MUSIC REVIEWS
Staind - Chapter V
Matt Jameson
How the mighty have fallen. I begrudgingly picked up this recent release, even though my inner voice was screaming, "Dear God no!" as I opened my wallet and checked out of my local CD shop.
I guess I have to qualify that opening paragraph before proceeding in order to properly set the tone. Rewinding to about 2 years ago or less I find myself at an outdoor concert called "The Big Stink 8". Happy to be there, I slowly made the trek from my parking spot to the gate. Excitement ensued as I heard Seether finishing up their set and made my way into the crowd. The lineup among others included: Mudvayne, Powerman 5000, Taproot, and of course Staind.
The event was going very well until the moment that Staind took the stage. To respond to the cheers and applause from the audience, Aaron Lewis the front man of Staind proceeded to avoid eye contact with the crowd and lazily sit down onto a stool which had been placed just of center stage. With a look of utter disgust he began to disconnectedly "sing" the most popular of Staind's radio songs with about as much enthusiasm as a lesbian who has just realized her blind date is missing both her tongue and fingers. I had never in my life felt so insulted as an audience member of any event. Simply stated Mr. Lewis did not want to be there, and after witnessing this display for a few minutes I must say I felt exactly the same.
Now I understand that his whole "shtick" is to act lazy and depressed, and that's fine. But when you finish a show, and walk off the stage without even thanking the audience - that's where I draw the line. Even Marilyn Manson has the decent moral fiber to at least say good night to his fans before leaving the stage.
I had learned to love Staind, based solely on their first almost unknown album and their first mainstream release. Although I was slightly disappointed in their second mainstream release - I wrote it off as the common "second album slump" most bands fall victim of. Then came 14 shades of grey. And once again I was not impressed.
I must say that this newest release is nothing more than the damning and final piece of evidence that convicts this band of becoming nothing more than average and forgettable radio whores. I can't even think of a track that I would consider my favorite, but rather became even more disappointed with each track I played.
It's been a while since I purchased an album and then had such immediate buyer's remorse. So to the die hard fans of Staind: I may have pissed you off here, but I feel that I must be entirely honest in these reviews. They can't all be winners. But to anyone else who may not have listened to any full Staind albums: I recommend buying this one first, and working your way back to their very first release. At least this way they'll get progressively better.
