The Illusion of Progress, Staind

Atlantic Records Rocks like: Shinedown, Deftones Grade: C In an age where alternative and hard… Atlantic Records Rocks like: Shinedown, Deftones Grade: C In an age where alternative and hard rock seems to have found a stable fan base, Staind has thus far managed to maintain its course and, by doing so, is one of the more impressive bands of the genre. Even more impressive is the amount of time the band has thrived. Staind was formed in 1995 by a group of friends performing covers of the bands KoRn, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. And now, almost 15 years later and with six albums released, one would hope it has learned what does and does not work for the world. That said, the band’s latest, The Illusion of Progress, didn’t quite meet expectations. Stylistically, it has calmed down considerably ‘mdash; now its sound meets between Simple Plan and the original covered bands rather than straight-put rage music. It starts out as Staind fans might expect. The first track, ‘This Is It,’ immediately launches into the hard-rock vibe the band has always carried. Singer Aaron Lewis chants, ‘This is it, and it fits / And it feels like this is good enough for me / Could it be that the grass is always green?’ About half of the songs, such as ‘The Way I Am’ and ‘Tangled Up In You,’ offer a look at Lewis trying to persuade you to accept who you are, every last bit of you. They are each performed in almost the exact same fashion, vocally and instrumentally. Even the difference in lyrics is just barely noticeable. Unfortunately, ‘barely noticeable’ is the story of pretty much the entire album. About halfway through the 13-track album, anyone’s head can easily begin to spin and wonder exactly which track is playing. The songs seem to be about three things: being comfortable within your own skin, relationship acceptance or forgiveness from a higher being. To say that the songs are repetitive stylistically is to understate how many times almost identical music is used for the album. To be fair, Staind lyrics have a potential to be borderline poetic. ‘Believe,’ one of the better songs, for example, offers a rather lovely story about one person asking for faith because he ‘was made for chasing dreams.’ It has open interpretation as to rather the singer will ever attain those dreams or not and whether or not your faith should go to them. Potential, however, is all that it is. Staind has an obsession with using the same phrases, seemingly under the assumption that maybe the same emotions will be brought out the time and again. The band must think so, because the lyrics begin to bore themselves with the predictable pattern that emerges after four or five songs. For example, all but perhaps two or three songs mention rain falling from the sky. Two tracks in a row even have the words ‘raining’ and ‘rainy’ in the titles. Staind does deserve kudos for introducing a keyboard in ‘Break Away.’ The change was an incredible relief when, eight tracks in, I could easily fall asleep in my chair. ‘The Corner’ manages to bring in a church choir interaction that brought something new to the album. Unfortunately, it also told about how sheltering in the corner only protects from weather ‘mdash; and that includes, yep, rain.