Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Disturbed - Asylum (2010)
It wasn't just Linkin Park that my brother and I were listening to in our alt-metal phase back then, another one of those bands is Chicago rock band Disturbed! OOH-WAH-AH-AH-AH!! With recognizable growls like that, along with bass and drums more powerful than a dozen kicks in the b*lls, they managed to headline more tours than any band would ever dream of doing. Asylum was released in 2010, but did they end up going experimental like Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns released that year?! NOPE!!
Disturbed's sound is a harshly rapid move into the pure darker rock/metal side with content mostly consisted of heartbreak and society's downfall. They've covered this style in 5 consecutive albums, far more than Linkin Park did in their first two. That's where some things get problematic...
Don't expect the first track "Remnants" to be a short nu metal track like Linkin Park's "One Step Closer". This opener is really just a weak disappointing instrumental. Sure they can be capable of showing their instrumentation, but this intro just doesn't work here, despite its rock inspirations. It's just pale filler, the weakest link of the album besides what would occur in the end. Fortunately, the title track has the alt-metal instrumentation to expect from the band, the true starting song of the album! David Draiman's first words here are a passionate shout of "Release me!" I actually like this song much more now than when I listening to the band 9 years ago, probably because the heaviness I can definitely tolerate much more. The hook is worth repeated listens; "And the loneliness is killing me!" A hard-hitting radio single! “The Infection” is another favorite song in this album. It really flashbacks to the early 2000s of their album Believe and Linkin Park's Meteora, worth many spins. It's more forgiving, and the instrumentation harkens to the Meteora song "Figure.09", only with no rapping and instead powerful singing and guitar shredding to have you headbanging along. Classic alt-metal with an emotional edge! “Warrior” is stuck in an unlikable loop for me. It tries to revive the 2000 rap/nu metal aspect of The Sickness and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory, but this trying attempt of resurrection ends up in miserable failure. However, that song has a fast pace and a warlike feel. The album's first single "Another Way to Die" is also stuck in the middle for a Disturbed track. It sounds more like a PSA against global warming fitting for the oil spill in Mexico at that time, and basically a straight-up outtake from Ten Thousand Fists.
Back to the (he)art of headbanging, "Never Again" has lyrical concepts such as the Israel-Iran conflict and the Holocaust from World War II. The political commentary is much better than that of the previous track, and the verse has some of the most inspired lyrics, though the chorus needs some fixing. The middle track of the album should've been another perfect track, but "The Animal" sounds too much like it should've been part of the Twilight Eclipse soundtrack, which by the way, is filled with just alt-rock singles. That chorus is just so cr*ppy. "Crucified" does nothing to regain the band's strength and just drifts on with nothing to do. While I feel bad for Draiman's pain and loss of relationship in the lyrics, the track is so slow and long for alt-metal and just an uninspired disappointment. "Serpentine" immediately takes me back to the bad-a** action, starting with opening riffing reminding some of Sevendust at that time. Pounding drums and heavy guitars continue inducing headbanging. The only small problem is the uninspired lyrics, specifically the opening verse that sounds like Draiman wrote it in his teens as an angsty men. The grand instrumentation makes up for that.
Almost breaking my focus is a baby crying at the start of "My Child", but the song itself starts with viciously emotional instrumentation in this song with the darkest essence of the album. The emotional lyrics cover the true story of Draiman's girlfriend's accidental pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. The track ends with a heart monitor on flatline (another album to add to my "Heartkiller" list). The most chillingly psychological song here! "Sacrifice" has one of the best solos of alt-metal lasting 30 seconds. Something I've been waiting for throughout the album that never disappoints, though the rest does. "Innocence" is a true headbanger to end the main part of the album. Drilling beats and haunting vocals end the main album with heaviness instead of a ballad. Well unless you count the hidden track after one and a half minutes of silence which is a cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". F*** that cover, it's too weak and pointless to review! I won't go into the live versions of "Down with the Sickness" or "Stricken" either. They're awesome classic songs by the band but I wanna save my comments for the original songs if I get to the albums they're in, like in a compilation album or something, but for now that would be the B-side collection The Lost Children.
5 albums on, Disturbed continue their sound that is perfected in some songs, with this album going deeper into hard rock. The instrumentation is what keeps them stable. The humor of the band's earlier albums is gone, replaced with more serious songs of death, darkness, and depression, which is good for this album and Indestructible, but often comes out as uninspired. Not even most of this album's singles could have the originality they need. Still, Asylum is a great album with memorable riffs and lyrics. Another chapter for Disturbed's saga that could've had a little more true greatness....
Favorites: "Asylum", "The Infection", "Never Again", "Serpentine", "My Child", "Sacrifice", "Innocence"