Stabbing Westward

Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the American industrial rock band Stabbing Westward while at Western Illinois University and working at the college radio station WIUS-FM.

Moving to Chicago in 1985, the band released an extended play tape called Iwo Jesus.

They later recruited Chris Vrenna (from Nine Inch Nails) on drums and landed a record deal with Columbia Records. At the label’s insistence, Stuart Zechman was brought in on guitar following the departure of Andrew Hunter. When Vrenna returned to Nine Inch Nails, the band hired David Suycott, a high school friend of Flakus.

The band recorded the album Ungod (1993) at Eden Studios in London with producer John Fryer and landed an opening slot on the Depeche Mode “Exotic” tour in the summer of 1994 and opened North American tour dates for Killing Joke.

Suycott abruptly left the band toward the end of the Ungod tour and was replaced by Andy Kubiszewski.

The song Violent Mood Swings was included in the soundtrack to the 1994 film Clerks, while Nothing was featured in the 1995 motion picture Bad Boys.

When guitarist Zechman departed the band after the Ungod tour (due to personal differences), the remaining band members found themselves without one of their major songwriters. New drummer Andy Kubiszewski took over songwriting duties.

Wrapping their dour, angst-filled cries in appropriately dark and moody atmospherics with the album Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1996), the band landed their first gold album, aided by the singles Shame and What Do I Have to Do?, which enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV.

Guitarist Mark Eliopulos was recruited, and the band relocated to Los Angeles, where they began work on the album Darkest Days (1998). The first single – Save Yourself – enjoyed some success but the album failed to sell as well as its predecessor.

Meanwhile, Stabbing Westward continued to tour with bands like Placebo, The Cult, and Depeche Mode.

Kubiszewski was forced to sit out the remainder of the touring cycle due to a broken collarbone and was replaced briefly by former drummer Chris Vrenna, then Johnny Haro for the remaining dates.

The band was dropped by Columbia Records in 2000 on the day before the band was to fly to Hawaii to record the follow-up to Darkest Days.

They signed with Koch Records, who wanted the band to create a heavy pop album.

Christopher Hall, Walter Flakus, and Mark Eliopulos fought against the decision, resulting in Eliopulos being fired by the manager, who then brought in Derrek Hawkins as both a studio and live musician, along with new producer Ed Buller.

The demo for the self-titled album was considered too dark. Old guitar parts from the demos were muted, and the new guitarist created new pop-driven riffs. The self-titled album was released in May 2001, producing the hit So Far Away.

Before a fifth LP could be recorded, the band announced they had disbanded on 9 February 2002.

Christopher Hall formed the LA-based band The Dreaming in 2001, while Walter Flakus became a radio DJ.

Stabbing Westward reunited for shows in 2015 and 2016, and after a nearly two-decade absence from the studio, the band issued the comeback Dead and Gone EP at the start of 2020. In 2022, they released their fifth official full-length, Chasing Ghosts.

Christopher Hall revealed in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer and would be undergoing multiple surgeries alongside chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Christopher Hall
Vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards
Walter Flakus
Keyboards, vocals
Jim Clanin
Guitar
Andrew Hunter
Guitar
Jim Sellers
Bass
Chris Vrenna
Drums
Stuart Zechman
Guitar
David Suycott
Drums
Andy Kubiszewski
Drums
Mark Eliopulos
Guitar
Johnny Haro
Drums
Derrek Hawkins
Guitar
Carlton Bost
Bass
Bobby Amaro
Drums