Stabbing Westward � Stabbing Westward
Label: Koch Records
Rating: 
 

Hard rockin' Goth's Stabbing Westward return with their self-titled album on Koch Records. All we have come to know and love about this group is here. They provide enough power to get their point across without diluting the overall melody, it's a perfect balancing act between the two. In fact, the move to Koch seems to be just what the doctor ordered. 

On this CD they have really honed their writing skills, providing 10 unique songs that can stand on their own. The songs differ enough from each other without sounding redundant, but still manage to keep that classic Stabbing Westward feel.  If you liked their previous work, this one is a bit different but still right up there with the best of them! If you are a fan of alt-rock with a heavy Goth/Industrial edge this album will provide a great introduction to Stabbing Westward. 

(personal aside) A couple of hours after writing this review I was looking through the entertainment section of the local paper (Orange County Register) for movie listing and let me fingers wonder over to the music review section. Staying in character the bozos at the Register trashed this disc. I generally don't pay attention to what this rag says, but this review was so off base, it made me wonder if the reviewer even listened to the CD or just saw that it wasn't a Rap or R&B CD and decided to trash it.  Reading this just made me look deeper at how I approach reviews. I look beyond if I personally like the music or not and examine the musicianship, songwriting and if the songs are strong and that's what I base my reviews on. In this case, I found that Stabbing Westward had actually improved in all of these areas from their last album and as an added bonus I genuinely liked the music. I realize that this style of music isn't for everyone, but this example just goes to show you how subjective music reviews are; you can get two totally different opinions on the same album. So the bottom line is, you can read my review, which is all well and good--you keep me happily employed but I urge you to click on the link at the bottom of the page and listen to the song samples and hear it for yourself. That's why we include those links, so you have the opportunity to listen to the songs and decide if it's for you or not. If you like it, like I did, then you should buy the CD. If you don't, well you took a few minutes out of your life giving some new music a try.  It's too bad that my local newspaper doesn't give their readers the same option. Then again, if you read thier reviews often enough you come to realize that the writers there don't have a clue.  Ok now go listen to those tracks and then post your reactions below! aG
 

Listen to samples and Purchase online