Break the Cycle is the third studio album by Staind, released through Elektra Entertainment and Flip Records in May 8, 2001. It is Staind‘s most successful album to date and was the album that broke them into the mainstream.
It was a huge international success for the band, as it spent three weeks at number one position in the U.S. album charts and many weeks in the top 10 album charts of the Billboard 200, the UK and New Zealand. It sold at least 4 million copies in 2001. The album was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA.
A total of five singles were released from this album It’s Been Awhile, Fade, Outside, For You and Epiphany all of which did incredibly well. There were videos made for each of these songs (some of which can be found on Staind‘s MTV Unplugged DVD).
The first four singles had varying degrees of success in the UK, It’s Been Awhile charting the highest of the four released in both countries. The album also includes a track called Waste, dedicated to a teenage fan who committed suicide. Like Staind‘s previous album, Dysfunction, Break the Cycle has alternative metal nu metal sounds.
However, the album also shows the band’s softer post grunge sound, an element that the band wished to progress further with more acoustic and soft ballad tracks. This included an acoustic rendition of the entire album as a second disc, but this was not finalized.
There is also a bonus track on the album. In the United States, the bonus track is an acoustic version of It’s Been Awhile. However, on the Australian and European editions, the bonus track is a live acoustic version of Outside, performed with Fred Durst in Biloxi, Mississippi, on the Family Values Tour 1999.
Tracklist:
- Open Your Eyes
- Pressure
- Fade
- It’s Been Awhile
- Change
- Can’t Believe
- Epiphany
- Suffer
- Warm Safe Place
- For You
- Outside
- Waste
- Take It
U.S. edition + bonus track - It’s Been Awhile (Acoustic)
Australian and European edition + bonus track - Outside (Family Values Version 1999)
Staind
Aaron Lewis: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mike Mushok: lead guitar
Johnny April: bass, backing vocals
Jon Wysocki: drums
Additional musicians
Fred Durst: additional backing vocals on “Outside” (live version)
Mike Kezner: sitar on “Warm Safe Place”
Artwork
Craig Howell: art direction, illustration
Gayle Boulware: art direction
Clay Patrick McBride: photography
John Baptiste: styling
Production
Josh Abraham: producer
Fred Durst: A&R
DJ Lethal: A&R
Peter Katsis: A&R coordination
Cailin McCarthy: A&R coordination assistant
Joseph Bogan: assistant engineers
Paul Conaway: assistant engineers
Steve Sisco: assistant mixing engineer
Jordan Schur: executive producer
Vlado Meller: mastering
Andy Wallace: mixing
Dave Dominguez: recording
Management
The Firm: Exclusive management
David Mantel: Legal representation
Stuart A. Ditsky: Business management
