STAIND ‘BREAK THE CYCLE’ WITH NEW CD ENTERING BILLBOARD CHART AT #1 SELLING OVER 716,000 COPIES

FROM: KRISTINE ASHTON/TODD BRODGINSKI/ MAGGIE WANG/MITCH SCHNEIDER

STAIND

‘BREAK THE CYCLE’
WITH NEW CD ENTERING BILLBOARD CHART AT #1
SELLING OVER 716,000 COPIES

Amid massive radio success and critical acclaim, STAIND‘s new album BREAK THE CYCLE has entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #1 with over 716,000 copies sold–the second highest first week sales of any album this year. The new album follows their platinum-selling Flip/Elektra debut Dysfunction.

BREAK THE CYCLE arrived in stores May 22 as the group–noted for their “mix of harmonious and heavy,” according to the Los Angeles Times album review (5/21/01)–are enjoying two hugely successful radio tracks. The album’s first single “It’s Been Awhile”–a song frontman AARON LEWIS says is about “acknowledgement and recognition”–has held the distinction of simultaneously having the #1 song across all three rock formats (Alternative, Mainstream and Active Rock charts according to Billboard Monitor). The song followed the group’s #1 hit “Outside,” the acoustic track from the Family Values Tour 1999 live album. A new studio version of “Outside” appears on BREAK THE CYCLE and is also garnering significant airplay.

In an interview in the Boston Globe, LEWIS talked candidly about the emotional support the group’s fans have provided for him. “I’m still a damaged person just trying to deal with it all…The kids have helped me just as much as they say I’ve helped them.” Elsewhere, in Billboard.com, LEWIS described “It’s Been Awhile” as “about all the things that you don’t do often enough, like say you’re sorry, make a phone call, let yourself feel proud about something.”

Critical response to BREAK THE CYCLE has been overwhelmingly positive:

“Pained tunefulness and heart-on-sleeve lyrics…assert Staind as the grim genre’s most song-oriented…band in years. As already demonstrated by ‘Outside,’ the acoustic hit from the FAMILY VALUES TOUR 1999 album, Staind don’t need to split eardrums to open hearts.”
–Barry Walters, Rolling Stone (6/7/01) ****

“Oozing with bittersweet choruses and restless guitar riffs, the second album…is surprisingly exhilarating, considering its dark, angst-filled themes. Best known for the pounding rock-radio hit ‘Mudshovel,’ from its major-label debut,DYSFUNCTION, and more recently the tortured ode ‘Outside’ (with Fred Durst on backup vocals) from the Family Values Tour live album, the band delves deeper into the downbeat songwriting that made ‘Outside’ so powerful…Evocative of the grief-filled punch the band is capable of, the current single ‘It’s Been Awhile’ combines sparkling guitars with remorseful, lovelorn lyrics and an undeniably memorable melody…Aaron Lewis has one of the most expressive voices in modern metal, and the CD’s mix of harmonious and heavy complements his passionate croons perfectly.”
–Lina Lecaro, Los Angeles Times (5/21/01) ***

“A quantum leap forward for the band, the album’s 13 tracks are both more brutally intense and more melodically expansive than anything on DYSFUNCTION…Whether he’s essaying a slow-burning croon on ‘It’s Been Awhile,’ the album’s first single, or shredding his throat for nearly three minutes straight on ‘Can’t Believe,’ Lewis makes the most of his considerable vocal skills on BREAK THE CYCLE.”
–Dan Epstein, Guitar World (June 2001)

The video for “It’s Been Awhile”–directed by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, who signed the group to Flip Records and lent vocals to the live version of “Outside”–is a “Buzzworthy” clip at MTV. STAIND were also chosen as one of the first artists to participate in the major “MTV 360” launch with consecutive world premieres on MTV.com, MTV2 and MTV. The video is also being seen on VH1.STAIND–singer LEWIS, guitarist MIKE MUSHOK, bassist JOHNNY APRIL and drummer JON WYSOCKI–are currently out on their headlining “Open Your Eyes” U.S. tour with Cold and Puddle of Mud. The band will perform at various radio shows as well as the Rolling Rock Town Fair on August 4.

Tour dates are as follows:

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