Device - Device (2013)^{Release ID: 32986}

From 2011 to 2015, Disturbed was on hiatus. During then, vocalist David Draiman decided to form his own temporary project, Device. If you'd like me to give you a hint at what Device, it's like Disturbed with a more industrial edge...

People already knew Draiman's plan to make more industrial material from some teasers. The industrial side comes from the other member of the project, Geno Lenardo, ex-guitarist of Filter. The heaviness Disturbed fans have expected is blended with electronics for some decent results. It should be noted though that Lenardo was replaced by Will Hunt (Evanescence) and Virus (Dope) for the couple live concerts performed by the band.

Straight into heaviness is "You Think You Know" which rocks out as if Disturbed never had that hiatus, while having a bit of Nine Inch Nails. Draiman's singing is quite strong here, "You think you know but you're horribly blind, you think you know that the story's defined, you think you know, but your heart has gone cold inside." Sounding closer to Disturbed is "Penance". The drumming rhythms and vocal grunts are still around while having some electronic synths. Following this is "Vilify", the best choice for the band's first single. It's a perfect highlight of Draiman's strong vocals.

For their cover of the 80s glam ballad "Close My Eyes Forever", taking the respective places of Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne is Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Draiman, and the song is given a modern electronic twist. "Out of Line" stands out well as another one of Black Sabbath's members, Geezer Butler performs his audible bass, while Draiman and System of a Down's Serj Tankian both sing their perfect lyrical views of the world. The haunting "Hunted" continues taking on the electronic metal fusion as they've done throughout the album so far, showing that they can do it well without relying on guests. "Opinion" rips through with searing soloing by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, having more of the spotlight than in Linkin Park's "Drawbar".

"War of Lies" has some of the nu metal riffing of early 36 Crazyfists. "Haze", which has Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M. Shadows, is another solid collab. These guest appearances really help boost the quality of the album in most cases. The last guest vocalist is Glenn Hughes, known for his solo material and his time with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, in "Through It All", a nice sentimental rock ballad. I don't really like the bonus tracks enough to mention, except for their cool cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Wish".

You just have to admit how much outer thinking Draiman has with his work. He can really expand his boundaries beyond the band he's usually known for. It works well with some solid standouts, though not so much for a lot else. And the project would stop once Disturbed was revived....

Favorites: "You Think You Know", "Vilify", "Out of Line", "Opinion", "Haze", "Wish"