Disturbed. Yes I am, but that's not what this article is about. No, this article is going to be on the hard rock/heavy metal/nu-metal band Disturbed, their five studio albums, their singles and my thoughts on them. I’ve been meaning to do something like this for a while but wasn’t entirely sure how it would work or turn out so I put it off while. What encouraged me to finally put this together? I'm not entirely sure but it probably has something to do with their tour this summer.
This is going to be a two part article, the first dealing with Disturbed's Studio Albums and the second dealing with their singles as I feel that each deserves their own discussions. Before I start this post, let me just say it took me a while to put this article together, as while I was working on it I was going through a bit of a lazy phase where I just didn’t have the will or motivation to do any of my posts for some reason. But I'm pleased to say that it's gone and I'm back and I can only hope this article turns out to be satisfying at the most. So with that said, here are my thoughts on Disturbed's Studio Albums.
The Sickness
The band Disturbed was formed in the mid-1990's in Chicago under the name Crawl but switched to Brawl as the name was already taken and was finally named Disturbed after lead singer David Draiman joined and took charge of the band. At the time it was Draiman, lead guitarist Dan Donegan, bass player Steve “Fuzz” Kmak, and drummer Mike Wenger. Not long after Draiman joined, the band released its first studio album, The Sickness on March 7th, 2000 and it instantly made them famous, reaching 27 on the 200 Billboard Chart and, to this day, is their highest selling album. On this album, there are a lot of great tracks to choose from. Stupify, Voices, The Game, Conflict, Shout 2000, and Meaning of Life; all are great. The greatest of all these songs, however, was Down with the Sickness and it's the song that made the CD so popular and is to this day their most popular song. There are a few less notable songs like Numb and Want but it doesn’t change the fact that this album is awesome and was what set the stage for their future work.
9.5/10
Believe
Immediately after the success of The Sickness washed over Disturbed, they began work on their second album, Believe. It was released on September 17th, 2002 and was their first number one album. I have to say though, I wasn't too impressed by it. Most of the songs are worth listening to but failed to impress me the same way The Sickness did. The lyrics were a bit more spiritual involving the bands, (or at least Draiman's), views on religion and were less intense then the songs of The Sickness. Not to say I hated this album but there were only a few songs that were memorable. All the other songs were good, but relatively forgettable in the long run and this happens to be my second least favorite of Disturbed's studio albums. In comparison to The Sickness, the lyrics were tame, the rifts weren't as intense and most people agree that it's their worst album alongside Indestructible. It did have some great singles however. Prayer was a great song and remains one of Disturbed's best and I've never got sick of listening to Liberate. But as a whole, it was Disturbed's second worst.
8/10
Ten Thousand Fists
It took Disturbed three years to release this album as they were having troubles within the band. It has never been entirely explained what happened within the band but after Disturbed's Believe Tour, bass player Steve “Fuzz” Kmak left the band, citing only disputes between Draiman and himself. He would then be replaced by John Moyer who has been with the band since.
Ten Thousand Fists was released on September 30th, 2005 and was their second number one album and is to date their second best selling album of all time. And for me, this is my all time favorite. Stricken, Land of Confusion, Guarded and Ten Thousand Fists; all were just fucking awesome. I just don't know how else to describe them as no adjective can convey how much I loved these songs. What really made the album great, however, was that every song, (and I mean every song), on this album was great, didn't outshine each other, and I can listen to them again and again without getting sick of them. Other then that I really don't have much to say about it, other than I think it deserves to be Disturbed's number one album. Seriously! If you're reading this go out and buy a copy of Ten Thousand Fists! Fuck the pirating sites! Fuck iTunes! Go out and buy this album! The Illusive One Demands It!
10/10
Indestructible
Once again it took Disturbed three years to put this album together as it was their first self produced effort. Having been in the business a few years they decided they wanted to try producing for themselves and the result was Indestructible, their third number one album, making them only one of six bands to have three consecutive, number one, studio albums. But what of the album itself? Well, it tended to be hit or miss. Indestructible, Inside the Fire, and The Night were masterpieces and goes to show how great the band is at singles. Inside the Fire even got a Grammy nomination for best Hard Rock Performance, (yet somehow lost to Wax Simulacra and I make no apologies when I say that was a terrible song). That said, most of the tracks got old really fast and were good but not memorable. The singles were great and remained etched in my head but as a whole album this one was their worst.
7.5/10
Asylum
Two years after Indestructible, the band released their second self produced album, Asylum. It was released on August 31th 2010 and, surprise, it was their fourth consecutive number one studio album making them only one of three bands to accomplish this, (the other two being the Dave Mathews Band and Metallica). And I have to say, this one was great. As a self produced effort, it was a vast improvement over Indestructible and I can't help but compare it to Ten Thousand Fists. Like Ten Thousand Fists, each song was great and I can listen to them again and again without getting sick of them. The singles are good and still get me pumped but they just weren’t as good as those of other albums. As a whole, however, this album was great. It still doesn’t surpass The Sickness or Ten Thousand Fists and has kind of a weird place of being in-between Believe and The Sickness but on the whole it was a great album and I encourage anyone to listen to it.
9/10
And that's it for my thoughts on the studio albums. Next I'll be getting into Disturbed’s singles, as I feel they deserve a post of their own. The albums can be hit or miss but the individual singles are usually great so my thoughts on them are coming up next on The Illusive One's Reviews.
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