Staind

Staind is an alternative metal band formed on November 24, 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. After meeting through friends and covering pop hits of the day in smalltime clubs for a year and a half, Staind self-released their debut album, Tormented, in November 1996, citing influences in brutal latin thrash metal. Until recently, the album was difficult to obtain, as only four thousand copies were originally sold. Since then, the band's official website has released the album to meet the demand from fans.

During this time, Staind played a show with Limp Bizkit. When Fred Durst saw the controversial cover of the group's self produced album; tormented, he tried to have the band kicked off the bill, but when he saw the band's live show, he changed his tone and befriended them. Durst later sang harmonies on the live version of Outside, which was recorded at a Family Values Tour concert in Biloxi, MS, in late October 1999. Durst went on to be one of the executive producers for Dysfunction and Break the Cycle. He also directed a few videos for the band later on, including It's Been Awhile.