Posted: June 12th, 2008
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ Amazon.com Release Date: June 3rd, 2008 via Reprise
	Disturbed is: David Draiman (Vocals) Dan Donegan (Guitar) John Moyer (Bass) Mike Wengren (Drums)

Overview: Since heshers first began getting down with the sickness that is Disturbed back in 2000, the band has become a rock music staple. The Windy City bred group was awarded a recording contract with Warner Bros., and Disturbed’s debut ‘The Sickness‘ hit in the early part of Y2K. With pick-hits like “Stupify”, “Voices”, and the infamous “Down With the Sickness”, the record sang to the tune of three million in sales and propelled the band to the front of the “nu-metal movement”. Disturbed’s sophomore opus ‘Believe‘ arrived in 2002, striking number one on the Billboard charts in its debut week en route to another platinum certification. Disturbed became Ozzfest mainstays, and concocted their own big kids tour in Music As A Weapon. Three years, several tours, and a new bass player later, Disturbed dropped their third disc ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘, scoring the quartet yet another first week chart-topper and eventually a third consecutive platinum album. The record was fueled by the success of such tunes as “Stricken”, “Just Stop”, and the embraced crossover of Genesis’ jukebox jam, “Land of Confusion”. Disturbed did their usual dance, and retired to the studio in summer 2007 to begin work on their fourth disc. The band settled on Johnny K, the same dude that ProTooled Disturbed albums one, two, and three, to track number four. Titled ‘Indestructible‘, Disturbed has been unleashed yet again in 2008, ready to shake up the summer and beyond. The first single from ‘Indestructible‘, “Inside the Fire” sits atop the active rock charts, and the group will be a part of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour throughout the summer.

The Good: All it takes is one look at the self-immolating chupacabra that dawns the cover of ‘Indestructible‘ for you to guesstimate how Disturbed will be venting this time around; yeah, it’s pretty balls to the wall. So begins the tale of this flaming (as in, on fire…) chupacabra, as told through ‘Indestructible‘. The waking moments of the disc’s leadoff tune and title track are the cries of sirens, giving you just enough time to run home to mommy before the slaughter begins. The concert opener of a lifetime, “Indestructible” is a straight-ahead, driving dose of Disturbed that proves all ten thousand fists are still hoisted in the air; despite its intimidating synopsis, “Indestructible” is loaded with groove and texture, and the haunting echo lining that lines the track gives it even more flavor. Having made his presence known, chupacabra has to look good for the ladies, which is where the sonic and hooky “Inside the Fire” comes in, serving as one of Disturbed’s strongest singles to date. For Christmas, chupacabra gave me “Deceiver”, a pouncing tandem of dynamics and my personal favorite from ‘Indestructible‘. “The Night” is a fitting encapsulation of big, spacey patterns and war-like accents, while its overall enveloping and haunting disposition would make for an intriguing music video. Chupacabra hits the gym to stay in shape, and what better way to kick-start his workouts then with the charging and commanding “Perfect Insanity”, which most definitely lives up to its billing; packing an effective punch of primal energy and digestible harmonizing, the song is only brought to fruition by a chilling David Draiman led bridge, which would leave well-bound Samara from The Ring sucking her thumb in submission. “Haunted” is just that early on, as the eerie sounds of thunderstorms, church bells, and down-tuned guitar chords pay testament. What started as a rainy day quickly turns into a flash flood, with a pulsating assault of a verse and a weighty, soaring chorus that is one of the record’s most memorable. Chupacabra has some talent, and apparently he has some respect for Jonathan Davis too. The merger of his two traits is the behemoth “Enough”, a bossy and urgent titan that boasts a chorus dripping in melody. “Enough” is a vocal highlight for Draiman, as he hits one of his highest notes in the second verse with flawlessness. Where does Jonathan Davis fit into all of this? Have a listen to the double bass driven bridge, where Big D’s vocal delivery is a remarkable imitation of the Korn godfather. Chupacabra got himself a partner for a little horizontal shuffle, and he needs a pumping anthem to give their roll in the sack some rhythm. ‘Indestructible‘ comes through with “The Curse”, a springy, high-velocity trip that shakes, rattles, and rolls without “coming” too soon. The brooding and full-bodied “Torn” is the most viable contender to grow on you the most, mapping its own eclectic trail through crushing guitars and the from the gallows of his soul performance of the Drain Train. Stick with the big buildup of “Criminal”, because at the end of the tunnel lies a cataclysmic pummel and a nostalgic song that serves as the best taste of old school Disturbed. Chupacabra likes to join Borat at the disco-dance, and is able to showoff all his bests moves once “Divide” starts to play. Ass-shakin’ and bulldozin’, “Divide” is as swingy as it is thunderous, rounded out by Mike Wengren’s finest outing behind the kit. While you may have never known it, ‘Indestructible‘ reaches its end with the rugged and grinding “Facade”, spiced up with some fun electronics as Disturbed delivers its final scourging. In the end, Chupacabra enjoyed his time with ‘Indestructible‘, but when Godzilla-sized lizard-like creatures that emit flame paint the town red, the result is a town left in ashes, just what ‘Indestructible‘ had in order from the beginning.

The Bad: ‘Indestructible‘ might be Disturbed in its most vengeful dress, but it is clear that the band has no intentions of venturing outside the formula which was really imbedded on ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘. For all of the rampaging ‘Indestructible‘ seems to advocate, the songs are not without their “assignments”, which include any of the following: vocals that drop pitch at the ends of verses, diet dominatrix lyrics, peppering of predictable double bass, cinematic choruses, and/or some element rehashed that originally appeared in the ‘Believe‘ song “Liberate”. While I understand that Disturbed wouldn’t want to tweak a plan that has brought them success in the past, it ultimately turns some of the band’s most raw cuts of meat into streamlined slabs of digestible rock steak. The way ‘Indestructible‘ infuses Draiman’s spastic “woo’s” and “wah-ah’s” is purely the work of Johnny K, using them to frame verses and choruses, which, in turn diffuses a bevy of the landmines ‘Indestructible‘ had in place and takes bites out of Disturbed’s identity. ‘Indestructible‘ highlights Dan Donegan’s most viscous guitar work, but perhaps he let the carte blanche go to his head. So many of the solos on the record are just pretentious, wasting a song’s batteries instead of energizing them. This wouldn’t have pissed me off so much if the two most glaring exhibits of song abuse by guitar hadn’t have appeared in two of the album’s most enviable tracks, first “The Night” and then on the closer “Facade”, whose epic guitar party will leave you staring at your watch, waiting impatiently for Donegan to get off the podium; for this to occur during the closing argument of ‘Indestructible‘ is poorly timed and really shows a lack of professionalism, using the last song to run amok on guitar while the other three members of the band try to seal the deal with grandeur. Other than Donegan’s occasional guitar pest, the main flaw in ‘Indestructible‘ can be traced right back to ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘ in the lack of song individuality. Disturbed albums have always thrived as collective units, and ‘Indestructible‘ is no exception. But if you were to part ‘Indestructible‘ out for each of its twelve tracks and have to piece them all back together in their exact, original location, you would struggle mightily, as each song sounds too much part of a scheme, a puzzle that can only be completely deciphered if every piece is hooked back together in co-dependent fashion.

Bottomline: Recently, I caught up with the poster boy of ‘Indestructible‘, Mr. Chupacabra, and asked him what his thoughts were about ‘Indestructible‘ in comparison to Disturbed’s past work. “Well,” he began to explain, gnawing on a rack of lamb, “I would have to say the new album is stronger than ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘ but not as studious as ‘Believe‘.” I echo his thesis completely, as ‘Indestructible‘ is the steroid-fed sibling of ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘, but can’t quite press the weight of ‘Believe‘. I’ve always been pretty indifferent to Disturbed, listening to them whenever the thought crosses my mind; with ‘Indestructible‘ though, I think some of that might start to change, as I had a hard time resisting the urge to replay a couple of songs before completing the entire record. I have to give the band some credit, because while they may have stuck to their guns and remained loyal to a successful plan, they never once sound like they are trying to placate or acquiesce an audience, with the result a Disturbed album that will not only satiate longtime fans, but also lure back some of those who left the band for dead an album or two ago. As for our friend chupacabra? He’s perfectly content inside the fire of ‘Indestructible‘. And without closing another one of my reviews with an allusion to flame, fire, or pyrotechnics, I will say one thing. Of all the bands that performed at this year’s Rock on the Range, Disturbed was the only band that had complete, omniscient control of the crowd, an eye-opening moment of indestructibility from a band who, with ‘Indestructible‘, has made another strong assertion of its well-earned rock immortality.

Rating: 8 out of 10