Darkest Days

Darkest Days
Studio album by Stabbing Westward
Released	April 7, 1998
Recorded	1997 at Eldorado Studios and NRG Recording Studios, North Hollywood
Genre	Industrial metal, industrial rock, alternative metal
Length	64:23
Label	Columbia
Producer	Stabbing Westward, Dave Jerden, Ulrich Wild
Stabbing Westward chronology
Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1996) Darkest Days (1998) Stabbing Westward (2001)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Sputnikmusic	[3]

Darkest Days is the third album released on Columbia Records by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. The album was recorded in L.A. in 1997 and released in April 1998. Although the album failed to achieve the same level of success as Wither Blister Burn & Peel, the album received positive reviews and is often considered the band's best album.^[4][5] The band was dropped from Columbia Records following this release. The track "Save Yourself" reached number 4 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart (their highest-placing single on that chart) and number 20 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart and remains an alternative rock staple.

Darkest Days is a concept album made up of 4 acts, each portraying a different emotional phase gone through after a break-up. The first act (Tracks 1-4) is about sabotaging the relationship. The second act (Tracks 5-9) is about lust, hope, and longing. The third act (Tracks 10-12) is about hitting rock bottom after it's all over. The fourth act (13-16) is about recovery and self-respect.

Track listing

1. "Darkest Days" – 3:51
2. "Everything I Touch" – 3:22
3. "How Can I Hold On" – 4:28
4. "Drugstore" – 4:57
5. "You Complete Me" – 4:05
6. "Save Yourself" – 4:13
7. "Haunting Me" – 3:35
8. "Torn Apart" – 3:24
9. "Sometimes It Hurts" – 3:39
10. "Drowning" – 3:28
11. "Desperate Now" – 5:24
12. "Goodbye" – 1:56
13. "When I'm Dead" – 3:04
14. "The Thing I Hate" – 3:36
15. "On Your Way Down" – 4:39
16. "Waking Up Beside You" – 6:34
17. "Hopeless" – 4:03 (Japan Bonus Track)

All tracks are written by Stabbing Westward.

In pop culture

• "Save Yourself" was featured in the trailer to The Mod Squad and The Covenant along with an appearance on the soundtrack to Tekken: The Motion Picture and in the video game Shaun White Snowboarding.

• "The Thing I Hate" was featured on the PSX video game Duke Nukem: Time to Kill.

• On the HBO series True Blood, "Save Yourself" played during the end credits to the season 5 finale of the same name.

• Noah Antwiler of The Spoony Experiment used "The Thing I Hate" as his outro piece for the final segment of his Ultima IX: Ascension review.

• A remix of "Waking Up Beside You" was used in the 2000 film The Crow: Salvation and was featured on the film's soundtrack release.

Personnel

• Stabbing Westward
  • Christopher Hall - lead vocals, guitar
  • Marcus Eliopulos - guitar
  • Walter Flakus - keyboards
  • Jim Sellers - bass
  • Andrew Kubiszewski - drums, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar
• Dave Jerden - Producer
• Ulrich Wild - Producer, engineer
• Bryan Carlstrom - Engineer
• Annette Cisneros - Assistant engineer
• Steve Mixdorf - Assistant engineer
• Steve Durkee - Assistant engineer
• Milton Chan - Assistant engineer
• Tom Baker - Mastering
• Dave McKean - Cover design and illustrations
• Dean Karr - Band photography

References