album or Darkest Days can be considered their best work. WBB&P has a softer feel than Darkest Days, but that is perfectly fine with me. Their radio singles "Shame" and "What Do I Have To Do?" really showcase this bands' talent. Christopher Hall pulls you in with his dark lyrics and the rest of the instruments hold you there. My favorites are "I Don't Believe", "Shame", "What Do I Have To Do?", "Why", and "Sleep". You owe it to yourself to pick up one of the best industrial rock albums ever!
P.S. If you're disappointed SW broke up you'll be happy to know that lead singer Chris Hall has started another band called The Dreaming. Check out www.thedreamingonline.com.
Rating: -
This is undoubtedly the best SW album. It's one of those records that can take you back to the time when you first heard it on every listen.
I have to admit though, not every song completely works. For example, "Sleep", and "Crushing Me". Don't get me wrong, they are not simple filler, its just that they seem mediocre when played next to brilliant, moving, haunting songs like "Shame",and "Why".
It's an album of amazing depth and passion that blew me away the first time I heard it,and has only gotten increasingly more personal to me. And that is the ultimate test for anything. The test of time.
Get this album.
Rating: -
"WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL" is one of those cases, where a seemingly promising album does a lot less than what is expected of it. It was released, when `industrial rock' music was gaining substantial popularity. It was the time of the `industrial' boom, after the `grunge' boom, during 1991-92. When the world was thirsting for more `industrial', STABBING WESTWARD came up with the single, "What Do I Have To Do?" followed up by the perfect `industrial' song, "Shame" and the album, "WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL": A perfectly industrial-ish album-title, with two hard-hitting singles, characteristically `industrial'; nothing could be wrong about the album, could it?
Well, actually a lot is wrong about "WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL". It does satisfy all the sine qua nons of an `industrial' album: richly layered and unrecognizable music, plenty of distortion happening somewhere in the midst of the effusive synthesized sounds of all sorts, and yes, the essentially disheveled lyrics, which refuse to understand and acknowledge the beauty of the world around us. Still, "WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL" is far from an album, to be in awe of. It appears as if the band has picked out the ingredients of an `industrial rock' album, and has tried to mix those ingredients, trying to ape their more successful `industrial' compatriots like NINE INCH NAILS. Sadly, music doesn't work the same way as cooking food does. One cannot just pick out the essential commodities and simply try to cook them up to `create' a good work of musical art. Music is supposed to come from the heart, and should flow naturally.
The two singles, "What Do I have To Do?" and "Shame" are original and misleading to an album, which they don't promise to lead to. There are of course a few genuinely good songs, amongst the weed of fakes. "Why" and "Sleep", both, with similar tempos, do, like the singles, seem genuinely conceived and mature. Alas, these songs are quickly overshadowed by a bunch of puerile works, which are indicative that STABBING WESTWARD seriously needs to come of age. The lack of maturity of this band from Chicago is most prominent in the lyrics, which they have written for this album. `Industrial rock' music is best sung with lyrics of fury and spite. This doesn't mean that one should make the least effort to be creative enough to write meaningful hate-ridden words, and simply write gibberish trying to sound angry, hoping that the superimposed music will take care of the shortcomings of the sloppy writing. The band has simply sorted out words that have a demonic appeal, and has strewn them throughout the album hugger-mugger, without trying to make genuine sense, whatsoever.
STABBING WESTWARD needs to grow up. Badly, it needs to be more creative. With the quality of the honestly promising numbers on "WITHER BLISTER BURN + PEEL", the band should've been more careful with the rest of the lot, which overshadow the ones, which are indicative of a promising outfit, passing through a phase of adolescence.
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