Mushok brought drummer Jon Wysocki into the fold and Lewis had a connection with bass guitarist Pete McEwan who later left, starting the early lineup.

Shortly after bassist Johnny April joined, Staind officially formed in Springfield, Massachusetts on November 24, 1995.

Promoting Tormented, Staind played gigs throughout New England with bands such as God Lives Underwater, Gwar, and Kilgore.

Durst was initially appalled by the album artwork, but changed his mind and signed Staind after being impressed with the band's performance.

Described as a grunge-influenced metal album by critics, Tormented is somewhat of a concept album that tells the story of a depressed person who eventually commits suicide, inspired by Lewis's past struggles with depression, a relationship break-up and suicidal thoughts.

[4] Staind originally covered songs by bands such as Korn, Tool, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Deftones, and Helmet.

[7] The band officially formed in Springfield, Massachusetts on November 24, 1995,[3] after Johnny April joined the same month replacing the original bassist.

[9] Mushok said in a 2021 Ultimate Guitar interview that the first songs he and Lewis wrote together are "No One's Kind" and "Painful", both of which appeared on Tormented.

Author Tommy Udo wrote: "Tormented is one long rush of hardcore brat-rage, a 900mph scream of a man smashing his head against a wall with frustration".

[13] According to Rockzone, Tormented "revealed the raw feelings of a band whose front man Aaron Lewis captivated the minds and souls of teenagers and young adults tired of the vanity that has overcome life.

"[14] Described as alternative metal by AllMusic,[15] Tormented is also somewhat of a concept album that tells the story of a depressed person who eventually commits suicide.

Mushok provided the spoken word vocals on Tormented,[19] which appeared in the songs "Tolerate", "Painful",[20] "Nameless",[21] "See Thru",[22] and "Four Walls".

[18] Mushok said that Staind wrote Tormented first and then included suicidal spoken word lines such as on "Tolerate" after finishing writing the album.

[5] Promoting the release of Tormented, Staind played gigs throughout New England with bands such as God Lives Underwater, Gwar, and Kilgore.

"[15] In 1997, Steven Woltasek of CMJ New Music Report wrote: "For those of you that don't know, wake up and look around for the debut release from Staind entitled Tormented".

Their studio debut, tOrmenteD, shows either a natural knack for milking the most out of a crunchy guitar, or they had some good coaching.

[32] Andrew Blackie of PopMatters wrote about Tormented: "It’s disarming how heavy" Staind "were in those days, how screaming misery ... over harsh, sololess distortions made them sound more like the protégé of Pantera than the descendants of Alice in Chains they do today.

"[33] Chad Childers of Loudwire ranked Tormented sixth place out of the band's seven studio albums, describing it as "a promising start for Staind, though one not widely heard.

[41] Tormented also has artwork that shows the album's titles in smeared blood similar to the Charles Manson tradition.

[15] It became the band's breakthrough single and the most popular song from their second studio album, ranking on the Mainstream Rock chart for 28 weeks where it peaked at number 10 in November 1999.