OK, we could see the angry comments now. “Why are you reviewing these nu-metal fags?” and so on and so forth. So go ahead, we could handle it. Whatever you want to call them, Staind do what they do well. Their melodic take on hard-rock/metal has always been consistently solid and always dependable. The combination of Aaron Lewis’ hyper-infectious vocal lines and Mike Mushok’s understated guitar-crunch has never strayed too far from the formula that helped the band into the arena circuit. Their new album, The Illusion of Progress is no different. Songs like “The Way I Am” and “Break Away” still seethe with the same angst and hookiness their fan-favorite tracks have done in the past. Meanwhile, the hushed sounds of “Believe” and “Save Me” will bring in more mainstream leaning listeners. You know the kind of people who don’t read sites like this one.

Mushok brings in some interesting textural flavors to the table. On “Tangled Up In You” he layers the track with some western-tinged slide guitar which really falls in well with Lewis’ plaintive vocal. “Lost Along the Way” finds the guitarist flexing some tasteful solos into the mix showcasing his knack for always peppering the band’s material with the right dynamics. Producer Johnny K. (Machine Head, Black Tide) does a fine job of giving each performance enough room in the mix to have their own personality. Unfortunately, Lewis is still stuck in a rut lyrically. It would have served the album better if the songwriter took a chance on different subject matter. The Illusion of Progress has Lewis visiting the same themes of depression and isolation he’s been doing throughout Staind’s career. Complaints aside, when all is said and done, the album will not disappoint their legions of fans and will probably even bring in some new blood.

Rating: 7/10
Label: Atlantic Records
Website: www.myspace.com/staind

By Carlos Ramirez

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 11:50 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Anonymous wrote:

Why are you reviewing these nu-metal fags?

August 19th, 2008 at 12:58 am

Anonymous wrote:

I clicked on the comments because I just knew one of you smartasses had wrote that (^). I leave not disappointed.

August 19th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

Alex Aro wrote:

Staind = A godly band

August 19th, 2008 at 4:57 pm

Anonymous wrote:

quite original staind. there’s already an album called ‘the fake sound of progress’

August 19th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t care for these guys hardly at all. But I’ll give them this much - the track “This Is It” is actually a fairly catchy song and Aaron Lewis, for all of his passiveness and paint-by-numbers nu-metal lyricism has one heck of a voice when he’s on his game.

August 20th, 2008 at 1:00 am

Anonymous wrote:

Good Band-Always was, Always will be!

August 20th, 2008 at 7:33 am

filthy hooker wrote:

I like Staind. Aaron can be a bit much at times (a little whiny?), but I saw them play with STP and Static-X like 7 years ago - and they kicked it out, man.

August 20th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

Anonymous wrote:

I used to be a huge fan. but lost interest when they ditched thier metal roots. From thier debut album.

But this cd is decent in my opinion. I really like “Raining Again”

I still wont go see them live though.

August 21st, 2008 at 2:46 pm

hunter_killer wrote:

This smells like doggy doo-doo.

August 23rd, 2008 at 6:36 pm

Mike K wrote:

Shitty music for people with shitty taste.

August 27th, 2008 at 10:17 pm

Thanatos wrote:

Tormented and Dysfunction were amazing. even break the cycle was half-way decent. but i then i stopped caring.

August 31st, 2008 at 10:59 am

entrailmassacre wrote:

ill prob check this out this jsut because they are on stern alot and did the beet song

August 31st, 2008 at 11:08 pm

BRUCE LEEROY wrote:

Mike K wrote:

Shitty music for people with shitty taste
You lick cock and swallow nuts

Staind is always good

September 2nd, 2008 at 4:20 am

Anonymous wrote:

This album really is fucking great. Great musicianship. Get your heads out of your ass and listen to it.

September 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Anonymous wrote:

The fact that people are still using the word “angst” to describe this band saddens me. More creative and accurate words exist. Please use them. Also, in the context you used it in, the correct phrasing is “we can handle it” not “we could handle it.”

September 8th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

Jaysin wrote:

I’m with Thanatos. They need to get back to their roots. Ever see Staind live? After 15 minutes you’re ready for a doob and the next band

September 9th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

DethOrgy wrote:

Staind has always been a guilty pleasure. I would never consider anything Staind did as Metal but thats why I like them. Decent music you can throw on to chill to and i agree Lewis has a superb voice.

September 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

Bookmarks about Themes wrote:

[...] - bookmarked by 4 members originally found by Byrddawg on 2008-10-17 Staind - The Illusion of Progress http://www.smnnews.com/2008/08/18/staind-the-illusion-of-progress-review-2/ - bookmarked by 5 [...]

November 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 pm

Anonymous wrote:

This Is An Awesome Compact Disc, If You Do Not Like Staind Than Your Music Selection Sucks Yo. Word Life, John Cena Style.

November 4th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

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