Staind announce Live: It's Been Awhile album and two-part global streaming series

Massachusetts alt.metallers Staind have announced their first album in nine years: a live release entitled Live: It's Been Awhile.

To coincide with the announcement the band have shared a new live rendition of their classic It's Been A While, as well as sharing details of a two-part global streaming series in partnership with Danny Wimmer Presents.

Ahead of the release of Live: It's Been Awhile on May 7 via Yap’em / Alchemy Recordings (pre-order the album here, and grab limited edition exclusive vinyl at this link), the first of Staind's streams kicks off on May 1, showcasing the band at their comeback show at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT.

"These were the first grouping of shows we played together in 2019, when we were gearing up for what was to be a very busy 2020… that never happened," explains Aaron Lewis. "I’m glad we captured that energy here and can share it with those who couldn’t be at Foxwoods."

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Then, the day after the album's release, Staind will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Break The Cycle by performing it on full during their May 8 stream.

"Our first show together in 1995 was at a now defunct bar called the Waterfront in Holyoke," recalls the frontman. "We played mostly covers, because that’s what you had to do back then. Turns out The Waterfront is two miles from where we did this. Here we are, two miles down the road, 26 years later, celebrating the anniversary of the album that helped us break though 20 years ago and altered our lives forever."

“Break The Cycle was huge – in 2001 it debuted at Number One with over 700,000 copies sold in its first week – but it’s more than just a hit record," says Danny Wimmer. "It’s a defining moment for the genre, the way it flows from beauty to heaviness – and Aaron Lewis was the perfect instrument for those melodies, those lyrics. Nobody in the genre could match the dynamics of Aaron’s voice.

"When Staind came back in 2019, they sounded as good as ever, and the fan demand for what the band had planned for 2020 was through the roof. Now in 2021, there’s no way we were going to miss this opportunity to celebrate 20 years of such a pivotal record, and carry that momentum into the next era of Staind."

The streams air on their respective days at 2pm PDT / 5pm EDT / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST. Grab your tickets here.

Check out the new live version of It's Been A While:

The full live album tracklist is as follows:

1. Eyes Wide Open (Live)
2. Paper Jesus (Live)
3. Not Again (Live)
4. Fade (Live)
5. For You (Live)
6. Something (Live)
7. Intro (Live)
8. Crawl (Live)
9. Right Here (Live)
10. Outside (Live)
11. Paper Wings (Live)
12. So Far Away (Live)
13. Raw (Live)
14. It’s Been Awhile (Live)
15. Mudshovel (Live)

And watch the trailer for The Return of Staind: A Two Part Global Streaming Series:

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