The mega-platinum success that Staind enjoyed a few years back stemmed from a couple of factors. Their association with Limp Bizkit saw them firmly lumped with the nu-metal movement, despite very few musical similarities. And the single ‘Outside’ was as ubiquitous as that bloody Nickelback record of the same time.
Neither factors are exactly guaranteed to keep those platinum albums coming. To their credit, Staind haven’t panicked in the face of changing times and are making much the same kind of music as they were before, during and after their success.
All of which means that Chapter V is a largely deathly dull listen with the odd flash of inspiration. The grinding guitars, anguished vocals and tortured lyrics are standard metal fare, missing either the melody or sheer attitude to make them anything less than instantly forgettable.
As before, when Staind turn down and let songwriter Aaron Lewis explore the acoustic nature of his material they become marginally more interesting. ‘Schizophrenic Conversations’, ‘Devil’ and ‘Everything Changes’ have an extra factor, yet still smack of stadium balladry devoid of real emotion.
There probably is something going on here beneath the surface, but when that surface is so dull and lifeless who can be bothered to find out?