The Illusion of Progress

Untitled

The Illusion of Progress is the sixth studio album by American rock band Staind. It was released on August 19, 2008. The Illusion of Progress was produced by Johnny K and recorded in lead singer Aaron Lewis' home studio, featuring the band's original line-up, including Mike Mushok (guitar), Jon Wysocki (drums, percussion) and Johnny April (bass, vocals). It debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200 with 91,800 units sold.

The first single was "Believe", topping the Modern Rock Tracks on September 13, 2008 and number one for 3 weeks. The second single was "All I Want", came out on November 24. The video continued the story of the first single video and was available on Staind's Myspace on December 12. In Europe the second single was "The Way I Am", and its video was available on the Official Staind Website as of December 24. "This Is It" has been released as the last single off the album. The album has sold a little over 380,000 units in the United States.

Sound

Lewis commented, “We went into the studio with the mindset of making our heaviest record yet, but the record that came out has flavors of Pink Floyd and straight-up blues. We didn’t use the same rigs that we use onstage; we used all vintage guitars and amps, and I’m pretty psyched about it. The songs are pretty timeless in their texture.” The band calls the new project the “most musical CD” they’ve recorded to date.

Promotion

To promote the album, Staind treated their fans to a series of intimate, behind-the-scenes “webisodes” posted on staind.com, documenting their recording process. Staind also premiered the song "Believe" worldwide on U.S. station KYSR in Los Angeles. Staind also released the song, "This Is It", on iTunes early as a single. "This Is It" was released as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band on July 29 for the Xbox 360 and July 31 for PlayStation 3. "This Is It" was also featured on the soundtrack for the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Reception

Initial critical response ranged from mixed to average. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 53, based on 13 reviews.

Track listing

1. "This Is It" - 3:43
2. "The Way I Am" - 4:18
3. "Believe" - 4:17
4. "Save Me" - 4:52
5. "All I Want" - 3:30
6. "Pardon Me" - 5:02
7. "Lost Along the Way" - 4:20
8. "Break Away" - 4:10
9. "Tangled Up in You" - 4:35
10. "Raining Again" - 3:53
11. "Rainy Day Parade" - 4:17
12. "The Corner" - 5:17
13. "Nothing Left to Say" - 4:40

Bonus tracks

1. "It's Been Awhile (Acoustic Version from the Hiro Ballroom)" [Limited Edition] - 4:49
2. "Devil (Acoustic Version from the Hiro Ballroom)" [Limited Edition] - 5:18
3. "Schizophrenic Conversations (Acoustic Version from the Hiro Ballroom)" [Limited Edition] - 4:46
4. "The Truth" [Japan Edition + iTunes Deluxe Edition] - 4:42
5. "Something Like Me" [Japan Edition + iTunes Pre-Order Deluxe Edition] - 4:52

• Note: The Japanese Edition of "The Illusion of Progress" lists the two bonus tracks "Something Like Me" and "The Truth" as both recorded live at the Hiro Ballroom. This is incorrect. They are actually the studio versions recorded during the Chapter V album sessions.

Chart positions

Chart	Position
Billboard 200	3
Top Modern/Alternative Rock Albums Chart	2
Top Internet Albums Chart	1
Top Digital Albums Chart	1
Canada	16
UK	73

Personnel

• Aaron Lewis - Vocals, guitar
• Mike Mushok - Guitar
• Johnny April - Bass
• Jon Wysocki - drums
• Johnny K - Producer, hammond organ, piano
• John Pirruccello - Pedal steel guitar
• Rick Barnes - Slide guitar
• Stevie Blacke - strings and orchestration

Additional vocals by: Vernard Burton, Emoni Wilkins, Sharlisa Brooks, Zita Smith, Lajuanese Robertson, and Carya Holmes-Brown.

Sources

• Official Staind Website
• ADDICTEDtoStAiND
• StaindBrazil

External links

• Staind's Aaron Lewis Tells Fans To Expect Surprises On New LP, The Illusion Of Progress
• The Illusion Of Progress Tracklist from Amazon.com
• Staind on iTunes