Personnel: Johnny K. (piano, Hammond b-3 organ).

Additional personnel: Emoni Wilkins, Vernard Burton (vocals); Rick Barnes (slide guitar); John Pirruccello (pedal steel guitar); Stevie Blacke.

Armed with a fresh musical perspective, lyrical inspiration, and a ferocious desire to be heard, Staind's sixth studio LP, THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS, is an epic performance, loaded with musical experimentation as well as Aaron Lewis's trademark angst-emitting vocal style. Distancing itself from the herd of manufactured pop-rock, the Massachusetts-based quartet has hardened its edge with the assistance of producer Johnny K (Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, 3 Doors Down). Motivated by the current state of the world,, each song on this 13-track hard rock tour-de-force is imbued with a soul-searing passion, from the somber "Believe" to the searing "Raining Again." K's influence, combined with the band's forward thinking, makes PROGRESS a clear statement of Staind's current convictions.