Staind’s Recording Struggles Captured For New DVD

Staind is set to release their heaviest disc of material since they burst onto the scene with 'Dysfunction' in 1999, but the arduous recording process cost them a drummer and almost the band. The cameras were rolling the entire time and a DVD of that footage comes with the deluxe edition of the album.

Staind had softened up their sound considerably from their early days prior to recording of their self-titled seventh studio album. The band's attempt to get in touch with their former heaviness was anything but a pleasant experience, singer Aaron Lewis told Billboard:

"It was full-on falling apart at the seams. Everything just went completely sideways, for so many different reasons. It got so bad that we stopped working (together) and we just went to doing it on our own in separate locations, with minimal contact with each other...It was definitely the most difficult and trying and tumultuous record that we have made yet."

Much like Metallica did during the recording of 'St. Anger' (for the film 'Some Kind of Monster'), the band was filming the entire recording process. Lewis also talked about the footage, the results of which are to be included on the DVD that comes with the album's deluxe edition:

"It’s painful to watch. It’s very revealing. We were an open book for the whole thing; I think the camera got shut off twice during the entire process. And it’s very unflattering, but… it’s real. It’s what really happened."

Things got very real when longtime drummer Jon Wysocki left the band following the sessions for the album, guitarist Mike Mushok explained that the situation just wasn't working:

"Things weren’t really going the way we wanted [them] to. We tried to work through it, I think it just got to the point where we realized that we weren’t able to, and it was time to make a change."

Staind's self-titled album will hit stores on September 13th and their single 'Not Again' is currently at #4 on the active rock charts.