Staind has pulled off a pretty impressive feat since 2001, as the band's last three albums - 2001's Break the Cycle, 2003's 14 Shades of Grey and 2005's Chapter V - have all debuted at #1 on the sales chart. The band's latest work, The Illusion Of Progress, was released this week, but frontman Aaron Lewis and guitarist Mike Mushok are not so sure they can make it four in a row.

"It falls short of being four #1 records in a row, I think, with the Jonas Brothers' second week [in stores]," Mushok told MTV News after the Disney band debuted with 517,000 albums sold this week. "Half of that is more than what we'll sell, and it's good for those guys. All I can say is, we've been here for 10 years, and this is our sixth record. I feel proud to be able to say that. If it's not #1, it's not #1 — what are you going to do?"

The only thing the band really can do is put out a record that makes them happy, and that's what they've done with the new CD. However, The Illusion of Progress did not turn out as they had originally planned. They started writing songs with the intent of putting out their heaviest offering yet, but it didn't quite work out that way.

"We went in and started writing, and the songs that were coming out weren't the heaviest songs, but they were really good songs," Lewis told MTV. "We wrote 14 songs, and there are 13 on the album. There was only one song that didn't make it, and it wasn't because it didn't stand up — I just couldn't come up with anything to sing over it. Musically, it was one of my favorite songs on the record — I just couldn't come up with anything that was worthy of it, in a melody and lyrical sense. The songs we were writing were great songs. We couldn't cast them aside and say, 'No, those aren't heavy enough.' If we had, we'd probably still be there, writing."

Meanwhile, Staind is still on the road with 3 Doors Down before touring Europe with Nickelback in September. However, they'll be back in the U.S. soon enough as they are planning to headline a U.S. tour that begins in October, with Papa Roach and Seether opening.