Break the Cycle [PA] by Staind

i'm a pretty big rap and hip hop fan myself, but i can't get my ears off the new STAIND album. why would a rap guy like me do so? i really don't know, but i could try to do so: it's a really damn good album. i know my rock/metal experience is very low, but i know when something is good or not.

i first learned about this album from the long exposure to IT'S BEEN A WHILE and OUTSIDE, but once i got this cd (total cost of 5 bucks somehow), i felt i made a great investment in music genious. that may seem exaggerated, but i don't so.

the first song called OPEN YOUR EYES starts off like a song coming out of a DISTURBED cd, but then becomes this heavy mix of bass and drums and funky sounds. then, mr. lewis comes in, tearing it up. but the impressive thing is that this song is one of the few metal songs that i can understand the words AND the message, basically asking everyone to just wake up and look around!

PRESUREhas a beat that of something like TOOL, but once again mr. lewis comes in, with the rest of the heavy (heavy, not light... HEAVY!) beat. this song is about depression and the use of drugs along with depressing situations in life. good stuff!

FADE is one of the few relaxed and mellow songs on the cd. by relaxed, i mean that there isn't this constant pounding of beat as aaron tries to sing. speaking of singing, aaron really CAN sing, which is the other reason i got this cd, so i'm tellin you, if you want good singing (unless you consider pop to be singing, forget it) get this cd!

IT'S BEEN AWHILE would be considered one of the flagship songs on this album even without the mega heavy MTV and radio play. why? well, i felt this smile in my face when i first heard this song, probably because it was very unique and kinda odd at the same time. take a bass intro, with aaron's guitar, and then 20 seconds later, you get this crooning voice that's oddly coming from a guy that sang 3 pretty heavy songs just before, and not to forget his last album. the constant repetition of IT'S BEEN AWHILE in the song, besides reminding you what the song title is, shows how life is changing with this one special person. through all of his adventures in life, he learns that this one girl is the one. she's the one that "let's him stand on my own two feet". this is catchy, but it's not a sellout as some may place on this song. believe me, there are no sellouts on this album, because it's not a pop group... get it?

CHANGE: another of the little more relaxed songs, not as beat heavy as the others, not as much as the previous 4 songs. it's nicely done because aaron's singing parts have very little beat playing compared to most metal songs, making him the most prominent figure in the song. but then he gets back into his heavy metal persona, then switches back and forth nicely.

CAN'T BELIEVE has a tight drum intro, but with the sound like i've never heard before, not resembling anything. obviously aaron gets a little heavy metalish, then in his "IT'S BEEN A WHILE" voice. i really like the beat on this one, but the lyrics catch me the most. it's basically a song about negativities around him, and how he just wishes to sometimes "fly away" and get outta there. but when he repeats "CAN'T BELIEVE" throughout the song, it just gives the song this weird and powerful tone, like no one else but aaron can do.

EPIPHANY is not religiously related as it may sound, but is just this mellow and cool song that is somewhere between a sad song and OUTSIDE. i really can't explain it, so i just won't. listen to it for yourself and then tell me whatcha think, eey?

SUFFER... ummm, this is definitely some metal. metal like DISTURBED or KORN, that kinda of metal. however, it has, you guessed it, aaron's voice playing with the song. like the last one, we'll leave it that: listen for yourself. please, it'll make your day

SAFE PLACE is a metal/mellow song (i think i'm gonna use that!). the chorus is so heavy that it gets kinda rough on your ears, making it kinda weird to listen to it. then again, jeez, aaron lewis jumps in and sings about this special person coming in his life and just changing everything, sorta similar to IT'S BEEN AWHILE

FOR YOU is interestingly about his parents', and how his childhood and adolescence was. though not quite precise to his parents, it can apply to almost (almost) any parent. he discusses his isolation and restriction from the world, and his parents' responses to such actions.

OUTSIDE is a mellow one, big time. but of all the mellow songs on the album, this would be the one that i like the most. why, you ask? well, it's sorta got aaron lewis for the most part doing a low croon, then jumping up to a steady nice tone for some parts. the beat is pretty damn catchy and cool, but not one that will be worn out very quickly. i like how the song sounds, in either acoustical or studio version. also, it's the one that most of us can relate to and understand the most. it's about, well, you gotta listen for yourself if you haven't heard it on the radio. oh you'll love it!

WASTE: this is an odd one, because it has a tone reminding me of aerosmith's JANEY'S GOT A GUN... maybe because the beat of the chorus resumbles nothing of the main parts. please, just listen for yourself, pretty hard to explain.

TAKE IT: it has a nice tone and beat to it, keeping the heavy bass and guitar melodies THROUGHOUT the song, as opposed to some sections of the song. i'll leave it at that, you can listen for yourself, eey?

IT'S BEEN AWHILE (acoustical): this is a limited song that's on certain cd's including mine. it's basically a regular guitar in place of the bass in the song. it sounds kinda weird when you first hear it, but it's pretty nice as well.