Friday April 19

STABBING WESTWARD

SYZYGYX

$30 / Doors at 7:00

Blending the scathing electronics of underground industrial/rock with the emotive melodies of goth and a decidedly radio-friendly sensibility, Stabbing Westward rose to great heights in the mid-'90s alternative boom. Formed in 1986 by Walter Flakus and Christopher Hall, the band went from underground cult sensation to the heights of critical and commercial success thanks to such songs as "Shame," "Save Yourself," "So Far Away" and "What Do I Have to Do?". To this day, these songs remain anthems of heartache, dejection, rage, betrayal and depression.

With two Gold albums and numerous hit singles, Stabbing Westward fell from grace with the 2001 self-titled album amid personal and professional turmoil, disbanding the following year and leaving a void in modern music that was somewhat filled by Hall's later work in The Dreaming. However, it was the release of that band's Rise Again in 2015 that the seeds were sown for a reunion. That album saw Flakus once again making music with Hall, with Stabbing Westward guitarist Mark Eliopulos joining The Dreaming onstage in Chicago for a set of past hits. In 2019, Hall and Flakus came together again to release the Dead And Gone EP, the first new Stabbing Westward material in 18 years. Written and produced by Flakus and Hall over the course of three years, and recorded in multiple states and time zones, these new songs capture the very essence of the Stabbing Westward sound. Adding longtime bandmate Carlton Bost (Orgy, Deadsy, The Dreaming) and new drummer Bobby Amaro (Orgy) to the official lineup, the band has also once again recruited the talent of producer John Fryer-instrumental on early albums "Ungod" and "Wither Blister Burn + Peel"-for a new album, Chasing Ghosts released in march 2022 through a new partnership with COP International.

"Chasing Ghosts might be Stabbing Westward's best album to date, this isn't the sound of a band trying to recapture their old sound, it's the sound of a passionate band feeling revitalized and building off of their strengths to propel them to a new future and new heights."
therockpit