Break the Cycle [PA] by Staind

"Your daughters are porno stars" croons Aaron Lewis on the opening track of Staind's new album, "Break the Cycle." This opening song, "Open Your Eyes," smacks of the same sort of "are you listening?" stuff that has elevated Creed higher (::rimshot::). But when Aaron sings it, I can't help but feel a sort of morality being stuffed down my throat.

And so goes the album that is being propelled thanks to radio play of the two hits, "Outside" and "It's Been Awhile." The second track, "Pressure," is another generic guitar-cruncher. It's not rap-metal, so that's a positive; however, I can't say it's all that good either.

"Fade" starts off with a slow, deliberate strum before getting loud. It's not that bad a track; it has musical value other than 'let's see how hard/fast we can play our instruments.' However, if you're getting fed up at this point, you'll just hit the next track button and bask in the comfort of "It's Been Awhile."

Rock radio has welcomed this song with good reason: it's informed, it's deep, and it's musically beautiful. However, it's not all that great a representation of the music on this album. Case in point is when it ends and "Change" begins. Yet another song about a life lived horribly. You tend to see a pattern in this album after only the first five songs.

"Can't Believe" starts off heavy, like it's going to fall into a rap-metal groove. It then mutates into vocals that are almost entirely undecipherable, save for when Lewis sings the name of the song.

When I first heard the beginning of "Epiphany," I thought Dido released another B-side like "Worthless." It's soft and easy-going, the type of song the two radio single lead you to believe is on this album. I wouldn't call this a power ballad, but it's perhaps the most emotional track in the entire set.

The problem is that "Epiphany" is sandwiched between another heavy-sounding song, "Suffer." By now, my ears feel like I've been suffering to get through the album.

"Safe Place" starts soft and gets loud. Quite a simple formula, and if you ask me, very Creed-esque (see: 85% of Human Clay).

"For You" is getting some radio play, and perhaps this is the best thing for Staind to do. After releasing the other two songs already on the airwaves, Staind needs to prepare the listening crowd for what really is on this album. The lyrics again seem to stuff beliefs and ideas down your throat, something I don't always like. (For the record, I love Creed but hate Live.)

Track 11 will sound familiar: it's "Outside." Yet for those who can't help but dislike anything new/reworked, some fans will say they like the acoustic live version better. I like the studio version better, mostly because of Fred Durst's absence, but also because there is a band playing behind Lewis.

"Waste" is another slow song, which I truly expected this album to be full of, and is among the better tracks. I have nothing against Aaron Lewis singing about the pain of his life; I just find it more tolerable when there is a melody behind it. "Waste" is one of those songs with a good melody speeding it along. Note the angst when Lewis begins to curse out everyone and everything.

"Take It" ends this album fifty minutes after it started. The beat could pass for something off "Dysfunction" but the lyrics are more anguished, clearly making this a "Break the Cycle" type song.

Overall, this album wasn't what I expected it to be. The slow songs are more heartfelt; the loud songs show unbridled and uncontrolable angst; and the two radio songs can easily fool you into thinking what kind of album this is. It's almost evenly split between acoustic and electric guitars, so for a split, I give this album a 3.