Darkest Days is the third album released by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward on Columbia Records. The album was recorded in L.A. in 1997 and released on April 7, 1998. Although the album didn't achieve the same level of success as Wither Blister Burn & Peel, it received positive reviews and is often considered the band's best album.[5] The band was dropped from Columbia Records in 2000 following this release. The track "Save Yourself" reached number 4 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart (the band's highest-placing single on that chart) and number 20 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart and remains a staple of alternative music. Darkest Days was certified gold on March 1, 2000.[6]
| Darkest Days | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Studio | Eldorado Studios and NRG Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 64:23 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Stabbing Westward, Dave Jerden, Ulrich Wild | |||
| Stabbing Westward chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Darkest Days | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 6.5/10[2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4/5[4] |
Darkest Days is a concept album consisting of four acts, with 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 is all over. The fourth act (tracks 13–16) is about recovery and self-respect.
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Stabbing Westward
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Darkest Days" | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Everything I Touch" | 3:23 |
| 3. | "How Can I Hold On" | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Drugstore" | 4:59 |
| 5. | "You Complete Me" | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Save Yourself" | 4:13 |
| 7. | "Haunting Me" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Torn Apart" | 3:24 |
| 9. | "Sometimes It Hurts" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Drowning" | 3:28 |
| 11. | "Desperate Now" | 5:25 |
| 12. | "Goodbye" | 1:56 |
| 13. | "When I'm Dead" | 3:04 |
| 14. | "The Thing I Hate" | 3:37 |
| 15. | "On Your Way Down" | 4:40 |
| 16. | "Waking Up Beside You" | 6:34 |
| Total length: | 64:23 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Hopeless" | 4:02 |
| Total length: | 68:26 | |
Appearances edit
- "The Thing I Hate" was featured in the commercial and introduction sequence of the 1998 PlayStation video game Duke Nukem: Time to Kill. It was later included on the Duke Nukem: Music to Score By soundtrack in 1999. Noah Antwiler of The Spoony Experiment used the song as his outro piece for the final segment of his review of the 1999 PC game Ultima IX: Ascension in 2013.
- "Haunting Me" appeared in the 1998 science fiction horror film The Faculty.
- "Save Yourself" was featured in the trailer of the 1999 film The Mod Squad and the trailer of the 2006 film The Covenant, along with an appearance on the soundtracks to Tekken: The Motion Picture, Urban Legend and in the 2008 video game Shaun White Snowboarding. In the HBO series True Blood, "Save Yourself" played during the end credits to the season 5 finale of the same name in 2012.
- A remix of "Waking Up Beside You" was used in the 2000 film The Crow: Salvation and was also included on the film's soundtrack release.
Personnel edit
- Stabbing Westward
- Christopher Hall – lead vocals, guitar
- Marcus Eliopulos – guitar, backing vocals
- Walter Flakus – keyboards, backing vocals
- Jim Sellers – bass
- Andrew Kubiszewski – drums, 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
Charts edit
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] | 79 |
| US Billboard 200[8] | 52 |
References edit
- ^ "Darkest Days – Stabbing Westward". AllMusic.
- ^ "Stabbing Westward: Darkest Days: Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 16, 2000. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ "Stabbing Westward: Darkest Days : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. December 2, 2007. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Stabbing Westward – Darkest Days (staff review)". Sputnikmusic.com.
- ^ "Review: Stabbing Westward – Darkest Days". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 265.
- ^ "Billboard 200: Week of April 25, 1998". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.