STAIND

I'm sure STAIND mainman Aaron Lewis sowed a few oats last year loaded up the ol' pick-up truck and headed out to the sticks for his country-flavored solo EP "Town Line". The ride back, however, seems to have left a bitter taste in the songwriter's mouth. Far be it from me to ever consider STAIND a heavy band, but their newest release has got more piss and vinegar than I've ever heard from the band since the late '90s.

There isn't much about "Staind" that isn't a throwback to the heyday heavy rock enjoyed ten to twelve years ago when chunky riffs pounded merrily alongside sing-along choruses in a manner so palatable the whole family could jam along to the beat. That's not necessarily a bad thing either as STAIND was always at the top of that game and this album shows they aren't ready to pass the torch down to the HINDERs or BREAKING BENJAMINs of the world just yet. As they have throughout their career, Lewis and lead guitarist Mike Mushok craft their songs out of a balanced mix of hummable and, at times, driving riffs and ear-catching chord progressions. This time around, they managed to inject a noticeable dose of attitude into their tunage. "Eyes Wide Open" and "Not Again" both chug along with a fair amount of calculated intensity, but remain well within the band's expected parameters of heavy, emotive rock. "Now" and "Take A Breath" are two more examples of STAIND stripping away the sappiness and melodrama that pockmarked their last couple of albums in favor of a more direct emotional bloodletting. The formula remains unchanged, but the fire is definitely hotter. "Wannabe", which was, according to rumor, supposed to feature Snoop Dogg (who would have launched the tune into the upper atmosphere of Planet Badass) and "Now" find the band locking into some seriously heavy-handed grooves. "Throw It Away" threatens to revisit the band's overly-emotional and formulaic norm, but the song's shadowy melody makes it a sleeper hit. Of course, the album would feel incomplete without an obligatory ballad and closing track "Something To Remind You" serves that purpose quite well.

Given that STAIND never really went away, you can't call "Staind" a "comeback" album, but it is a return to form from the band that shot out of West Massachusetts like a rocket in the mid-'90s. And while it's unclear why Aaron Lewis was so pissed off this time out (A woman? The economy? The threat of Fred Durst back in the limelight? Who knows),his ire is working in his favor. I can't say I've ever called myself a STAIND fan, but this record at least made me take a second look at the band.