Break the Cycle

Break the Cycle is the third studio album by American rock band Staind, released through Elektra Entertainment and Flip Records in 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 5x platinum by the RIAA.[1]

Break the Cycle
Studio album by Staind
Released	May 8, 2001[1]
Recorded	October 2000 – February 2001
Studio	NRG Studios, Los Angeles, CA, Long View Farm Studios, North Brookfield, MA, Southbeach Studios, Miami Beach, FL and Electric Lady Recording Studio, NYC, NY
Genre	Post-grunge nu metal alternative metal
Length	50:49
Label	Flip Elektra
Producer	Josh Abraham
Staind chronology
Dysfunction (1999) Break the Cycle (2001) 14 Shades of Grey (2003)
Singles from Break the Cycle
"It's Been Awhile" Released: March 20, 2001 "Outside" Released: May 2001 "Fade" Released: September 4, 2001 "For You" Released: December 25, 2001[2] "Epiphany" Released: August 2002

Background

A total of 5 singles were released from this album, "It's Been Awhile", "Fade", "Outside", "For You" and "Epiphany", all of which did reasonably 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.

Sales

Because of the record's high recording budget of $800,000, there were many worries about whether or not the album would be successful, and the album almost had to top charts internationally just to break even with studio costs. Break the Cycle debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of at least 716,000 copies. It remained at the top the following week with 329,299 copies. In the third week it was number one again with 244,698 copies. In the fourth week it dropped to number 2 with 221,179 copies. It sold over 1,000,000 copies in the first 3 weeks. The album sold 4,900,000 copies in the US and was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA. Break the Cycle also topped the UK charts, where it was certified platinum, in New Zealand and in Canada, where it had the multi-platinum status. The world sales are around 8 million copies.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(55/100)[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C[5]
NME	(2/10)[6]
Q	[3]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Yahoo! Music UK	[8]

Initial critical response ranged from mixed to average. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 55, based on 9 reviews.[3]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Aaron Lewis, all music by Staind, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Open Your Eyes"		3:51
2.	"Pressure"	Staind Josh Abraham	3:21
3.	"Fade"		4:02
4.	"It's Been Awhile"		4:25
5.	"Change"		3:38
6.	"Can't Believe"		2:49
7.	"Epiphany"	Lewis	4:19
8.	"Suffer"		4:00
9.	"Warm Safe Place"		4:36
10.	"For You"		3:26
11.	"Outside"	Lewis	4:54
12.	"Waste"		3:59
13.	"Take It"		3:38
Total length:			50:49

U.S. Edition + Bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"It's Been Awhile (Acoustic)"	4:30
Total length:		55:19

Australian and European Edition + Bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Outside (Live Version)"	5:40
Total length:		56:29

Personnel

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

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9]	18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10]	6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11]	27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12]	34
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13]	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[14]	5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15]	36
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16]	26
French Albums (SNEP)[17]	48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	5
Irish Albums (IRMA)[19]	1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20]	13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21]	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22]	23
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[23]	46
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24]	9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	18
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	1
US Billboard 200[27]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28]	Gold	35,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[29]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[30]	2× Platinum	30,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[31]	Gold	40,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[33]	5× Platinum	4,900,000[34]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Gallery

• 
  Staind's American 5x platinum record for Break the Cycle.

References

1. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
2. "Staind For You (Single) - Spirit of Metal Webzine". Spirit of Metal. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
3. "Break the Cycle (2001): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
4. Gallucci, Michael. Break the Cycle at AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
5. Morgan, Laura (May 11, 2001). "Break the Cycle Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
6. Pattison, Louis (August 10, 2001). "Album Reviews - Staind : Break The Cycle". NME. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
7. Walters, Barry (June 7, 2001). "Staind: Break The Cycle: Music Review". Rolling Stone (RS 870). Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
8. Oliver, Lisa (August 20, 2001). "Staind - 'Staind - Break The Cycle (EastWest)'". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
9. "Australiancharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Staind – Break the Cycle" (in German). Hung Medien.
11. "Ultratop.be – Staind – Break the Cycle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
12. "Ultratop.be – Staind – Break the Cycle" (in French). Hung Medien.
13. "Staind Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
14. "Danishcharts.dk – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Staind – Break the Cycle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
16. "Staind: Break the Cycle" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
17. "Lescharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Staind – Break the Cycle" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
19. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Staind". Hung Medien.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
21. "Charts.nz – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
23. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Staind – Break the Cycle". Hung Medien.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
27. "Staind Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
29. "Canadian album certifications – Staind – Break the Cycle". Music Canada. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
30. "New Zealand album certifications – Staind – Break the Cycle". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
31. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2002" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
32. "British album certifications – Staind – Break the Cycle". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 17, 2017. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Break the Cycle in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
33. "American album certifications – Staind – Break the Cycle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 17, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
34. "-Staind, Deftones Secure Top Spots On Next Week's Billboard Chart". Blabbermouth.net. May 28, 2003. Retrieved May 17, 2017.