(A small disclaimer before thie review begins: You see, I had an advance listen to the disc, so this review is about a month old. I was about half into a bottle of Merlot when writing it, so my spelling and/or level of coherence might not be dead on. I'll pick through and fix what I can before I embarrass myself horribly)
Ahh, the new STAIND, 14 Shades Of Gey fills us with love, hope, Happiness, and glee that we'd never otherwise expect from from these Boston rockers....Bullshit.
Aaron's miserable (or at least he sounds like it), Mike is playing is playing one of the deepest guitar tones I have ever heard, and America...you will ALL eat this up.
Aaron openend up yet another vein on "Price To Pay" as well as "So Far Away", tunes that might just inspire the average white kid to slip into a warm bathtub after slitting hiis/her own wrists. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. "So Far Away" sounds like a look-back on a life gone bad, and then made good again. Like he fucked up horribly, fixed himself, and is now perfectly content to be the person he is today.
The bulk of the disc is VERY meldodic, and very healt-felt. Aaron Lewis doesn't pull punches when he writes. If he feeels like shit, he'll tell you, if he thinks you're liar, he will tell you... and if he doesn't want to be bothered, he won't be... He is an honest man through and through when he writes (at least that's what he'd have us believe). Passoionate Lyrics. Hummable Melodies. Those and those alone will push this new STAIND release through the next million point...which, let's face it, is all the A&R guys think about anyway, so why bullshit each other?
Check out the new STAIND disc. It's not going to make you want to drive fast or impress chicks by driving by them at the mall with the music blasting (which is soooo 1980s, let's face it), but it's a worth several listens.
(I think by the end of the review I had finished off the bottle)
