SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STABBING WESTWARD – CHASING GHOSTS

Stabbing Westward
Chasing Ghosts
COP International

It’s been 21 years since Stabbing Westward’s last full length album, and fans have been craving new music from them for years. Fans rejoice, for the wait is finally over!

Chasing Ghosts has ten tracks that perfectly display the band’s industrial rock characteristic sound. Reworked versions of “Dead and Gone,” “Cold” and “Crawl” from the Dead and Gone EP released in more recent years served as appetizers for this album.

Original founding members Christopher Hall (vocals/guitar) and Walter Flakus (keyboards/programming) have been able to recreate the chemistry that defines Stabbing Westward’s sound, especially with the first song “I am Nothing.”  It’s a song that would fit nicely either on their earlier albums Wither Blister, Burn and Peel or Darkest Days. With guitarist Carlton Bost and drummer Bobby Amaro rounding out the current lineup, they’ve been able to pick up right where they left off two decades ago. They even reassembled their production team from earlier releases with producer John Fryer and Tom Baker who mastered the album.

Despair, betrayal, hopelessness, and heart ache are the staples of any Stabbing Westward song lyrically, and Hall delivers them flawlessly on this album.

“Push” and “The End” are both over seven minutes long and provide a fresh, invigorating sound that will pique your interest with their melancholy tones.

“Wasteland” gives you guitar driven riffs while “Ghost” has a similar feel to Hall’s other band The Dreaming.

Stabbing Westward was able to both stay true to their signature sound but offer some new creative endeavors as well with this album.

Stabbing Westward fans will get everything they love about the band and fair weathered fans might just be won over with this album. An absolute must buy for your industrial rock collection.

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