The Illusion of Progress

The band that impressed Fred Durst

The band Staind, which performs alternative metal, post grunge and some other hard genres, was formed in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1995. Its lineup stayed unchangeable since that - vocalist Aaron Lewis perfectly befriended with the colleagues: drummer John Wysocki, bassist Johnny April and guitarist Michael Mushock. At first, the artists performed covers for other metal and rock bands in bars and self-released their debut Tormented in 1996. The breakthrough of Staind onto the big scene happened accidentally. They had a concert with the alternative command Limp Bizkit. Soloist Fred Durst heard the cover for their song in the interpretation of Staind and at first wanted to make the collective pay the bill for the royalty. However, after visiting the live show by Staind, Durst was impressed by the band's music so much that he helped them to produce their next studio attempt Dysfunction. After that, the artists got their way to the mainstream, they released several successful discs - one of them reached the platinum certification (Chapter V, 2005) - and impressed the listeners with several consecutive hit singles. In 2006, Staind put all these successful tracks on The Singles: 1996-2006 collection. In 2008, they finished their sixth studio attempt The Illusion Of Progress, issued by Staind in the middle of their tour with 3 Doors Down. After that, the artists are going to kick a tour in Europe with the Canadian rockers Nickelback.

The Illusion Of Progress: excellent ballads and impressive lyrics

The album opener is the hit single This Is It, which perfectly gives the pace and the mood of the disc with its powerful chorus and hooking lyrics. The middle tempo hard song The Way I Am with the excellent drums, memorable bass line and prolific vocals by Aaron Lewis follows it. Believe is a typical for Staind composition, in which the band fans are sure to recognize the musicians' handwrite. So is the expressive grunge-ballad Save Me. The magnificent explanation in love on All I Want is undoubtedly one of the strongest places on the disc. This song, filled with revelations, romantics and happiness of finding love showed the best of Lewis's powerful vocals. The dramatic track Pardon Me continues the album. The sad ballad Lost Along The Way with the philosophic lyrics starts with the excellent drum play and the memorable guitar solo. The deceivingly reluctant in the beginning song Break Away becomes a real musical storm to the chorus. The calm and peaceful acoustic ballad Tangled Up In You is devoted to the topic of personal relations. On the powerful track, The Corner Lewis again demonstrates the strength of his vocal chords. At the end, The Illusion Of Progress features wonderful live acoustic versions of their past hits Its Been Awhile (Acoustic Live), Devil (Acoustic Live) and Schizophrenic Conversations (Acoustic Live).

The most tuneful album by Staind

The disc titled The Illusion Of Progress was recorded by Staind on the vintage instruments and equipment. Due to this approach, the long-play of the musicians got more post grunge than metallic or hard rocky, while the melodic part of the songs became the central one. Luckily, it did not have a negative influence on the energy and fascination of the tracks. On this full-length, Aaron Lewis weightily demonstrated his gift of the soloist - this disc can be called the best example of strong vocals by Staind. The Illusion Of Progress was produced by Johnny K., also known for his work with other American rockers - especially for his labor on the self-titled disc by 3 Doors Down. Overwhelmingly, The Illusion Of Progress features the perfect ballads that Staind can be proud of, and the middle tempo compositions with the powerful choruses. The disc can be also characterized as the intact and harmonic in the sense of sound issue. As for the texts, Staind stayed on height with their lyrics - such ballads as Tangles Up In You and especially All I Want fully deserve the place in the collection of the best low-tempo rock compositions about love. Although the period of the major fame of Staind has passed, the band still knows how to amuse the good rock amateurs and does not lose the shape.