Staind (self-titled) album review.

It would appear the latter half of 2011 is becoming being used as the platform for a lot of bands to make their return to the music world. After a two year hiatus (or longer if you completely dismiss the ‘Illusion of progress’ album) Staind have returned with an album which really showcases their talent and reminds us why they are one of the most prominent bands in metal.

(Image from: midnightmixtape.co.uk)

The album is self-titled and after listening to the album this makes perfect sense. The album is the epitome of who Staind are. Although I personally enjoyed the last album ‘The Illusion of Progress’ a lot of fans did not as it’s simply not as heavy as previous records like the platinum selling ‘14 shades of grey’.

I expected the album to remain on the somewhat whiny level that the ‘illusion of progress’ was on but on this album the passion is palatable – you can tell that the band put their all into this album.

Asides from the album having a completely different sound from what I expected the biggest surprise was finding Snoop Dogg on the track ‘Wannabe’ and even more so that it is one of the best songs on the album. Although to begin with it really is a bit strange hearing front man Aaron Lewis rap –but he pulls it off.

Other tracks that stand out for me are ‘Now’ which I can’t help but feel is about the last album with the lyrics “Gotta do something different now”.

‘Something to remind you of’ is surprisingly the only acoustic song on the album and even though it is quite depressing it isn’t whiny like other Staind songs have been in the past.

Without a doubt this is one of the best Staind albums and I feel a lot of the songs will be even better live.

5 out of 5