Rating:  -
Wow. Wow. WOW! This is one of my favorite albums along with Fear Factory's "Obsolete", Cold's "A Different Kind of Pain" and Enya's "Memory of Trees". This is an amazing album from an amazing band that everyone should buy. It's a crying shame that Stabbing Westward aren't with us anymore, but at least they left us with an incredible album. The songs on here are incredibly emotional and they all paint amazing pictures in my head. They blend acoustic guitars in almost all of the songs on here, but they still manage to rock hard as well. Buy this album now!
Rating:  -
One of Stabbing Westward's strengths has always been their lyrics. Whether it be the depressing lyrics of 'Darkest Days', the 'why did you $crew me' lyrics of Throw, the 'oh how I hate you' lyrics of On Your Way Down, or the 'God how I miss you' lyrics of Waking up Beside You, the lyrics were what drew you in.
Yeah the music was for the most part great, but it was the lyrics that really hooked you.
Their Self Titled album is no different, except the lyrics really don't compare to their earlier releases. So Far Away is classic SW, but Perfect and I Remember are pretty weak. Wasted, The Only Thing, and High are great and Breathe You In, is OK, unfortunately they are sandwiched around Happy and Angel. As for Television, why this was even put on the album is beyond me. While not a bad song, it is almost like they had room for one more song so they threw this one on.
The bonus CD has acoustic versions of So Far Away, and Wasted, even though the songs listed are So Far Away and Perfect. Not that I'm complaining, an accoustic version of Perfect probably would be far from it.
So if you are looking to pick up some Stabbing Westward this is probably not were you want to start. I would recommend Darkest Days or Ungod, and even Wither, Blister, Burn and Peel is better then this. (I guess I just indirectly state dthat this is their worst album.) Is this a bad album? No, but it is far from being classic Stabbing Westward.
Rating: -
This is the album that got me into the wonderful music experience that is Stabbing Westward. I remember the day I got it, I had my mom listen to it and when she went up to pay for it, she told the cashier "Quick, before he decides to get something that's screamy and hard!" Jokingly, of course. This album, though definitely softer than all their other efforts, contains just as much amazing artistry.
Christopher Hall is a magician with his voice and that is obvious with every song. His voice is the most important instrument in this release, I think. Just the range of emotion he manages to convey is amazing. His voice truly shines on this album.
Though not the hardest, and in my opinion, not the best Stabbing Westward album, you would be missing out if you didn't own it. To the person that said "If you're a real fan, you'll be disappointed," this band is my favorite, and I wasn't disappointed, even after hearing the earlier releases.
Everyone should also check out Christopher Hall's new band, www.thedreamingonline.com
Rating:  -
So here is what i think:
Somewhere between Darkest Days and this self titled album they all must just magically come to terms with any issues they might have had.
I mean I used to listen to all of SWs albums and think "wow that is exactally how I feel" (of course i was in High School and who isn't feeling alone and islolated at that time) I thought the lyrics were delivered so emotionally (thats what hooked me) and the music was edgy.
The emotion that is shown in the last album is clouded by what feels like a strain to just write some lyrics.
It's not a bad album but if you a true SW fan then you'll be very disappointed.
Rating: -
Dont get me wrong i like some softer stuff (being a big Cure and pumpkins fan)But the jump they made was just too big for me to take the full affect.From INdustrial rock to soft rock ballads wasnt in my view a good idea.Im not saying its a bad album its a very good album,Its accesible,its easy on the ears and its got nice lyrics but its just too soft.
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