Staind - The Illusion of Progress
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Rolling Stone Rating: 2.5
"The way I am/you'll never change," sings Aaron Lewis on Staind's sixth studio album. He's not kidding. For nearly a decade, Lewis and his bandmates have been immovable post-grunge loyalists, fiercely committed to the genre's basics: midtempo songs in minor keys, sullen vocals and lyrics that distill the message Life Sucks and Then You Die.
On The Illusion of Progress, they team up with producer Johnny K (Disturbed, Drowning Pool) to tweak the formula just a bit. The album opener, "This Is It," is pro-forma post-grunge, but beneath his mewl, Lewis sounds almost contented ("It feels like this is good enough for me," he sings). "The Corner" is a lush Pink Floyd-style space-rock epic with a full gospel choir. And on "All I Want," Staind prove that when they veer from their gray-on-gray melodic palette and dedication to gloomy tidings, they are skilled pop balladeers. Most of the time, though,...
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