Cons: It’s certain to be recognized only by Staind devotees
The Bottom Line: You’ll know what’s next the moment Dysfunction is in your stereo, but it would not be shadowed by angst-ridden partners so if it was not so indicative of the times
It’s strange that both Staind’s least successful albums, this sophomore Dysfunction and the little-known 1996 independent release Tormented, are often regarded as their best by fans. This effort from 1999 brings the promising Staind out into the spotlight with no masks, no makeup, no rapping, but lots of then-commonplace torment to produce ten tracks in the vein of many others flooding the scene at the time, responding to the metal sensation caused mostly through the angsty 90s thrash band Metallica, and trying to rise to the top of the food chain by whining about the ‘weight of the world.’
Because of this, Staind come out with their own identity, but are not significantly different style-wise to influence Pantera, contemporary Papa Roach, or even, heaven forbid, their mentors Fred Durst and all of the Limp Bizkit crew. Mind, Staind are not nu-metal, as they are often inaccurately labelled – no, there is plenty screaming, and guitarist Mike Mushok’s minor guitar chords, but there is singing, too, a good chunk of it, which you wouldn’t hear in the afore-mentioned Durst’s chants of ‘keep it rollin’, rollin’, rollin’.’ They nestle themselves in the alt-metal genre here to improve upon the wild Tormented (the name speaks for itself), but not to have quite the maturity they would later develop. They’re enraged, sad, angry clowns. And on Dysfunction, they want to share it with you.
‘Suffocate’ roars on arrival and Aaron Lewis tears melodically into a chorus which relies on ‘drugs to soothe him,’ while empathetic moans back him up until the final guttural yells come up at the end of the piece, a scream of ‘Suffocate!’
‘Just Go’ and ‘Me’ are more mid-tempo, distressed numbers. Guitars churn under Lewis’ gravelly vocals as he admits, among other things, he’s ‘kinda insecure,’ and ‘Me’ is the distressed result of growing up in a proverbial hole and living with ignorant parents (who must have felt very guilty after this hit stores). ‘If you push me / Then I won’t fall / I’ve been programmed to take it all inside’ he declares. Modest guitars (that means, no solos) flood the track with freely dripping spite.
‘Raw’ is the album’s heavist, a mechanistic recital when Dysfunction is at it’s most generic, wearing all the cliches shamelessly (‘Inside I’m so cold’) and the four-note riff jarring the ears in line with the ‘Just don’t leave me / Raw’ growl before it all drops abruptly away into ‘Mudshovel,’ one of their best. An admirable guitar scale launches it and the chorus is a solid memorable occasion: ‘You can’t feel my anger / You can’t feel my pain / You can’t feel my torment / Driving me insane.’ The singular profane emphasize the fourpiece’s ability to turn out standalone highlights without drowning them in ‘fs,’ ‘ss’ and ‘ps.’
A screeching guitar assault drives Dysfunction’s best, the freely emotional ‘Home,’ into the status of spectacular. You won’t hear one scream from Lewis’ lips in the stirring honesty of confessions like ‘I force myself through another day / Can’t explain the way today just fell apart like everything’ and uncover if anything the height of his genuine depression in a way their musical relatives have trouble reaching.
The grunge tinge of ‘A Flat’ is derivative of the band’s idols, the legendary Alice In Chains. Cymbals crash while vocals and guitars are both cleanly delivered until an aggressive interlude. For want of better material, the hook is ‘I’m ok.’
‘Crawl’ and it’s following, final track both rip and pound, dishing out a typical semi-tuneful yell for phrases ‘You would think that you’ve known me for ever / Just because you know my name’ and the enraged cry of ‘Spleen’s’ ‘Can’t breathe! Shut up!’ The latter permits drums to step up for a rapid percussive intro, and drilling guitars and aggressive hit home for some pretty decent headbanging, not particularly smart lyrics ignored.
There’s twelve minutes of nothingness afterwards before Aaron Lewis decides to grab a guitar after all his bandmates have left and record an acoustic-based ballad that sometimes wears the title of being ‘the most depressing song of all time.’ It is, really, so simple yet truly, emotionally disturbed it can bring tears, while completely blowing away, say, Limp Bizkit (to use them as an example again) who tried to do much the same thing with an acoustic cover of The Who’s ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ five years later. ‘I’m so sick of this place / This taste in my mouth / Cos of you I can’t figure / What I’m all about:’ the vocals convey that notion of reaching out, communicating Lewis’ fragility, being broken, and all it takes is four strings plucked on an acoustic guitar throughout to achieve it. In fact, looking over it, Dysfunction probably wouldn’t be half the album it is without it’s secret track.
If Tormented was the gun cocked at the start and fired at it’s conclusion, in between which Lewis mangled himself, then Dysfunction is like a hot knife, with which Lewis starts at his neck and forces it downwards through all his problems, right down to his ‘Spleen’ by the end, and then into the hidden track ‘Excess Baggage.’ It wasn’t enough to set them apart as they are today, and it lacks the reflection that came with age, but it was a step forward for the band and would carve a path for the platinum sales of the near future.
Track List [x indicates standout track]
1. Suffocate
2. Just Go
3. Me
4. Raw
5. Mudshovel [x]
6. Home [x]
7. A Flat
8. Crawl
9. Spleen [x]
10. Excess Baggage (Hidden Track) [x]
Similar Artists: Papa Roach, Sevendust, Pantera
Heavy: Yes
Swearing: Yes
This is for real. Watch out, cuz they re not gonna stop! So says Fred Durst about STAIND, and he should know. As the frontman of Limp Bizkit, Fred has...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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