Staind self-released Tormented on November 29, 1996. The Springfield, Massachusetts band's debut grew out of its local club following and a recording budget of about $2,500. They made it at The Rock Shop in nearby Westfield, before the record deal that would take their music beyond New England.
Getting that far had required a practical compromise. In western Massachusetts, an unknown band could struggle to get booked with a set of original material. Mike Mushok told Pollstar in 1999 that Staind mixed their own songs into sets of covers, using those gigs to earn money and develop an audience. Becoming an original band was the intention from the start; familiar songs helped get listeners through the door.
The musicians on Tormented were vocalist Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki. Recalling their early writing sessions in a 2019 Tru Rock Revival interview, Mushok described a process built around playing together in a room. He often supplied the music, with Lewis developing lyrics and vocal melodies. Mushok also contributed spoken-word vocals and wrote the lyrics to “Four Walls,” an exception to Lewis's role as the album's principal lyricist.
The surrounding heavy music scene also affected what they wrote. Lewis told Lollipop in 1999 that Staind had struggled to find a place within Massachusetts' hardcore circuit, and their “songs were getting heavier and heavier.” Yet the debut's aggression wasn't its whole appeal. Reviewing Tormented for the same magazine in 1997, Scott Hefflon singled out the combination of memorable melodies, forceful drumming and distorted guitar. He also heard musicians making room for the songs instead of competing for attention. His concise assessment was “Staind has songs.”
There were listeners waiting for the record, too. The Boston Phoenix reported in 1999 that Tormented's release party in Springfield drew 900 people. The band had established that audience before its connection with Fred Durst, giving the independent release a local base to build on.
The album's artwork almost obstructed that connection. When Staind opened for Limp Bizkit at the Webster Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut, in October 1997, Durst objected to the cover's bloody Bible and crucified doll. He tried to have Staind removed from the bill. In their separate interviews, Lewis and Mushok both recalled that Durst watched the performance from beside the stage and approached them afterward with a very different response: he wanted to help.
That offer developed into work together in Jacksonville, Florida, and a showcase in Los Angeles. Staind secured a deal with Flip in early 1998, with Elektra providing the major-label backing for Dysfunction, released in 1999. Their next album would have a wider distribution network, but part of its repertoire had already been tested during the independent years.
One of those songs was “Mudshuvel.” Recorded under that spelling on Tormented, it was reworked as “Mudshovel” for Dysfunction. Mushok remembered it as a crowd favorite from the early club shows. A song that had helped Staind connect with local audiences became part of the record that introduced them nationally.
