STAIND Getting Experimental On New Record

The Pulse of Radio reports that STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis told MTV.com on Monday (June 30) that the band has taken an experimental approach to its new album, "The Illusion of Progress", due out on August 19. Lewis explained, "We're big on trying not to repeat ourselves, and grow in some way with every record we make. We need to feel, at the end of it, that we made a better one than the last one. I think this is our best record yet — because I'm supposed to feel that way, or else the record wouldn't be done."

Lewis told The Pulse of Radio that the band tried to move forward this time by getting different sounds in the studio. "It's a departure from the last record, which I'd like to think was a departure from the record before, and so on and so forth," he said. "Probably the most musical record that we've made yet. A lot more effect-y experimentation and, you know, a lot more textures with, you know, vintage instruments and vintage amps. There's definitely some different flavors on this record."

Lewis told MTV.com that the new disc features elements such as a pedal steel guitar, a gospel choir and "a lot of things that have never really been done on a STAIND record before."

The first single from "The Illusion of Progress" is called "Believe". STAIND shot a video for the song last week in Los Angeles.

The clip centers around the group taking a cross-country drive from their hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts to the West Coast.

STAIND will hit the road with 3 DOORS DOWN and HINDER for a summer tour beginning on July 4 in Muskegon, Michigan. The group will also open for NICKELBACK this fall in Europe.

Altitude TV's "Live and Direct" show has posted video footage of STAIND performing its new single "Believe" on June 24, 2008 at an industry showcase at the Viper Room in Hollywood, California. Watch the five-minute clip below.