“Everyone is lying — about what they make, about how confident they feel, about how hard they work, about how well things are going. Stop comparing yourself to these lies. Stop thinking about them at all.”
-Ryan Holiday
The fourth and final single from Staind’s Chapter V was “King of All Excuses.” You know those late-period singles that seem to get overshadowed by everything else, but the hardcore fans think is harder and heavier than anything else on the album? This was one of those.
It was released on 20 June 2006, to little airplay. Mainstream listeners tend to associate Staind with their softer, semi-acoustic tracks like “It’s Been Awhile” and “Right Here.” Tracks that were more introspective than the rest of the nu-metal herd. Chapter V largely stayed in this lane, but then you had tracks like “King of All Excuses,” that seemed to go out of their way to bring listeners back to the aggressive sound of earlier releases like Dysfunction and Tormented.
Nobody seems to know who this track is directed at, but it’s clear that vocalist Aaron Lewis is pissed. He once introduced it at a concert as being about a “piece of shit excuse for a human.” The subject is portrayed as being manipulative, dishonest, and just generally incapable of taking any responsibility for their actions. Many of Staind’s songs show Lewis looking inward, reflecting on situations where he is responsible. Not the case here. This track is outwardly accusatory, and there is much more anger in the lyrics than sadness or reflection.
Marcus Aurelius once received news that a trusted general, Avidius Cassius, had rebelled in Syria. The emperor was sick, and this general took this as an opportunity to declare himself Caesar and attempt a coup. Whereas other Roman emperors had family members killed for less, Aurelius decided to wait things out, and see if maybe Cassius’s would come to his senses and realise the error of his ways. He didn’t, but even then, Aurelius opted for a more diplomatic solution. Rome’s defences would be bolstered, the people kept safe, but rather than have him put to death, he ordered for Cassius’s capture. He wanted to “forgive a man who has wronged one, to remain a friend to one who has transgressed friendship, to continue faithful to one who has broken faith.” He wouldn’t have any of the co-conspirators killed either, not wishing for further bloodshed.
I don’t know if I could do what Aurelius did, but I admire his control of the situation, and of his perceptions. To meet force with force is understandable, but it could have been a recipe for civil war as well.
Unfortunately for Cassius, he was killed by a lone assassin in Egypt, three months later. Marcus Aurelius lived, stayed in power, and we talk about the quality of his character and leadership two-thousand years later.
What would I do in Aurelius’s situation, I wonder. Or Lewis’s. I’m not a Roman emperor, and my guitar-playing is pedestrian at best. I can, however, put on my best teacher voice and say, “Avidius, I’m not angry. Just disappointed.” Because that is actually abysmal, a fate worse than death, one might argue.
In the case of Staind and “King of All Excuses,” the instrumentation matches the lyrics perfectly. Mike Mushok is known for his use of baritone guitars, and on “King of All Excuses,” he drives the track with thick, distorted riffs, with a much more aggressive feel than previous singles. Not even a little clean tone for contrast. But the sound is not just the gain knob cranked all the way. Mushok’s riffs are tight and precise, leaving plenty of room for the rhythm section of bassist Johnny April, and the late, great, former drummer Jon Wysocki. Those two always hit hard, and this track is no exception.
But again, it wasn’t the hit that previous singles had been. Late singles rarely are, plus radio programmers felt more at home with the mainstream pop sound of “Right Here.” The fact that so many 2000s rock bands were all clamouring for radio airplay — like a sea of bodies in Dante’s Inferno — probably didn’t help.
Besides, there are those who swear by “King of All Excuses,” holding it up as one of Staind’s underrated deep cuts. Fans hail it as one of the band’s heaviest tracks, with live show energy like nothing else. Mainstream listeners loved the acoustic-strumming, vulnerable Lewis and co. Some of us still enjoyed the darker, angrier band that emerged from the Family Values Tour 1999 as one of nu-metal’s heavyweights. Even in the height of commercial success, Staind always made an effort to showcase that side of themselves. Trying to appeal to different audiences is difficult at best, and can be a recipe for failure. But somehow, Staind seemed to thrive in doing so.
Lawrence Deveney 