May 8, 2001 - Break The Cycle

It's a double release day! On the same day as my last release and two years since "Dysfunction", Staind released their third album "Break The Cycle" on May 8, 2001. I'm still not a big Staind fan, but this album was their big commercial breakthrough, reaching #1 on the charts and spawning five singles. I only have two songs off this album and they were the two most successful singles, starting with "Fade". Johnny April plays a catchy bass riff, then the heavy guitars come in and things sound pretty heavy. The verse is quiet with some cool guitar by Mike Mushok and Aaron Lewis sounding good with his post-grunge voice. The chorus is pretty basic but it's pretty catchy and Lewis continues to lead the way with some solid vocals. They don't stray far from the verse and chorus, but things sound smooth and solid and this is definitely a worthy addition to the library even if it doesn't really jump out at you. The other song I have was a huge single titled "It's Been A While" and it's got a light electric guitar riff and a catchy acoustic guitar riff that go together really nicely and Lewis sounds pretty good singing the pop-y verse overtop. The guitars shift to heavy for the chorus as things hit nice and hard and Lewis sings a catchy chorus overtop, it's no wonder this song was a single, it's very smooth and catchy! It's sad, but they really nail the grunge-y vibes and it's a pretty cool song. Until the next time Staind pops up!

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