WWWWW- You can’t go wrong with this
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Excellent, worthy of attention
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May not change the world, but it’s still good
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I’m not so sure about this…
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Well, it makes a great Frisbee
Disturbed- Ten
Thousand Fists
WWWWW
(Reprise/Warner)
Their first effort since their breakthrough “Believe”, Chicago’s Disturbed show with “Ten Thousand Fists” that their previous work was not a fluke. The band hasn’t lost a step since losing bassist The Fuzz, and while the electronic touches that replace him may disconcert some, “Ten Thousand Fists” seems all the better for it.
As the album title suggests, this is an album dedicated to rebellion, and that is what one gets here in spades. There’s the cover of Genesis’ “Land of Confusion”, about a land of desolation and poverty that evokes memories of New Orleans after Katrina struck (though how much connection the band initially intended for the cover is debatable given the proximity of the release date and the events), “Sacred Lie”, most likely about the War in Iraq (“Don’t you know the war is far from over now/What a stumbling block we’ve fallen over now/Our brothers die defending no one”) and “Sons of Plunder”, about the music industry and its obsession over finding “the next big thing” (probably written in response to MTV banning their video for “Prayer” in 2002). Of course, don’t just think this is yet another collections of “anthems of rebellion” that seems to dominate rock circles these days, for Disturbed deliver their material with a fire and a gusto that so few bands can compare to, plus their wordplay is miles above all the wannabes; and, for those who didn’t forget, “Prayer” was about September 11 and frontman David Draiman’s disgust at how Ground Zero was being turned into a tourist attraction.
Furthermore, the band’s performance itself is so well done that to simply call this “a rebellion album” would be to sell the album short. There are some nice solos by guitarist Dan Donegan, such as on the lead single “Stricken”, plus Draiman’s voice, whether as an aggressive growl or as clear vocals, is some of the best work he’s done to date. True, it may not be at the same complexities as bands like Dream Theatre or Dimmu Borgir, but as far as more the mainstream metal (a term I prefer to “nu-metal” given the latter’s negative implications) is concerned, “Ten Thousand Fists” is top-notch. To highlight how beautiful this band can sound, just listen to “Overburdened”, the best song on the album- here, the band literally gives it their all, creating something that truly is epic in the process. Draiman did say that he wanted Disturbed to be “metal’s U2” and while the band still has a long way to go to that end, “Ten Thousand Fists” is certainly a step in the right direction.
The album isn’t devoid of problems- for one, it can be a little repetitive and as great as “Sons of Plunder” is overall, it is the album’s weakest track lyrically. Still, “Ten Thousand Fists” shows that Disturbed has grown since “Believe” and will continue to be a force in the music industry. Some in the more traditional metal community may still decide to snub Disturbed given their poppier elements, but if one can overlook something like that, they just may find something truly breathtaking.
-DG