Send "Staind " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Early in 2011, Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis did the unthinkable for a hard rock front man: he made a country record. That EP, Town Line, found Lewis playing with meter, adopting a gentler affectation, and introducing some genuinely interesting images in his lyrics. Town Line exposed a nuanced songwriter ready to ditch the tired rock tropes to reach a new audience…... and then Staind put out its self-titled seventh album. This is where the complimentary part of the review ends because Staind is one of the worst albums I’ve heard all year, a top to bottom exercise in bland, formulaic, boring rock. It’s technically solid and very loud and it might appeal to longtime fans, but unless it’s so loud that it shatters your eardrums there is no hiding how unimaginative Staind is. Staind was smart in the late ‘90s to stake creative claim at the confluence of the alternative rock and metal scenes, somewhere between 3 Doors Down and Slipknot. It allowed them to tour alongside bands like Korn but also do radio friendly ballads. But those camps no longer exist in 2011, and in the vacuum Staind has become a less interesting version of Disturbed with misguided forays into rap-metal and plenty of multi-tracked screams because, apparently, the only thing better than an angsty scream from a wealthy 40-year old is a dozen angsty screams piled on top of each other. Let’s start with the most left-field track here, “Wannabe”, wherein Lewis, hot off the heels of founding a non-profit to save his daughter’s school, accuses bloggers and music critics of bestiality and chronic masturbation in a pseudo-rap that’s as subtle as a Mickey Avalon song. Honestly, I’d take Avalon’s strung out amateur glam rap over Lewis chanting “Peanut butter on your dick/Right hand goin’ click/with your left hand givin’ you a rim job” any day. It’s not offensive because it’s gross. It’s not offensive because Lewis probably doesn’t know what a “rim job” is. It’s offensive because it makes Fred Durst’s lyrics seem mature in comparison. The more serious attempts at songwriting are nearly as bad. “Throw It All Away” pairs the worst parts of Disturbed with the worst parts of Kid Rock. “Paper Wings” takes a Daedalus conceit to predictable, silly heights. And “The Bottom” is just boring and generic. Say what you will about former hits like “It’s Been a While” or “Outside” but there was a clear point of view behind those songs, and enough specificity to make them feel genuine. With the notable and ridiculous exception of “Wannabe”, Staind lacks life, replacing it instead with volume and technical prowess (of which there is much, admittedly). And it ends with a song about death. As a nod toward down tempo piano-laden outro tracks like Stonesour’s “Zzyzx Rd.” it’s not a bad song. It’s just so damn literal. A song about ending to end your album? Why not get a huge ink blot tattooed across your chest, too, so no one could ever forget your name?...full text |
| Rock.about |
| Staind’s seventh album is self-titled, and you have to wonder if that’s a way for the alt-metal band to announce that they’re getting back to basics. Returning to the angrier, more aggressive songs of their early career -- before they become pop stars thanks to ballads like “It’s Been Awhile” -- Staind is a bracing change of pace after several albums dominated by lighter fare. The quartet (who saw longtime drummer Jon Wysocki exit the band after recording the album) stay on the accessible side of things, but there’s a palpable edginess to these 10 tracks, which suggests that these were guys with something to prove. A Frontman Who Can Tap Into the Universal Staind’s secret weapon has long been frontman Aaron Lewis, who has an ability to deliver emotional vocal performances. Singing like a humble everyman, Lewis taps into universal sentiments about love and disillusionment that have helped make Staind multi-platinum stars, but his reliance on stripped-down acoustic numbers has opened the door to criticism that he’s either a wimp or pandering to his audience. Not surprisingly, then, the Lewis of Staind sounds like he’s got a chip on his shoulder, and it seems to enliven the whole band. Granted, his macho trash talk on “Wannabe” is awkward and forced -- these guys probably shouldn’t be doing diss tracks -- but for the most part he simply gets down to business and lets the songs speak for themselves. Still Exploring Their Softer Side This isn’t to say that Staind is entirely without mid-tempo numbers. The remorseful “Throw It All Away” would have fit just fine on recent Staind discs, but even here there’s a tension that wasn’t always present in their recent work. What’s easy to forget about “It’s Been Awhile” is that, while gentle musically, its grief and desolation were powerfully resonant. “Throw It All Away” seems to tap into the same vein of anxious uncertainty, which undercuts the slick sing-along nature of the track. Likewise, the romantic desperation of “The Bottom” echoes and grieves in a way that makes it far too dark to simply call a ballad. Staind is where the band members remember that their softer side still needs a certain amount of oomph to translate to the listener. Liberating, Meaner Rock Staind won’t be confused with a Slayer album, but its harder textures and meaner guitar riffs feel liberating. Opening with “Eyes Wide Open,” the album means to shake the cobwebs off, allowing Lewis to snarl and bark at his lyrical targets. When an established band tries to toughen up its sound, the risk is that they learn they don’t have that edge to them anymore. But while Staind were never a ferociously dark group, their embrace of the mainstream robbed them of some personality, and that comes rushing back on Staind. Between “Eyes Wide Open” and “Not Again,” you can hear Staind trying to reconnect with the danger and excitement of being a young rock band out to take over the world. And that commitment, backed by some pretty sturdy tunes, is entirely unexpected and welcome. It would have made a lot more sense for Staind to stay the course. Instead, they took a risk, and more often than not it pays off....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| Four years ago staind were hard at work on their 6th effort 'The illusion of progress', at the time of the album Aaron Lewis was quoted saying that this will be there 'Heaviest' record to date, needless to say when it came out it was the complete opposite, not the worst album in the world but certainly not what they had said it would be. It was more like an Aaron solo effort but with a backing band behind him. So this time around when he was again quoted saying 'This is the heaviest record' - forgive us Aaron if a few people turned there heads at this comment. That was of course until they released 'Not again'. Ok we believe you now! 'Eyes wide open' kicks the album off with a heavy effort which tests Lewis's vocal chords to the max - this song is certainly a sign of things to come. 'Eyes wide open' almost makes you feel that staind are a rejuvenated band, full of ideas and creativity again. The theme continues with the aforementioned and lead single 'Not again'. Next up is the slow starting and longest song on the album, 'Failing', this one bursts into life a couple of minutes in and pretty much doesn't let up until the song has finished, this song almost has an alice in chains feel to it. After this we are treated with a special guest.. Snoop dogg for the song 'Wannabe'.. now don't press that back button just yet, hear me out. This is a very odd collaboration, however I must say that it does work well Snoop almost talking through the verses and Aaron going full throttle on the chorus, blasting into people who do nothing but expect something for nothing, such as downloading music for free, furthermore tearing into his vocal range again with screams of 'Poser' 'Pussy' & 'Pornstar'. The next tracks, 'Throw it all away', 'Take a breathe' & 'The bottom' include very catchy hooks, melody and riff-age. the latter has been featured on the new transformers soundtrack and it has a bit of an odd intro, then flows into a melodic chorus from Mr Lewis, then the last quarter of the song goes off into another dimension as it explodes into a heavy breakdown. 'Take a breathe' could and still might even be a single release from this album. 'Now' is not as heavy as the previous song's, however it sounds like a more upbeat song that could have been included on 2003's '14 shades of grey'. The closing tracks are 'Paper wings' & 'Something to remind you', the former could have easily been the track to kick off this album, the song has a similar start as 'Eyes wide open' in the way that it starts with the bass then kicks in with a humongous crunching riff. 'Something to remind you' has been played live at recent Aaron Lewis acoustic shows, and is nothing like the rest of the album, no drums, just Aaron and an electric guitar, a pleasant finish to a great album. (Similar to the finish on 'Dysfunction' with 'Spleen' blasting out of your speakers only to be followed by soft, mellow 'Excess baggage'....full text |
Staind lyrics
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