Disturbed Indestructible

Tracklist:
1. Indestructible
2. Inside the Fire
3. Deceiver
4. The Night
5. Perfect Insanity
6. Haunted
7. Enough
8. The Curse
9. Torn
10. Criminal
11. Divide
12. Facade

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With Indestructible, Disturbed are primed to dominate rock radio throughout the upcoming summer and beyond. Rock-and-roll music has always loved and fed on controversy, and the ever-polemical Chicago quartet has released its darkest, heaviest record to date. Indestructible is a self-produced affair - "After three records and doing this for ten years, if we don't know what we're doing by now, we shouldn't be doing it," stated frontman David Draiman in a recent interview - and is inspired by the vocalist's string of "bad luck" over the past couple years. In turn, Draiman's bandmates - guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer, and drummer Mike Wengren - embraced the volatile frontman's darker prose, crafting instrumentation that effectively corresponds with his dour, abrasive lyrics.

It's important to acknowledge that Indestructible's instrumentation is the band's most complex and impressive to date. Donegan seems set to cement his place in the upper echelon of modern rock guitarists, as he is both creative and versatile in both his main riffs and especially his solos, which have improved dramatically since their first prominent appearances in 2005's Ten-Thousand Fists. In the Inside the Fire video, released last month, Donegan appears to pay tribute to fellow Chicagoan Michael Angelo Batio, showcasing a slower version of the aforementioned's legendary over-under technique, and Donegan's shredding - take your pick from a slew of any possible influences - has also greatly ameliorated. Disturbed's rhythm section, who typically goes unnoticed in the public eye, executes with quiet confidence (this album is far and away Wengren's best individual effort yet), providing ample support and structure to elevate Donegan's soaring leads and Draiman's resolute vocals.

While it's critical to recognize how much the band's sound has been altered and tweaked over the span of four albums, the one constant factor throughout the decade is that Disturbed lives and dies by its frontman. This is not an earth-shattering proclamation - Draiman always has had a bit of an overzealous ego, and his exaggerated, fatidic onstage gestures bring to mind a fire-and-brimstone preacher's sermon set to heavy metal - but it's ultimately true: for good or for ill, the labret-pierced frontman defines a Disturbed album's success or failure. For example, what's more memorable from "Down with the Sickness:" the so-called "monkey noises" or the song's bridge, where Draiman is at first beaten by his mother, snaps, and then kills her? The answer, presumably, is both, as some listeners cringed... and yet, "Down with the Sickness" is arguably Disturbed's most recognized song. Whether that's a good or bad thing isn't up for debate, but simply illustrates Draiman's influence on Disturbed's music as a whole, especially in comparison to Donegan, Moyer, and Wengren.

Throughout 2008, the Chicago quartet have taken on new challenges and forged lasting memories. For instance, Disturbed took part in Operation mySpace last March, playing for soldiers stationed in Kuwait. Draiman, who has been against the war, wanted to give something back to the soldiers and "couldn't be more proud" of the men and women fighting across the world. "If they can get some sort of power from the music and come home safely by utilizing our music, I couldn't be more proud. We've been wanting to give back to the troops for some time, for everything that they do for us and for all that they sacrifice. If they're willing to sacrifice their lives, we're certainly willing to sacrifice our time. I support our fighting men and women with every fiber of my being." To put aside personal beliefs to entertain is commendable, to write a song dedicated to them is even more praiseworthy. Indestructible kicks off the album with an air-raid siren, machine guns, and explosions, before giving way to a straightforward main riff complemented by Draiman's opening lyrics: "Another mission / The powers have called me away / Another time to carry the colors again / My motivation: an oath I've sworn to defend / To win the honor of coming back home again." A quick, upper-fretboard passage from Moyer introduces the chorus, which pummels on with steady tom and cymbal work from Wengren. After another verse from a soldier's perspective and a chorus, a stellar Donegan solo in the bridge segues into the final triumphant chorus: "Every broken enemy will know that their opponent had to be invincible / Take a last look around while you're alive: I'm an indestructible master of war." Draiman's ad-libbed vocals that resonate over the main riff conclude a superb album opener.

After emphatically declaring that Indestructible touches on some darker moments in Draiman's life - a motorcycle accident, bad break-ups, and his garage burning down and claiming the vehicles inside it are three such events - Draiman mustered up the strength and courage to discuss [teenage] suicide on Inside the Fire. The premise of the track revolves around a girl, "Devon," who represents a teenage love of Draiman's when he was in his early teens, and the Devil tempting Draiman to commit suicide to be with her again. These themes are exemplified in the pre-chorus and chorus: "Devon lies beyond this portal, take the word of one immortal: give your soul to me for eternity / Release your life to begin another time with her / End your grief with me, there's another way: release your life, take your place inside the fire with her." The symbolism is straightforward: the "one immortal" is the Devil, also known as the Destroyer in Scripture, who attempts to trick the protagonist/teenage David into eternal damnation in Hell ("the fire").

Inside the Fire is an outstanding track that's perfect for - and is already enjoying success on - rock radio this summer; the track is so solid throughout, "Fire" could easily overtake "Sickness" in terms of being the most well-known Disturbed track. "Fire" starts with some electronics and heavy guitar swells before taking off with a devilish cackle from Draiman. The main riff is less impressive than what's heard on the title track, but Donegan's solo is one of the best on the album in terms of complementing the song's overall vibe. Donegan also shines on Torn - one of his longest and greatest solos to date - as does Wengren, whose rapid double bass and assertive drumming provide a sturdy structure along with Moyer (the duo are also excellent in Enough, especially in the intro). The rhythm section also delivers a stunning performance in The Night, which helps set the stage for one of Draiman's best vocal performances on Indestructible, as well as another blistering Donegan solo. If the aforementioned tracks don't take the title of album highlight, then the honor goes to Haunted, whose aggressive, abrasive instrumentation and intimidating lyrics make for a superb listening experience (Draiman's upper-register vocals are an absolute delight in the chorus, as simple and straightforward as the lyrics are).

The album is not without its faults; the band stated that there would be allusions to the band's previous three albums, and The Sickness-esque tracks (in particular, Deceiver's yelps and shouts bring to mind the debut, as does Criminal's ear-splitting, high-pitched shrieks) pale in comparison to the more evolved, intense numbers. Perfect Insanity, a track that has been revisited and placed on Indestructible after being a previous B-side, also suffers from this, although the revamped version - especially the percussion intro and the guitars - have improved from the original cut. Draiman's lyrics are also suspect on some tracks, such as the aforementioned Deceiver and Criminal, as well as Divide and his raspy rant in the bridge of Enough; additionally, there are some passages where his syncopated vocals don't mesh as well as they could. The rhythm section is solid throughout, and while Wengren is featured prominently on the album, Moyer's bass goes relatively unheard behind the Draiman/Donegan supershow. Lastly, as a minor gripe, it's too bad their rendition of Faith No More's Midlife Crisis didn't make the final cut, but in the end, twelve tracks is a solid number, and the possibility of a B-sides release or the track surfacing on Youtube/mySpace/et al isn't out of the question (said Draiman: "I didn't want to rewrite anything, melodically, because [Mike] Patton is such a genius. I can't outdo the guy, and I don't even want to try.")

Disturbed has always had a sense of melody and harmony in their music, and there is plenty of it on Indestructible. With their fourth album, Disturbed firmly cement themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the rock and metal community. The album features a great number of their best songs to date, a couple expected stinkers, and some expected and unexpected lyricism. It's hard not to be impressed with the band's desire to give back to its fans, especially the troops away from their families, and the album's bookend tracks (the title track and Façade) are excellent as well. Draiman is as charismatic and clever with the pen as ever, and Donegan's main riffs and shredding range from good to astounding. In a year (so far) of good-but-not-great radio-friendly rock and metal releases, Indestructible boldly sits heads-and-shoulders above its contemporaries.