For those who’ve never heard of them, Staind, are an American band that have been labelled as alternative rock/metal. While they sonically belong in the same category with bands like Nickelback and Papa Roach they will surely find friends amongst the listeners of Linking Park and Limp Bizkit, even if Staind don’t use decks like the two aforementioned bands.

In Europe they acquired some fame in 2001 due to their hit-single “It's Been A While”, which you can also find on this album as an acoustic bonus track. However it has been a while since then. If fact it’s been 7 years and 3 studio albums. So what do they sound like now? The album’s opening track clearly states that the album title is not far off from reality, since it’s a prime example of what MTV calls metal. Guitars just heavy enough so that the listener confuse them with a pop band, mid tempo rhythms and alternative vocal melodies with verses that deal with personal issues and the rejection that the songwriter, and listener, experiences. So it’s not really surprising that their fan base is mainly made up of white American teenagers that feel excluded from the society. This type of music used to be called college rock, meaning that you could mainly hear it in American college campuses. I think it’s still a valid characterisation since Staind are surely one of the bands whose posters adorn college dorm rooms.

This of course does not necessarily make it a bad album. Even if the songs are in no way a departure from what we’re used to, don’t sound bad. But in the end in an era where musicians are constantly trying to re-invent themselves and record industries have seen their income dwindle in leaps and bounds, maybe the secret is giving the fans the illusion of progress.