Staind – The Illusion of Progress (Release Year – 2008)
Staind has made us wait three long years for their sixth studio album, The Illusion of Progress. The band has three number one albums in a row, so they have a lot to live up to with this new disc.
Staind calls The Illusion of Progress the “most musical CD” they’ve recorded to date. While I don’t know if I agree with that statement or not, there are some tunes on this disc that have the potential to be hits for Staind.
The first song This Is It starts off with a heavy but moody track, “This Is It”. This tune has a grunge element to it, but it is pretty cool tune. I expect that this song will hit mainstream radio in the near future.
“The Way I Am” is mid tempo song that just plods along. It isn’t breaking any new ground. It isn’t a bad tune, but it just comes across as average to my ears.
“Believe” is the first single off of Illusion of Progress. This is a pretty solid tune that ought to be a hit for Staind. You can listen to Believe by clicking here.
“Save Me” is a slower paced song that also has some radio potential, if they recorded a clean version of the tune. Their is a lyric in this song, “save me for the fuck of it” that unintentionally jumps out of your speakers when you hear it.
At this point in the record, I was hoping for something a little more upbeat, and I got it, with the song “All I Want“. This is another solid tune from Staind.
“Pardon Me” has a sound that falls somewhere between Tool and Shinedown. This is another slow, and moody track that I just couldn’t get into.
At this point I started to get a little bored with this disc, as I could not find a tune that had the WOW factor I was looking for.
Most of Staind’s tunes have the down tuned guitars that is common place in modern rock today. The one thing that sets apart this band from most of the others is the fine voice of Aaron Lewis. The problem that I have with the Illusion of Progress is that most of the songs of their low to mid tempo range, and are a little more soft and mellow. This isn’t what I expected from Staind. Yes, some of the songs are good, but very few of them excite me very much. I was hoping for something a little heavier, and this disc never seems to get there. This may not be a problem for die hard Staind fans, but I would recommend streaming this album before picking it up.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. This Is It
2. The Way I Am
3. Believe
4. Save Me
5. All I Want
6. Pardon Me
7. Lost Along The Way
8. Break Away
9. Tangled Up In You
10. Raining Again
11. Rainy Day Parade
12. The Corner
13. Nothing Left To Say
Staind is:
Aaron Lewis – Vocals
Johnny April – Bass
Jon Wysocki – Drums
Mike Mushock – Guitars
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another review of the Staind album can be found at ventvox.com
I will have to agree to disagree with you. If this CD was great, I would have said so. I gave it an honest, objective review. It is good, but not great.
Well The Cd Can’t Be As Bad As This Review
No, we like music that rocks at HRH, and the new Staind disc just isn’t up to par with some of their older stuff.
just cause it’s not fast? You guys shouldn’t have been able to review this cd cause the cds you like are garbage. Staind=Quality music.
I’m sorry, I can’t stand Staind.
I’ve heard all there albums (I don’t own any!), I saw them on Ozzfest and I don’t get the hype.
Maybe it’s that live acoustic song with Fred Durst being overplayed to this day…..
I’m passing on this, I even passed on an advance copy!
Steve
Heavy Metal Addiction
https://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/
The link above will allow you to listen to the first single “Believe”. It is a pretty solid tune. I thought this album was a little too mellow as compared to Staind’s last album. Some people may be ok with this. I wasn’t overly impressed.
I always buy the albums that I like but I just wanted to check it out first. Is it worthwhile? Thank so much!
You can buy this album next Tuesday, August 19th at most retailers. BUY it, don’t steal it!
What’s up? How could you get the Illusion of Progress? I’m looking for this album but all I find is FAKE.