Recorded back in the day when Mike went by Michael, Staind's very first album (appropriately titled Tormented) has a rather depressing mood throughout the whole CD. Although most of the riffs are brutal and up-tempo, the sound of the CD is quite different than just about anything out there. The guitars sound like they were recorded on a tin amp with too much treble, and the vocals are raw, effectless brilliance.

The album is spearheaded by Break, 4 Walls, and the original version of Mudshovel (spelled Mudshuvel on Tormented). Although there were never any singles released, these seem to be the most popular songs from the self-released album. Tormented takes us through a day in the life of a very depressed teen, who at the beginning of the CD beginnins remenicing about why he hates himself, people close to him, and the world around him in general. There were only roughly 2,000 original copies of Tormented, although in 2000 Staind re-released it through their website (staind.com).

As I was saying, the CD never got big enough for singles. The band doesn't play Tormented material anymore, and live Tormented is probably on Ebay. I belive staind.com has steaming footage of them playing Break. I'm not sure if it's there anymore, but they had it.

If you don't have a copy of it, buy it. It's much different than Dysfunction in terms of sound, and style. And don't be offended by the artwork like good ol' Fred Durst was. They're not satanic!