Jonathan Hill

Tag: Disturbed

  • Disturbed Indestructible Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Indestructible
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2008
    Length: 50 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Indestructible
    02. Inside the Fire
    03. Deceiver
    04. The Night
    05. Perfect Insanity
    06. Haunted
    07. Enough
    08. The Curse
    09. Torn
    10. Criminal
    11. Divide
    12. Façade

    Disturbed Indestructible Cover
    Disturbed Indestructible Cover

    Disturbed Indestructible Review

    Indestructible is the fourth album by Disturbed and their second in the hard rock/traditional heavy metal style that was adopted on their last album, Ten Thousand Fists. Aside from a small step forward in musicianship not much has changed stylistically and Indestructible is a direction continuation of that sound.

    This time around there are less songs and a slightly shorter running time which both work in Disturbed’s favour because despite refining their knack for high calibre anthems even further, Indestructible is very much a by the numbers effort and the first few songs will let you know exactly what you’re in for so not much is going to catch you off guard.

    The title track gets the ball rolling and sets the tone perfectly with a mid-paced guitar riff that is preceded by air raid sirens. The lyrics have an inspirational angle that is used to address and motivate soldiers which contrasts with the contemplational lyrics of Overburdened, a song from Ten Thousand Fists, which deals with the morality of war and its consequences.

    Many of the other lyrics found on Indestructible deal with harsher subject matter such as suicide (Inside the Fire), mental illness (Perfect Insanity) and domestic abuse (Façade) but if your band operates under the moniker Disturbed you probably feel somewhat obligated to live up to your name.

    Unlike the infamous shock monologue heard on Down with the Sickness from their debut album, Façade is far more mature in dealing with the subject matter of domestic abuse, which describes the situation of a female victim with David Draiman questioning “for how long will you try?/how long until you walk away?/your facade can’t disguise/the fact that you’re in misery” before the situation is escalated to her retaliation with lines like “homicide flashes through her mind again/no more pain, take control/if he raises his hand again/she’ll find her freedom in killing him/the world will see that she’s had enough” which points to her taking her partners life and the situation subsequently unfolding through the media.

    Perfect Insanity and Divide were both originally written before the release of their debut, The Sickness, in 2000 but they didn’t make it onto the album and it’s not hard to see why since they didn’t adhere to the strict nu metal sound that Disturbed moved onto at that stage in their career. The groove metal foundation of these songs translates into their current hard rock/traditional heavy metal sound exceptionally well because they both offer a lot of aggression that is rounded off with their emphasis on melody to bring the best of both worlds together.

    Other moments on the album such as the bridge to Enough ramp up the aggression not only in terms of instruments but also in terms of David Draiman’s vocal delivery, which is done with a deeper snarling voice that is outright ferocious. His manic laughter on Inside the Fire is another highlight in its own right while the keyboards/programmed parts heard on some songs are tastefully integrated to enhance the atmosphere.

    To some listeners Indestructible could start to wear thin after a few listens because Disturbed haven’t really pushed their sound out of the box on this album but their ability to fuse hard driving guitar anthems with an unrivalled sense of melody will undoubtedly allow them to embed themselves in your ears after any amount of time spent listening to them.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, backing vocals
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Indestructible on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Ten Thousand Fists
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2005
    Length: 56 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Ten Thousand Fists
    02. Just Stop
    03. Guarded
    04. Deify
    05. Stricken
    06. I’m Alive
    07. Sons of Plunder
    08. Overburdened
    09. Decadence
    10. Forgiven
    11. Land of Confusion (Genesis Cover)
    12. Sacred Lie
    13. Pain Redefined
    14. Avarice

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover
    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by Disturbed. With the popularity of nu metal rapidly declining most bands in the subgenre chose to take another path and Disturbed are no exception to this as they embrace a sound that is somewhere between hard rock and traditional heavy metal for Ten Thousand Fists.

    With the musicianship of drummer Mike Wengren and guitarist Dan Donegan being heavily contained on Disturbed’s nu metal albums for the most part, Ten Thousand Fists makes its evident that they want to do more or at the least get back to the level that they were at when playing groove metal under the name Brawl.

    The songs are faster, sound more powerful and for the first time there are guitar solos to be heard on several songs including Stricken, Overburdened, Forgiven, Avarice and Land of Confusion, an unexpected cover of a Genesis song that translates exceptionally well into their new sound. There aren’t any weak songs to be found per se but after a few listens it can start to sound a bit played out due to the lack of variety, which isn’t helped by a 56 minute running time and it seems hard trying to justify the length of it for this reason.

    David Draiman’s vocals are as strong as ever and on I’m Alive he cleverly enunciates the words rage and anger when he sings “change again, cannot be considered/I rage again, dispelling my anger” for effect without having to resort to shouting. However his trademark barking noise from The Sickness make an appearance on the title track, Sons of Plunder, Forgiven and Avarice but is absent from most songs.

    His lyrical themes have now progressed onto topics such as war and personal struggles with Decadence addressing self harm and I’m Alive dealing with the pressure of others trying to influence the bands artistic direction to create something that wouldn’t be Disturbed and their subsequent rejection of this.

    Overburdened looks at people killing others in the name of religion or political ideology only to finding themselves queueing up to enter Hell, which is overburdened by the sheer number of people caught up in harmful ideology all while thinking that they’re fighting for a righteous cause. At the start of the song one of these people reflects on this by saying “Fate is so unkind/Now I should have known/Blind leading the blind/Reaping what I’ve sown/If it all amounts to nothing/Why, then, am I standing in this line?” after believing that they were right in doing what they did. David Draiman puts a different lens on this perspective to infer that “holy blessed homicide” is wrong in any context and that people that believe otherwise have been misled, possibly for the gain of others.

    The improved musicianship and deeper lyrical content that has come with the change in sound will surely have won over some new fans and there are many infectious hooks that will get stuck in your head for days after hearing them but on repeated listens some songs will start to wear thin due to the rank and file nature of the album.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Ten Thousand Fists on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Believe Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Believe
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Nu Metal
    Released: 2002
    Length: 47 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Prayer
    02. Liberate
    03. Awaken
    04. Believe
    05. Remember
    06. Intoxication
    07. Rise
    08. Mistress
    09. Breathe
    10. Bound
    11. Devour
    12. Darkness

    Disturbed Believe Cover
    Disturbed Believe Cover

    Disturbed Believe Review

    Believe is the second album by nu metallers Disturbed. Following the massively successful release of The Sickness, you could have easily expected Disturbed to follow up in a similar fashion but that isn’t the case because they have chosen to shed off many of their defining traits to start on a new path for Believe.

    The confrontational singing style and angsty lyrics have been scrapped in favour of highlighting David Draiman’s highly melodic singing abilities with his lyrics now taking a closer look at religion and spirituality, which is also depicted on the albums cover as a mix of the Christian crucifix, Islamic crescent, Jewish star of David and a Wiccan pentacle. The only song on Believe to feature any of his distinguishing barking noises is Intoxication so for anyone that is put off by that on The Sickness will find Believe much more welcoming.

    The electronic elements have disappeared almost entirely with the tiny exceptions being the glitchy vocals at the start of Liberate and then the keyboards at the start of Remember and on the bridge of Mistress. Another rare moment is the final song, Darkness, which is an artfully crafted piano ballad that will catch most listener’s off-guard. It also proves that the band is capable of expressing themselves in an entire different way when they want to. It also happens to be the only song to feature an acoustic guitar as well as cellist Alison Chesley.

    Devour picks up a lot of momentum right at the end before coming to a sudden stop and it’s hard not to think that this could have easily transitioned into a new verse or even something slightly progressive but instead of tip-toing around something new Disturbed strictly adheres to their radio friendly format. That isn’t to say that there is anything inherently wrong with this, despite it almost feeling intentional at times, but it would have been interesting to hear the band tackle something more challenging.

    Despite the sudden shift into a highly accessible and melodic style, Believe is still a nu metal album that focuses on straightforward guitar riffs and stays away from any form of flashy showmanship. In contrast to this, the rejection of angsty lyrics and aggression in general makes Believe one of nu metals most mature efforts by the simple virtue of escaping these common elements. Whether you consider Believe to be a streamlined or a stripped back effort will depend entirely on your perspective of the band and the subgenre.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, keyboards
    Steve Kmak: Bass guitar
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion
    Alison Chesley: Cello

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Believe on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed The Sickness 10th Anniversary Edition Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: The Sickness (10th Anniversary Edition)
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Nu Metal
    Released: 2000
    Length: 54 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Giant Records, Reprise Records

    Track List:

    01. Voices
    02. The Game
    03. Stupify
    04. Down with the Sickness
    05. Violence Fetish
    06. Fear
    07. Numb
    08. Want
    09. Conflict
    10. Shout 2000 (Tears for Fears Cover)
    11. Droppin’ Plates
    12. Meaning of Life
    13. God of the Mind (Bonus Track)
    14. A Welcome Burden (Bonus Track)

    Disturbed The Sickness Cover
    Disturbed The Sickness Cover

    Disturbed The Sickness 10th Anniversary Edition Review

    The Sickness is the debut studio album of American rock band Disturbed. Released at the height of the nu metal trend, it skyrocketed to success on the back of catchy yet simplistic guitar riffs that descended from the groove metal sound, which the band played under the name Brawl before singer David Draiman joined the band.

    The lyrical themes of anger and violence as Brawl seeped over into the bands new incarnation as Disturbed and can clearly be seen just from the song titles. On the other hand, the musical abilities of each band member are played down severely when put next to the Brawl demos which had guitar solos, intense heavy metal drumming and much more audible bass.

    So what did Disturbed gain from this seemingly one-sided trade off? The most obvious answer is David Draiman, a skilful singer with a knack for writing melodies that will always catch your ear whereas original singer Erich Awalt had a gruff voice that is reminiscent of Pantera’s Phil Anselmo. Other than that, guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren also contributed different programmed sound effects to many songs, most notably on Voices, The Game, Fear and Meaning of Life.

    David Draiman goes on to provide some unorthodox vocal performances that range from barking noises on Voices, Violence Fetish and Conflict to a Hebrew chant on Stupify and a questionable depiction of domestic abuse that takes the form of a shouted monologue in which he portrays himself being beaten by his mother before taking his revenge on her in the bridge of Down with the Sickness (“why did you have to hit me like that, mommy/don’t do it, you’re hurting me/…/you stupid, sadistic, abusive fucking whore/how would you like to see how it feels mommy/here it comes, get ready to die”).

    There are 2 minor differences between the original release and the 10th anniversary edition. The first is the inclusion of the bonus tracks (although God of the Mind was included on the 2002 international reissue) and the second is that a few of the sound effects on selected songs have been altered. The significant difference is that the volume of the recording has been increased massively and it might result in ear fatigue because of this.

    As Disturbed, the band forged their own sound within the popular nu metal scene which would deflect any comparisons to Pantera. The success that they capitalised on from their transformation led to them selling over 4 million copies of The Sickness which is probably due to the albums highly accessible sound while ignoring the tendency for nu metal bands to incorporate rapping and turntable scratches.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitars, electronics, programming
    Steve Kmak: Bass guitar
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion, programming

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia | The Sickness on Wikipedia