Disturbed
Ten Thousand Fists

THE REVIEW

In this 2005 full of more or less convincing nu metal releases, Disturbed return with "Ten Thousand Fists", the third album from the American band, which will hit stores next September 20th. After an excellent debut with "The Sickness" and a second album, "Believe", which I consider a decent album but nothing more, I awaited this album with high hopes, considering the half misstep with the previous record.

The first thing I can say about the album is that it is a worthy middle ground between "The Sickness" and "Believe", as it picks up some characteristics from the first and some from the second, but it still ends up being something new and different compared to their previous works. From the first, it takes the use of electronics and darkness, from the second, it borrows the knack for melody and catchiness. Personally, I consider it better than "Believe" (an album that, in my opinion, despite having some good tracks, suffered from excessive repetitiveness and predictability), even if some points heavily remind me of it. The most noticeable improvement is the quality of all the musicians, which has significantly improved compared to the past: as usual, David Draiman delivers another great vocal performance, moving from sharp screams to truly convincing clean and melodic moments; but what stands out the most is the greater attention to the guitar work: in fact, besides the usual nu metal riffs, some songs even feature solos! And it is strange since I had never heard real solos in Disturbed songs before! As mentioned earlier, the album, like the previous ones, presents the usual alternation of anger, melody, and a good dose of catchiness, a mix that has always been part of the Disturbed-sound; furthermore, there is also a welcome return (at least for me): that of electronics, which helped make "The Sickness" great and was absent in "Believe". Indeed, many parts of this album are enriched by computer artifacts, and "Pain Redefined" is the clearest testimony of this.

However, unfortunately, I also notice something here which I have always considered the "Achilles' heel" of this group: in the first album the first part was formed by truly spectacular songs like "Voices" "The Game" "Stupify" "Down With The Sickness" "Violence Fetish" and "Fear", but unfortunately the songs in the second part were not at the same level (except for the cover of "Shout"); in the second album, the same thing happened, various songs such as "Prayer" "Liberate" "Awaken" "Believe" and "Remember" (really beautiful songs) alternated with songs that, in my humble opinion, had very few interesting moments. Here, more or less the same thing happens, although fortunately, I have to note that it is much less evident as I believe all the songs are above average. This makes listening to the album more continuous. And again, the best things are heard in the first part of the album: the opener "10000 Fists" perfectly introduces the album, a powerful and anthemic song (it has all the credentials to make victims in their future concerts); then there are "Just Stop" and the single "Stricken", very beautiful and with choruses that immediately captivate (guaranteed!). Also very interesting are "Guarded" "Deify", and "Son Of A Plunder". "Overburdened" can be defined as the only ballad on the album, the "Darkness" of the album: after an intro that heavily recalls the System Of A Down's "Spiders", the piece floats on a melancholic and slow rhythm that lasts for the entire duration of the song. Passionate. Worthy of mention is "Land Of Confusion", a Genesis cover; it seems that David and company enjoy doing this kind of thing since in "The Sickness" there was the remake of "Shout" by Tears For Fears. Anyway, a great performance here as well, one of the best pieces on the album.

A convincing test, a good return for Disturbed, although the best for me remains "The Sickness"... My rating is 3.5 but since there are no half measures, I'll opt for a full and well-deserved 3 (because despite some maturation, the group has changed its coordinates little). And now close your hands, raise your arms, and shout all together... Ten thousand fists in the air!!!