Stabbing Westward

Wither Blister Burn and Peel (Columbia)
by Sheril Stanford

OK, there’s no avoiding it. There’s no way to talk about Stabbing Westward without mentioning Nine Inch Nails. And, in fact, the NIN connection is more than just a similar sound. For instance, both their current release, Wither Blister Burn and Peel (Columbia), and their debut, Ungod, were produced by NIN producer John Fryer. Current drummer, Andy Kubiszewski, and Chris Vrenna, a percussionist in SW’s previous and ever-morphing incarnation, both did time with NIN. One of the things that prevents SW from being a carbon copy of NIN, however, is that their music lacks NIN’s truly evil and twisted elements. Call it “Nails Lite (Sounds Great, Less Depressing).” Sure, the approach is similar to Reznor’s “I’m all fucked up, and the world is all fucked up too” weltanshauung, but where Trent sinks into the ooze of his own and the world’s evil, SW’s lyricist/vocalist Christopher Hall merely observes and laments it.

And while Hall delivers his lyrics with the stripped, restrained intensity of an awakening volcano, the lyrics themselves are sometimes stunningly pedestrian and devoid of any real profundity. For instance, “You crawled inside my head when you crawled into my bed” and “it makes me sad to think this all could be for nothing…” Here’s the critical difference between SW and NIN; SW feels morose, NIN feels suicidal. All this is not to say that Wither Blister Burn and Peel is not a fine CD. It’s dark and raw, frenzied and fragile, tough but vulnerable, searing and twisted. If you’re a NIN fan, this just might make a great addition to your metal industrial collection. Or not.