This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Right off the bat, this New England alt-metal outfit have one point against them — they’re proteges of Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst, who produced their first major-label album and continues to oversee their A&R on this followup.
Not surprisingly, Staind follow in their leader’s pummelling rap-metal footsteps often on this 55-minute document. But as the album progresses, it becomes apparent that these boys are indeed trying to break the cycle of alt-metal uniformity. More than a few of these tracks take a more traditional hard-rock approach, with the band laying down solid midtempo grooves to support singer Aaron Lewis’s brooding meditations on anger and dysfunction. At times, the supple melodies and Lewis’s dark, loamy voice can’t help but remind you of Darius Rucker — that is, until the band kick into overdrive and fry everything in sight. Just call them Hootie & the Blowtorch.
