By: Adam Aguirre- Head Music Reviewer

I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, ten thousand fists? That’s a lot of fists!” and thankfully, Disturbed successfully delivers the in-your-face effect one would expect from being “struck by the sight of ten thousand fists in the air” with their third album. Of course, like Disturbed’s previous works, it isn’t without its faults though. As simple as the title may sound, the music itself is almost equally as simple.

While Disturbed has definitely changed from their sometimes decent, sometimes laughably bad nu-metal flavor to an all-around heavy metal rock sound that probably has more melody than anything that you could try finding in their debut, Disturbed have always really been about simple songs and not much else. That’s really not a bad thing; especially given how much heart and soul they put in all their songs and how easily accessible this makes them to a more mainstream audience, but after releasing two previous albums and losing bassist Steve “Fuzz” Kmak, you’d think there’d be a little something more.

And there sort of is a little something more. They really do seem to be trying some new things out. Yes, considering the dramatic change of sound they went through when their sophomore title was released, their newest effort pretty much reflects that same style, and yes, I seem to be contradicting myself by saying that there’s not much change between the two albums and then saying there sort of is, but the keyword here is “ trying some new things out.” So yes, not much change but they’re certainly trying. How are they trying, you may ask? With guitar solos a-plenty, loyal readers. While Dan Donegan’s solos are nothing overly complicated or long, I think they’re just enough to whet our appetites while we wait for the new Tool or Mars Volta album. In “Stricken,” “Overburdened,” and “Forgiven,” Donegan really shines up these songs and even improves them with his efforts. Also, “Avarice” and the Genesis cover, “ Land of Confusion ,” show more of Donegan’s impressive guitar work even if both those songs barely have any sign of a guitar solo.

Mike Wengren and new bassist John Moyer’s contributions play as good accompaniment to the prominence of Donegan’s guitars and David Draimans vocals as well. Wengren’s drumming ability especially works well as a healthy addition to the music, and Moyer’s performance manages to pull off a good job given the shoes he has to fill. They both manage to act as a good background and really do help to enhance the songs. More emphasis was put on Wengren than Moyer obviously given that Moyer is the bass player and is the new guy of the group.

Lyrically, they’re trying a bit something new too. While I always feel their lyrics can be a little weak, they’re honestly trying to lyrically diversify their songs this time around talking about more than just emotional loathing and anger, but also war and social, political issues. With all that diversity though, the lyrics seem badly written at times. Their lyric writing has always been hit-and-miss since their debut, and it’s probably the biggest fault Disturbed have right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love David Draiman’s vocal talents; not since I’ve heard Jon Bush have I thought someone could be more suited as a heavy metal vocalist. Draiman always brings the right amount of vigor, growl, and aggression that should come to be expected in the metal genre. Their lyrics just seem to fall short at times, and that’s a shame because I really like what the songs are about.

While we’re on the subject of faults, let’s talk about another fault they have, which is their ability to lose listeners halfway through the album. That’s not a problem with time and multiple listens, but at first listen (this goes for their previous work as well) they seem to lose that high energy and excitement that drive the first half of the album. Right after “Sons of Plunder” we’re taken into “Overburdened” where the pace and energy dramatically feels to slow down, and that’s mostly because of how little energy “Overburdened” presents in the album. While I happen to like “Overburdened” a lot, everything afterwards seems to get lost; which is a shame because there are a few songs on the last half that are really good like “Forgiven” and “Pain Redefined.” If you’re noticing this problem, just give it a few more listens and I’m sure you’ll start liking the whole thing.

With all that nitpicky stuff out of the way, I must say these guys can really rock out. They’re great at grabbing attention, and as mentioned before, they can be very accessible. A lot of their songs seem catered towards the mainstream given their length and basic song structure, and it’s great because this doesn’t detract from them at all. Of course, one must be a fan of heavy metal or enjoy music of their caliber to fully appreciate them. Bottom line, if you’re a little bored of all the wimpy rock acts out there right now, Disturbed is exactly what you’re looking for.

Adam Aguirre is the music reviews head of Musiqtone and is currently single and lonely...well you can reach him at adamaguirre@musiqtone.com to leave comments, say hi, or heck, ask him out on a date...