Staind
Staind

We left them in 2008, with that album titled The Illusion Of Progress, made from absolute nothingness; but for me, Staind died in 2001. After an extraordinary debut album that very few remember, Tormented, and following the excellent Dysfunction, a slow but unstoppable decline began. With Break the Cycle the band radically changed their sound, desperately chasing easy money; and the album was followed by three pale copies of itself.

The main difference between Break the Cycle and the three subsequent albums (namely 13 Shades of Grey, Chapter V, and The Illusion Of Progress) is that, although the general characteristics remained the same, the result was increasingly watered down. With the last record, in particular, they truly hit the bottom of monotony and banality.

And yet.

And yet Staind can still surprise. After two years of silence, the band started working on a seventh album, announcing that they would return to the dirty sounds of the old days with the new record. And so it was, even though I didn't expect Aaron Lewis to still be able to pull something resembling a scream from that whiny voice of his. But dear Aaron pleasantly surprised me: both because he returned in great vocal shape and because he shows he still has some interesting ideas as a songwriter.

This Staind record sounds fresh, inspired, energetic, and engaging. I did not expect such a comeback from a band that seemed lost in a glass of water. The first song released online was The Bottom, which is featured in the soundtrack of the movie Transformers 3, and was followed some time later by the first single, Not Again. Needless to say, hopes and expectations for a good record were high.

The sound of this self-titled album is a sort of summary that largely draws from the past but updates everything to the present. So, despite the anger, melancholy, and screams, there is greater melody. The production, curated by Roadrunner, is as usual impeccable, but less clean than the latest records. The effect of the guitars is muddy, heavy, pounding. Hearing the Staind so depressed and angry again is truly satisfying, especially after three low-quality records like the last three.

The album begins with a punch to the teeth, with the wicked bass line and furious screams of Eyes Wide Open. It continues with Not Again, which, despite being the lead single, is certainly not among the most standout tracks. Monotony and sadness make their way with the slow notes of Throw It All Away and Failing, which is the only song that doesn't convince 100%: a five and a half minute track, so slow and diluted that listening to it becomes exasperating. But both these songs surpass the classic Staind ballads by ten points. Curious is the collaboration with Snoop Dogg in the angry Wannabe, whose almost hip-hop rhythms don't align with what the band has done so far.

But the best part of the album is composed of the second half. Four formidable songs follow one another. We have the bittersweet Take A Breath, the seismic The Bottom, the swift melodies of Now, and the chaotic, muddy, noisy, unpredictable, almost cacophonic rhythms of Paper Wings, absolutely the best song on the record, and probably the best the band has produced in many years. Then, reaching the tenth and final track, we have the only true ballad: Something To Remind You, composed only of Aaron Lewis's suffering voice and his acoustic guitar, which is the saddest and most emotional moment of the album. Yet there remains a doubt: is it possible that a forty-year-old, established musician, playing and singing in a famous band, can still write songs like this? His despair doesn't seem one hundred percent sincere. But for now, we just enjoy the melodies and advise him on some powerful antidepressants.

Despite the downward trajectory that began in 2003, with this self-titled album, Staind have finally found their true nature again, and we hope they continue like this for some time, without falling back into the boring pop-rock of the previous three records.

This is a great CD, no doubt about it. A CD I have been waiting to hear for a decade. Welcome back!