Aaron Lewis can think of only one song on Staind’s ninth album that might qualify as a ballad. Speaking with Full Metal Jackie on the November 1 edition of KLOS’s Whiplash, Lewis said lead single “Ghosts” gives listeners a good idea of what to expect from The Space Between the Darkness and the Light. “It’s a pretty heavy, driving record,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t intentional.”
There’s a moment about two minutes into “Ghosts” that makes his point. Lewis has spent much of the song singing over a low guitar riff, with room in the verses for his voice to come through clearly. Then he lets out a guttural scream. At 54, Lewis told Jackie, he’s hardly going into the studio looking for ways to get heavier. He can hear why someone playing the finished record might think otherwise.
Jackie wondered whether revisiting Break the Cycle for its 25th anniversary had influenced the writing. Lewis said most of the new music was already in place well before the tour. What connects the two albums for him is the way he uses lyrics. He described Staind’s records as a kind of diary where he can say things he struggles to express to another person in conversation. Childhood trauma still finds its way into his writing because, as he explained to Jackie, he’s still working through it.
For guitarist Mike Mushok, the starting point for “Ghosts” was a Nashville writing session with Erik Ron, the producer who worked with Staind on 2023’s Confessions of the Fallen. Mushok came up with the riff in the room, and the two built the instrumental around it that day. Lewis heard the track later and added his vocal. He told Minnesota’s 93X that he usually leaves the choice of a first single to someone else. By the time he’s willing to put a song on a Staind album, he’d be happy to have listeners hear it first.
“Ghosts” arrived October 14 through Alchemy Recordings/BMG. Lewis confirmed the album was finished the following day. Staind have yet to announce a release date. Pennsylvania fans do have a date for the next leg of the Break the Cycle tour: March 9, 2027, at Santander Arena in Reading.
