Staind - The Illusion Of Progress Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 08.19.2008

Staind has returned with their first album in three years, The Illusion Of Progress. Was the band's claim that this was their most "musical CD" a true statement or is it just the same old song and dance for the alternative metallers?

The Band

Aaron Lewis-Vocals, Guitar
Mike Mushok-Guitar
Johnny April-Bass
Jon Wysocki-Drums


The Track Listing

1. This Is It-3:46
2. The Way I Am-4:18
3. Believe-4:17
4. Save Me-4:52
5. All I Want-3:29
6. Pardon Me-5:02
7. Lost Along The Way-4:19
8. Break Away-4:09
9. Tangled Up In You-4:35
10. Raining Again-3:53
11. Rainy Day Parade-4:16
12. The Corner-5:17
13. Nothing Left To Say-4:40





The Review

Springfield, Massachusetts alternative rock/metal band Staind has made a career out of dark and moody songs. Frontman Aaron Lewis’ hatred of pretty much everybody around him helped the band to make it big in 2001 with Break The Cycle, which was driven by the overplayed “It’s Been Awhile” and the acoustic-driven “Outside” and “Epiphany.” While their recent albums (2003's 13 Shades of Gray and 2005’s Chapter V) haven’t matched the 6+ million that Break The Cycle sold, they have been all successful, even with less-than-enthusiastic reaction from music critics. To this date, Staind has three straight #1 albums. Will The Illusion Of Progress continue the streak and prove critics wrong?

Even after multiple listens, it is evident that The Illusion Of Progress is a pretty accurate title for the musical direction of the album. This is a Staind album; don’t expect anything revolutionary or inventive. The band has a formula and works it to the bone, even after six albums. That basically means that if you are a fan of the band’s later catalog , you will probably enjoy The Illusion Of Progress. If you never liked the band in the first place or wish it was 1999 again, The Illusion Of Progress won’t change your mind at all.

That’s not to say that mediocrity is abound for the weary listener. On the contrary, a good portion of the album is solid, if unspectacular, rock songs that range from the aggressive to the acoustic, melancholy, and downbeat tracks that made the band famous. The aggression is definitely a lot more subdued on The Illusion Of Progress, with opening track “This Is It” being the only straight-up heavy rocker, with a breakdown that will remind fans of the best moments of Dysfunction. A few of the later tracks, “Break Away” and “Raining Again,” turn the volume up, but it is too little-too late at that point. The ballads are pretty much unimpressive, except for one tucked near the middle of the album.

“Tangled Up In You” is an entirely-acoustic ballad that features the best of Aaron Lewis. No matter how much criticism is heaped on him, there is no doubt that Lewis can put on a performance when need be, and “Tangled Up In You” is the prime example. A tasteful violin only further lends to the impactful nature of the musical body of work.

The highlights of the album are the actual moments where the band expands their sound, at least as far as Staind could possibly go. A lot of hype was put on the fact that the band was at their creative highpoint and their “most musical CD” yet. Is that true? If you base the album entirely on “Pardon Me” and “The Corner,” then that statement would be correct. The former is a trip back to 1975, with a Floyd-ish melody leads into a surprisingly great solo and an inspired vocal performance by Lewis. The latter is a standard Staind track mixed with a gospel choir, which is a much more interesting combination than you may think. Lewis brings along a few solo vocalists to duel with him and the track sounds like something you could hear on Sunday morning in your local church. It’s powerful, moving, and the type of experimentation that the band needed to do in order to show that they can still evolve.

Too bad the rest of the album isn’t up to the par of the tracks mentioned above. Single “Believe” sounds like the band is on autopilot by cranking out the same old-same old radio-friendly ballad that you have heard way too much from Staind. “Save Me” is an accurate title, as the listener will want to be saved by the sub-par songwriting on display, hampered by its length, with a beautifully dark piano outro being the only “saving” grace.

Closer “Nothing Left To Say” seems like an afterthought: “The Corner” would have been a much better end to The Illusion Of Progress as it has that epic feel to it that would have finished the album on a high note, instead of leaving the listener with a song that treads familiar water.

While the songwriting is hit-or-miss, the band itself sounds as strong as they ever had. Lewis’ brooding vocals still reign supreme on the music, keeping mostly low-key with some high notes or screams that come out unexpectedly from time to time. Johnny April and Jon Wysocki are still a solid rhythm section, with April having full reign over “The Way I Am” with his steady bass presence. However, the biggest surprise is Mike Mushok, who arguably puts in the best guitar performance of his career. His playing is consistent, moody, and full of surprises, with the soaring solo on “Pardon Me” being the high point of his career to date.

There was potential for The Illusion Of Progress to be a really great rock album and at times, it really sounds like the band was going for something grand and epic. However, instead of following up, Staind seems to be content with sounding like they have for the past eight years. If there was more experimentation, more chances for Mushok to show off his bluesy side, The Illusion Of Progress could have been a candidate for my top ten list at the end of the year. Instead, it’s just another Staind album. For some, that may be good enough. For me, I wanted a little bit more meat on my steak, instead of all the fat that I had to chew on.

The 411: I wanted to like The Illusion Of Progress. I really did, but about half of the album just didn't click with me. The album starts off great, with the aggressive "This Is It," but doesn't build off that opening track, going through peaks and valleys for the rest of its 55 minutes. The bluesy guitar work and "Pink Floyd-ish" melodies was fulfilled with "Pardon Me" and "The Corner" and more of that would have been appreciated. If you are a fan of the band, you will enjoy the album, as long as you don't expect too much innovation from the quartet.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]