The
line-up of this US alternative metal act, comprising Aaron Lewis (b.
13 April 1972, Springfield, Vermont, USA; vocals), Mike Mushok (b. 10
April 1970, Manhasset, New York, USA; guitar), Johnny April (b. 27
March 1965, Enfield, Connecticut, USA; bass) and Jon Wysocki (b. 17
January, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA; drums), came together in
February 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts. The following year, having
established themselves as a leading live draw, the band recorded and
distributed their debut,
Tormented
. The album went on to sell over 4,000 copies by word of mouth, and
also gained them a high-profile support slot for
Limp Bizkit
's Connecticut show in October 1997. An initial misunderstanding
about
Tormented
's satanic cover art almost saw them coming to blows with Fred Durst,
but Limp Bizkit's lead vocalist was impressed enough to invite the
band to record demos for his production company. A contract with
Flip Records ensued in early 1998, and the band decamped to
Pearl Jam
's studio in Seattle to record their major-label debut with producer
Terry Date. A reworking of
Public Enemy
's "Bring The Noise", featuring Durst, was left off the
final tracklisting. This proved to be a good choice, as the songs on
Dysfunction
eschewed the overt hip-hop influence of Limp Bizkit for a more
traditional style of hard rock rooted in the early 90s sound of
Alice In Chains
.
Building on the
success of their debut, the band's second album,
Break The Cycle
, debuted at the top of the US album charts in June 2001. The emotive
rock tracks "It's Been Awhile" and "For You" took
up residency on American rock radio, helping boost long-term sales of
the album. An unplugged video for the
MTV
channel later in the year proved that Staind's material was
particularly suited to the format. Their third album,
14 Shades Of Grey
, was released in May 2003. Although the band attempted to repeat the
highly successful formula of
Break The Cycle
, the lack of any songs as immediately catchy as "It's Been
Awhile" lessened the album's critical impact. Nevertheless, the
album debuted at the top of the US charts in its first week of release
and spawned the hit single, "So Far Away".
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