Review Summary: Stabbing Westward's songwriting nucleus reunite to Rise Again.
In the early nineties, industrial music enjoyed a brief moment in the mainstream due almost entirely to Nine Inch Nails’ popularity. Of the bands that benefited from the NIN-halo, Stabbing Westward was probably the best. They made the best use of electronics, had the best songwriting and the most talented vocalist. Despite some success, the band only lasted about seven years before breaking up. Eventually, though, vocalist Chris Hall resurfaced with a new band, The Dreaming. The Dreaming took the alt-rock-meets-industrial sound of Stabbing Westward’s most commercial material, removed most of the electronics and mixed it with a modern punk edge. The Dreaming’s first two releases were met with a positive reception, but it didn’t stop fans from continuing to request a Stabbing Westward reunion. In 2014, fans had their wish partially fulfilled when Walter Flakus (keyboards, Programming) joined The Dreaming and effectively reunited Stabbing Westward’s songwriting nucleus.
At that point the press releases pretty much wrote themselves. The band were going to bring back the early Stabbing Westward sound fans had been asking for – a sound that was both intense and haunting while still being catchy as hell – and asses were going to be kicked. It has to be said opening track, ‘Alone’, definitely delivers on that promise. It sounds like the kind of rhythmic, bass-driven, dark industrial rock that dominated Stabbing Westward’s debut album, but it is the only song that does. The rest of
Rise Again sounds more like The Dreaming’s previous albums combined with a more prominent use of electronics. Meaning the other songs aren’t really haunting or intense and they won’t really remind anyone of Stabbing Westward’s two best releases –
Ungod and
Darkest Days. That certainly doesn’t mean
Rise Again is a disappointment, though; it’s just not the album described in the press releases.
Instead, the rest of
Rise Again picks up where the band’s previous release left off, but mixed with the industrial influences of Walter Flakus. That means the modern, catchy alt. metal of The Dreaming’s previous two releases is still intact, but the rhythmic percussion and prominent electronics have been restored from the Stabbing Westward archives. There are still a few songs, such as ‘Painkillers’, that bring the stripped-down approach of the previous The Dreaming releases, but a majority of the album is more like the rhythmic, electronics-dominated, ‘Kisses Taste Like Death.’ These songs with their guitars-interlaced-with-electronics approach are going to definitely remind fans of
Wither, Blister, Burn & Peel-era Stabbing Westward, but with a modern edge. Regardless of where the band is pulling their influences from, though,
Rise Again is a great release full of songs that will get stuck in your head while bringing a much-requested Stabbing Westward influence to the forefront.
Unsurprisingly, the Chris Hall/Walter Flakus combination results in The Dreaming’s best album. What may come as a surprise is
Rise Again is also better than Stabbing Westward’s self-titled album and
Wither, Blister, Burn & Peel, as well. The blend of The Dreaming’s modern, punky, alt. metal sound with the rhythmic delivery and powerful electronics of Stabbing Westward results in a very strong album that any fan of either band should enjoy. So, no,
Rise Again doesn’t sound like the early, dark industrial rock of Stabbing Westward’s debut but it’s not too far away from the sound of their second album, and the blend of The Dreaming’s influences still makes
Rise Again well worth checking out.
