Review Summary: This is definitely a step in the right direction for Disturbed, but this album doesn’t reach perfection, as it has many errors throughout.
Disturbed- Indestructible
Ok let me just start out by saying that Disturbed is one of my favorites, but I’m going to try and keep this review as unbiased as possible, so if my personal opinion seems to shine through, don’t be surprised.
Disturbed is:
David Draiman- Vocals
Dan Donegan- Guitars/ Electronics
Mike Wengren- Drums
John Moyer- Bass
Well to start off I have a little disturbing (yes I went there) tidbit of information about the lead singer of Disturbed. This album must have been incredibly hard to write for Draiman, because it is a dedication to his past away girlfriend from when he was sixteen. Apparently the reason the band’s name is Disturbed is due to the fact that David Draiman became “Disturbed” when he walked into his home to find his beloved girlfriend hanging from a rope attached to the ceiling. Yes I know that this is off topic, but I thought it should be known that it took Draiman three years to write the song “Inside the Fire” (from this album obviously) due to the fact that he is still hurting from tragic event. Anyways back to the review.
This is definitely a softer affair for Disturbed, while this whole album is very similar to Ten Thousand Fists, it is not an exact duplicate, and shines over TTF in certain areas. On the first listen one will notice right off the bat that Donegan’s guitar work has improved greatly, as he presents pretty good solos in almost every song on the album. He just seems to have a better handle on how to perform good guitar solos, instead of the randomly placed ones we found within Ten Thousand Fists. If you want a great example of these solos, check out the song “Inside the Fire” on youtube.
A downside (musical talent-wise) is the drums; it seems that Wengren has gotten worse while sitting within the drum set. He was almost getting to the point of being able to play double bass in TTF, now he just does simple, plain beats by combining the snare drums with the bass pedals. Another downside is the fact that you can barely hear the bass throughout the album; I actually had to turn the bass on my Zen mp3 player up to max to hear the bass drums.
Now John Moyer has improved slightly since the band’s last effort, but it’s nothing amazing. He basically plays simple bass riffs throughout the album; it adds a little atmosphere, but nothing really interesting here.
Well here is the track-by-track review:
1. “Indestructible”- This actually is a very good opener for the album, it starts out with gunfire and explosions sounding off softly in the background (this is kind of a copy of Godsmack, but who cares). Then the drums and guitar kick in and the show begins. The only thing I really like about this song is the chorus, as it is very catchy, although corny, but still catchy. Everything else is still good, but the chorus is amazing, and towards the three quarter mark of the song a nice guitar solo kicks in that had me impressed. 3/5
2. “Inside the Fire”- This is one of my favorite tracks off the entire album, it opens up with an interesting electronic sound that then leads into a sudden and quick guitar riff. Then the drums and bass guitar kicks in. The chorus of this song is amazing, just brilliant. A guitar solo is also in this song, and it is very good (as stated earlier). After the guitar solo the song then goes into a nice bridge/ breakdown that make the guitar almost sound electronic. Overall this is a great song to listen to. 5/5
3. “Deceiver”- Now this song has a pretty heavy opener (yes I know Disturbed isn’t heavy) with a guitar creating an almost “squeaking” noise that then leads to an almost double bass (almost) drum beat and then the song kicks in with Draiman using his “disturbing” voice. This song talks about a common problem we all seem to have: someone being in our life that abuses, lies, and tricks us. Someone we don’t want to be in our life. Anyways the chorus of this song is just okay, I can’t really think of a better word to describe it. There is no solo in this song, just a short bridge that’s not to impressive. Although the ending of this song is awesome: everything just stops and all you hear Draiman singing (very loudly too) is “Decieving Me Now!” This is just a decent song for me nothing amazing. 2/5
4. “The Night”- Now this song is probably the most talented and best song ever written by Disturbed. It has, what’s this? Melodic guitar work! Yes people Disturbed knows how to make melodies. There is this constant melody throughout a lot of the song that just sticks in your mind for the rest of the day. Then the pre-chorus kicks in which is actually decently heavy for Disturbed, with heavy bass entering your eardrum. Then the chorus kicks in, which cannot be explained in words, it’s just too good. Then later on the best and longest guitar solo kicks in, this solo made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, just listen to this song and you’ll see what I mean. Overall this song is perfect if you ask me. 5/5
5. “Perfect Insanity”- This is the second single off the album, and is a remake of and older Disturbed song that is hard to find. It’s obvious why this was picked for a single, it’s just so awesome. It starts off with a weird drum beat that was obviously studio produced due to the odd tint of sound. Then the guitar riff kicks in and the song begins. This song includes the best chorus you will ever hear by Disturbed, its perfect, and the lyrics are so good in this song. Also throughout the whole song more (yes again) melodic guitar work is done in the background. Then a little past halfway through the song the breakdown begins with Draiman speaking to the listener in his “disturbing” voice again, and then a short, yet very good, guitar solo kicks in and then the song goes into a second breakdown. This is where Draiman keeps repeating, “Have I lost my mind!” This has a nice effect to the end of the song. 5/5
6. “Haunted”- This song starts out with creepy noises filling the background with atmosphere and then the constant guitar riff kicks in that continues the whole song. I actually don’t really like the chorus of this song, just the feel of it doesn’t fit the song. But everything else is good though. The song goes into a bridge then with Draiman whispering in his “disturbing” voice, nothing impressive here, then the song goes back into the chorus and pretty much ends after that. This song isn’t that good just okay. 3/5
7. “Enough”- I cannot stand this song; it’s just not good at all. It’s like Disturbed try to combine soft guitar work with weird soft vocals. I would not suggest even bothering to listen to this song, the only good element of this song is the bridge with the again almost double bass, then it drops back into the horrible chorus. 1/5
8. “The Curse”- This song starts out with bass drums knocking through your speakers with guitars creating weird noises. This song has a great pre-chorus, which then leads into an even better chorus. The guitars don’t really show any technicality or anything in this track, but their still pretty good. At least that’s what I thought until the ridiculous guitar solo kicked in, followed by a bridge. The song then goes into the chorus and then ends with and outro of guitar riffs. 4/5
9. “Torn”- This song is just plain horrible, no impressive musical technicality, this song was a disappointment to me. This is probably the worst track on the entire album, I wouldn’t bother listening to it. 1/5
10. “Criminal”- Now this song definitely makes up for the last song, it starts out with an interesting drum beat filling your ears, and then enter into the song with Draiman saying, “Huh Huh!” This song is a pretty good one overall, the chorus is very addictive. The song later on goes into the bridge with a melody that breaks in; this is another one that will get stuck in your head. The song then repeats the chorus and goes into the outro. 4/5
11. “Divide”- This song is another one of my favorites, it starts out with, woah whats this!? An actual double bass drum beat? Yes that’s right the drummer achieves it finally, but then he breaks it down into a complicated drum beat when the guitars kick in. Then the song softens down a bit, only to enter the heavy chorus with Draiman yelling, “Divide! Divide! Divide!” This is actually a very good chorus, although not very complicated, it gets the job done. The song then goes into the bridge with a slow guitar solo in combination with the bass guitar making a “groovy” sound in the background. This is a great song overall. 5/5
12. “Façade”- This song gets straight to the point with guitar riffing and fast drum beats. Then Draiman comes in with his lower singing voice, and then this is followed by the chorus. This is where the guitars dumb down a bit, which is kind of disappointing. The chorus is pretty good, but nothing amazing. The bridge kicks in later with a decent guitar solo that actually is pretty long for Disturbed. Then another bridge kicks in and the chorus begins again. The song then ends with a compilation of guitars and drums. This is a bad ending track, but its still an okay song to listen to every once in awhile. 3/5
Overall this album is great, it has its downsides, but most of those downsides are overshadowed by the great increase a guitar and drum technicality. If your not a fan of Disturbed’s older work, give this a listen, you might respect it a little more.
My Recommended Tracks Are:
“Inside the Fire”
‘The Night”
“Perfect Insanity”
‘Criminal”
“Divide”
