On May 1, Staind shared previously unreleased concert footage from their 2019 reunion show via a global livestream event. 

The concert took place at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, in October 2019 and it marked the end of their five-year hiatus.

In a short interview that played leading up to the concert livestream, frontman Aaron Lewis addressed the reasons behind the break.

“It wasn’t time away from the band [that I needed],” Lewis said. “It was time away from the project and of the subject matter and of where the songs were coming from that was so necessary for me to be able to do it again. I just needed time.”

This makes sense when taking into account the subject matter of Lewis’s lyrics.

Some songs played during the concert, like “Crawl,” bring out Lewis’s struggles with mental health issues and insecurities (“Late at night, I hear your voices / Talking shit about all my choices”), while some lyrics are more hopeful and uplifting, such as the lines “And I lie here in bed / All alone, I can’t mend. / But I feel tomorrow will be okay” from the song “Outside.”

The band played a mix of their heavier hits like “Eyes Wide Open” and “Mud Shovel” and their softer songs, like “It’s Been Awhile” and “Right Here.”

Lewis’s heavier vocals sounded great live, but some of his lower, growled vocals were drowned out by the band.

It’s hard not to compare Staind to their contemporaries, Seether and Breaking Benjamin. Lewis’s clean vocals come through gritty like Seether’s Shaun Morgan, while his screams start low and increase in volume and intensity, like Ben Burnley’s roaring growls.

However, Staind got together in 1995, while both Seether and Breaking Benjamin formed a few years later, in 1999, so it could be argued that Staind influenced the other groups.

The second part of the series will be livestreamed on Saturday, May 8 and is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of their album “Break The Cycle.” In this concert, the band will play “Break The Cycle” in its entirety. It will be filmed at Mill 1 in Open Square in Holyoke, Massachusetts, with no in-person audience.

Virtual tickets and merchandise for the May 8 show are still available.

Staind will also release the live album “Live: It’s Been Awhile” on Friday, May 7.

Kelsey Ogle can be reached at [email protected] and @kelsey_ogle_ae on Twitter.