Staining the test of time

Staind reconnects with their heavy hitting roots on new album, Staind

 

 

By Tyler McColl

Ithough you may have heard a

Az of multi-platinum post-
grunge band Staind’s hits, like

“It’s Been Awhile” or “Outside,” chances
are you have no idea who Staind is unless
you're a huge fan (like myself).

It’s hard to put a label on exactly
what kind of band Staind is. Their music
ranges from softly melodic to borderline
screamo, sometimes within the same
song. One constant though is that Staind’s
lyrics are always full of emotion without
sounding whiny or preachy. Lyricist and
frontman Aaron Lewis sings about his
own life experiences, but leaves his songs
general enough for everyone to relate to.

The band’s seventh and latest album,
self-titled Staind, is a return to their
darker roots. Their music has become
increasingly melodic and less edgy over
the years, starting with the 1996 heavy
metal album Tormented and progressing
to the more varied, noticeably softer The
Illusion Of Progress in 2008. In Staind,
the band takes their musical variety from
The Illusion Of Progress and combines it
with the darkness of earlier albums like
Dysfunction and Break the Cycle.

This combination is a complete
success. Songs like “Failing” and “Throw
It All Away” toe the line between anger
and despair perfectly, without being too
oppressive. Staind’s new musical depth

 

 

 

 
 

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4
is on full display in “Take a Breath” with
its awesome clean guitar riff and dark,
dirty verse tones. “Eyes Wide Open” and
“Not Again” are among the harder songs
on the album, and remind me of Break the

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Faery

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Cycle classics “Pressure” and “Change.’
Similarly, “Now” and “The Bottom” are

— and you might recognize the latter

 

powerfully energetic with a ton of oomph

movie soundtrack.

Unfortunately, a couple of the songs
in Staind missed the mark. “Wannabe”
is a big departure from the band’s usual
style, trying to incorporate rap-style
verses into an awkward hate song.
Another disappointment for me was
“Paper Wings.” Instrumentally it sounds
great, with lots of deep and heavy tones,
but the verse’s lyrics push the boundaries
a little too far. It starts to get into the
immature, whiny area that Staind usually
manages to avoid.

Rounding out this ten track package
is “Something to Remind You,” the
softest song on the album by far. It’s
a masterpiece, a classic Staind song
combining deep and thoughtful lyrics
with a slow, emotion-filled melody. It’s a
solid end to another great album by this
powerhouse band.

_  Staind’s decision to take fheir newly
discovered musical variety and pair it
with the heavy hitting of their past was
the right one. It really breathes a new
energy into the band, energy that it had
started to lack. Diehard Staind fans will
love this return to the band’s beginnings,
but for those who aren’t familiar with
the band, I’d suggest starting with their
last album, The Illusion of Progress.

The darkness of this latest album might
disillusion new listeners. That being said,
‘ this is still a great album. If you like
heavy music that has a little something
to it, you owe it to yourself to check out
Staind.

 

   

from the Transformers: Dark of the Moon

 

Going nowhere fast

A look at Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest movie, Drive

By Tim Ryckman

ith good reviews and the

receipt of the best director

award at the Cannes Film
Festival, Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest
movie, Drive, had me interested.

The story is about an unnamed man,
played by Canadian actor Ryan Gosling,
who is a stuntman/grease monkey by day
and a wheelman by night. His life changes
suddenly when he meets his neighbour
Irene (Carey Mulligan) and gets involved
in a heist that goes sour. He soon finds
himself fighting for their lives in the
bloody battle that ensues. Cue car chases,
shoot outs, and romance.

I like to go into a movie with as
little information as possible and let the
director tell the story the way he wanted
it to be. What I found was beautiful
cinematography, until it became repetitive.

6

 

When I looked to the dialogue, it was
limited and left me disappointed. To top
it off, the characters had me wondering
if I really knew who they were or what
motivated them to do what they did.
Some claim Drive is an art film,

relying on a character’s emotions and
thoughts rather than presenting a clearly
goal-driven story, but the story with the art
should capture the audience and take them
for a ride, rather than crash and burn with
barely anything left to salvage.

 

From the editor: In last week’s “The

pied piper of Wales” we may have
unintentionally implied that the Wales field
school was no longer continuing. To clarify:
it very much is! For more information see
below or contact the faculty lead, Brenna
Gray, at grayb@douglas.bc.ca.

“This year’s theme is Find Yourself in
Wales: Cultural Identity in Time, Place, and
Art. The classes will run from May 7 - June
26, with the first three weeks being in New
West and the last four weeks in Carmarthen,
Wales. The courses on offer this year

are ENGL 1115: Studies in Drama (with
Brenna Gray), HIST 1180: Understanding
History through Film (with Jeff Schutts),
and PHIL 1151: Society and the Individual
(with Doug Simak). Students will receive
nine credits in just seven weeks, with the
opportunity to stay in Europe after the
program to travel!”

Follow @DCinWales2012 on Twitter for updates!

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